By Rep. Scott Fetgatter
FetgatterHave you ever watched the beginning of a marathon? At the beginning of the race, the runners begin in a slow moving cluster of people. Everyone wants to go fast and find their stride, but at the very beginning, it’s just not possible. It isn’t until the runner can find their spot and break away from the pack that he or she can hit that perfect pace.
The Oklahoma Legislature is kind of like a race, and the campaign is all of the training that happens before the race. While they are running for election (training), candidates often have high hopes and great ideas as to how this state can move forward in a positive manner. Then, once the election ends, the candidate becomes a lawmaker, and the real race begins.
In the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the lawmaker is met with 98 other lawmakers that have their own ideas and hopes for the state. This phenomenon, mixed with more than 500 pages of procedural rules on how the House operates, is our “cluster of people.”
Now, I haven’t lied to you yet, and I don’t plan to start today. Until recently, I have felt the weight of that cluster. In fact, there have been times that I have been discouraged by the things that have happened at the Capitol, and there have been times that I have been downright mad. Nevertheless, I have continued to work hard because the work you sent me here to do is too important. I continued to fight and claw until I found my stride, and folks, I think I found it.
It wasn’t easy. I have had to rely on every instinct I have learned throughout my career in business. I was told very early that as a freshman lawmaker I would have a hard time getting the attention of leadership. I said “bull crap,” and I made it a priority for your voices to be heard by our leadership team. Today, I can say that not only have your concerns been heard, but I have been able to develop a trust with House leadership that could benefit District 16 for many years to come.
Here is the deal – I can’t sleep knowing there is a problem that I can’t help fix. As a freshman lawmaker, my choices were to either insert myself into the process or to sit on the sidelines while other people try to fix Oklahoma’s budget process. I chose the latter. I want to be in the conversation, and the purpose of this article is to let you know that I finally feel like I am. I want you to know this because by proxy that means you are part of the conversation.
As budget talks ramp up, you will continue to hear news stories about this idea or that idea. Some stories will leave you to believe that the sky is falling, while others may say the opposite. I would caution everyone to wait until there is an actual proposal on the table before reacting. Remember, these things tend to change from day-to-day, and until there is a proposal on the table, it is all speculation. I guess the easiest way to describe this process is to say that it’s not a sprint but a marathon.