Kevin Crow's responses to questions posed by the Tuttle Chamber of Commerce
1. How would you characterize your political ideology?
Ideologies are systems of ideas that purport to explain all of reality and are, therefore, by definition testaments to man’s pride and folly. I believe in restoring people’s confidence in our political institutions through good stewardship, not ideology.
2. Please describe 1 to 3 accomplishments or contributions you are most proud of.
First, I take pride in my students’ success. Not only have many dozens of my students gone on to have successful careers as educators in our public schools, but in the last few years I have helped place a number of my students in some of the best graduate schools in the World – and not just in History. I currently have students completing graduate degrees in the fields of medicine, physics, psychology, archeology and politics; and not only in this nation’s leading schools but in leading European universities as well. In addition, a number of my students have gone on to have successful careers in law enforcement and the private sector. In fact, the corporate head of one national company even told one of my grads to tell me to send more of our History students his way. Most telling, perhaps, is that in this election cycle alone I have three recent graduates running for state representative. It is truly fulfilling to know that I have impacted so many lives for the positive in this region. I hope that as your state senator I will be able to impact many more live in a positive manner.
The second thing in which I take pride is that I worked my way through graduate school and, by living frugally, I emerged debt free. This required great sacrifice on my part. There was a six-year period of my life where I did not leave a 10-mile radius, because I could not afford to do so. I am not ashamed of this. Unlike others who have inherited great wealth, I understand the meaning of hard work and self-denial. Those who achieve success in life by throwing money at problems will govern the same way. Those of us who have had to live within our means when times are hard, understand how to make the difficult decisions that balancing a budget often requires.
The third thing in which I take pride is that, to insure that I am not beholden to special interests, I withdrew all of the contributions that I made to my Roth IRA during my career to help finance my campaign. I realize that there are more important things to leave your children than a fortune -- such as honor, integrity, and liberty. And that is a good thing for a state senator to understand.
3. What do you believe are the most important characteristics or traits to serve in the position you are running for?
Integrity, dedication, passion, the willingness to listen to others (especially those whom may disagree with you), and the willingness and ability to find solutions for issues about which you are ignorant.
4. Please describe the duties of the office you seek in your own words. Which are the most important duties and why?
The purpose of government is to defend our God-given rights of Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness (property). Specifically, it would be my duty as a state senator to defend the rights of Oklahomans to determine what is in the best interest of their communities and establish policies that reflect their decisions. Since family is the basis of all societies, I am particularly devoted to parental rights.
5. What endorsements do you now have, or are you seeking?
I have received the endorsements of OCPAC (The Oklahoma Conservative Political Action Committee), the Sooner Republican Assembly, Oklahomans for Vaccine and Health Choice, and (most importantly) my wife.
6. What is your top priority if elected?
As I have said before, my top priority is protecting our God-given rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (property). Since debt and over-dependence on financially strapped institutions undermine our independence, I will make budget concerns a top priority. In keeping with this, I will support our state auditor in carrying out performance audits of key institutions within the state to insure that best practices will be followed in all agencies of state government.
7. What is the most important issue Tuttle will face? What will you do to address it?
My closest connection to Tuttle is with its schools. I have visited either Tuttle Middle School or Tuttle High School most semesters over the last 10 years, and over that time I have witnessed incredible growth. As I have noted previously, I have lived in a number of communities in my lifetime and I have witnessed many towns face the challenge of rapid growth – some successfully, many unsuccessfully. The biggest challenge that Tuttle faces is adapting to this rapid growth without losing the many positive characteristics that make Tuttle unique. Driving though Tuttle during the Memorial Day weekend made me nostalgic for the town in which I grew up. We used to fly the flags from downtown as well – not so much anymore. When I go home to visit my mother, I get a little choked up. Suffice it to say, the character of the town of my childhood has changed quite a bit in the last 20 years – and not for the best. Just because I am a college professor doesn’t mean that I am arrogant enough to think that I know what is best for Tuttle. But I do have a good idea about things that don’t work – or at least, don’t work for the betterment of the community as a whole.
So what will I do to help the people of Tuttle face the challenges of rapid growth? I will work with elected officials, community leaders, and concerned citizens in their endeavors to meet these challenges. And if I learn of an idea that I have seen implemented before, then I will let you know what my experiences have been. If it is a good idea, then I will help you with all of my energies. And if it is a bad idea, then I will caution you as best that I can. Because I don’t want to drive through downtown Tuttle on Memorial Day in 20 years and not see those flags flying.
8. What do you believe should be done to create a more vibrant business community in Tuttle?
Keep the government out of business as much as possible. The purpose of business is to make money. That should not be the purpose of government. The primary purpose of government is to protect our God-given rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness (property). Businessmen and women know what is best for business, not politicians – even ones that have been businesspeople. If you want a more vibrant business community, then as long as they are not interfering with the Lives, Liberty and Property of others leave the businessmen and businesswomen alone. It’s called entrepreneurship. When government becomes involved, it tends to either suppress business in general or favor some businesses over others. And when elected officials are given the power to favor one business over another, it creates the penitential of undermining the legitimacy of the system.
9. How do you propose to create a positive relationship with the Chamber of Commerce and other Civic Organizations?
If I am elected, then I will give up the career that I have spent my adult life building and devote my time and energy to serve fulltime as your State Senator. When out of session, I will devote four days each week to visiting the various towns within the district. I intend to visit all communities throughout the district on a regular basis. If anyone doubts my devotion to any job that I undertake, then do a little research and you will find that I have only missed one day of work in my entire career because of illness. And outside of attending conferences or performing other official tasks on behalf of my employers, I have only missed two other days of work during my entire career – and that was for the death of my father. You will find that as your state senator, Kevin Crow will be accessible to the people he represents and engaged with various Civic organizations throughout the district.
10 Is there anything else you would like our membership and the public to know?
I believe in transparency and being fully accountable. I will keep a log of every meeting that I have as your state senator and will publish it, along with a list of all contributors to my campaign, every year that I serve as your state senator. I will also make myself available to all media outlets within the district. Furthermore, when I am not in session, I will devote four days each week to visiting the various towns within the district. I will publish where I will be in advance, so that any member of the public may meet with me during these visits.
11. SB 809, adopted last year by the Oklahoma Legislature, took away most of a municipality’s ability to regulate where oil and gas drilling may occur. Tuttle was forced to approve a new gas plant and drilling locations next to neighborhoods and parks because of this legislation. Tuttle is struggling to get the roads fixed that are damaged by the heavy truck traffic. Residents in the area who moved here to enjoy the peace and quiet away from the big city are upset about the noise they are experiencing for multiple months of drilling and fracking at each site. Do you believe the new statute is correct? Explain, in detail, your position.
Just as I will defend the rights of the people of Oklahoma against the over-reach of the Federal Government (as guaranteed by the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution), so too will I, as your state senator, fight aggressively and consistently to uphold the rights of communities to defend their quality of life and the property of their residents against outside threats.
12. The State of Oklahoma restricts the funding of Oklahoma communities to sales tax. Oklahoma is the only state in the United States who funds its cities in this manner. As a result, police, fire protection, parks, and street repairs are funded based on where you shop, not where you work and live. What would you do strengthen the financial health of Oklahoma cities?
In difficult economic times like these, I am reluctant to increase taxes on working families struggling to make ends meet. That said, I believe there are ways to collect revenues that are more stable and efficient than those that we currently employ. While I believe that we as Americans have very little to learn from other countries when it comes to defending our God-given rights, I do believe that we can learn from a few others how to collect revenues in a more stable, efficient and fair manner. For example, when it comes to funding county and municipal governments, Oklahomans might wish to consider adopting a model similar (bureaucratically speaking, though not necessarily using the same forms of taxation) as that used by the Germans to finance their states (Bundesland) and municipalities (Gemeinden). This model would give more power to county and municipal governments in determining how tax revenue collected by the state is spent. It would also be a much more efficient system and save the taxpayers of Oklahoma much money.
13. Farming is a vital industry to Oklahoma’s economy. At the same time, most commerce requires strong, functional cities. It appears the Oklahoma Legislator continually favors weakening Oklahoma cities to benefit agriculture. What would you do to help find win-win solutions for agriculture and municipalities?
One area that is critical to encouraging commerce and, if implemented in a prudent fashion, should benefit cities and agriculture is infrastructure improvement. As your state senator I will work hard to insure that tax revenue dedicated to infrastructure maintenance and improvement (maintaining and improving roads and bridges, etc.) is used in such a way that it encourages commerce that is profitable to the state as a whole. We must not waste the people of Oklahoma’s tax revenues on pet projects that only benefit a few. When allotting tax dollars to any project we must always follow what the late Labor Commissioner, Mark Costello, called “Best Practices.” Another area, in which we must look after the interests of rural, urban and suburban residents alike (without favoring one group over the other) is education. The state must never adopt a single monolithic set of standards that mandates a model of education favorable to certain types of cities or districts at the expense of others. Local school boards, parents, and teachers – and not bureaucrats in OKC or Washington – must always have the most say-so when it comes to questions of educating students in our public primary and secondary schools.
14. Tuttle is proud of its schools. Public schools are a major contribution to our quality of life here and in other communities across this state. Yet, we commonly appear near the bottom in most national rankings for common education. What do you believe the biggest challenges are facing common education? What are your ideas for addressing these challenges?
There is an old saying that goes, “if mother is happy, the everybody is happy.” What contributed most to your own education? Technology? Mandated testing? Outstanding textbooks? None of these were the most important. The most important factor was a good teacher. I have worked as an educator since the 1990s and I currently have dozens of former students who work in schools throughout this state. I have never seen teacher moral lower than it is currently. Therefore, as your state senator I will pursue four policies designed aid our state’s public school teachers.
First, I understand importance of teachers having as much autonomy as possible in the classroom. When I announced my candidacy for the state senate at a Republican meeting, I asked those in attendance the question, “Shouldn’t those of us who belong to a party that prides itself of encouraging entrepreneurship in the business world trust our teacher to exercise their judgment in the classroom? If micromanaging every little detail is bad in the world of business, then why do we think it would work in the classroom?” Therefore, I will work to keep useless and time consuming testing, as well as onerous mandates out of the classroom. I will fight to return power to parents, local school boards, and teachers.
Second, understanding that our teachers have already made many sacrifices throughout their careers, I will fight any attempts to “borrow against” the pensions of our teachers. I will consistently and aggressively oppose any attempt to transfer funds from the Oklahoma Teacher Retirement System for any reason other than their intended purpose.
Third, since I have worked as a classroom teacher in various capacities since the 1990s and have taught thousands of students, experience has demonstrated to me the importance of limiting the number of students in a classroom to a manageable level. Therefore, I will support measures that will encourage keeping the number of students in a classroom to a manageable level
Fourth, as most people in this state are aware, Oklahoma is having trouble attracting and retaining quality teachers; therefore, I support finding ways of increasing teacher pay in this state. However, I will not be misled by attempts to mask other expenditures under the guise of raising teacher pay. Raising teacher pay must be a priority and teacher salaries must not be held hostage by those who wish to attach appropriations for other pet projects to legislation providing for increases in teacher pay.
15. What is your position on non-medical professionals dictating the manner and setting in which a medical professional is able to treat or provide care for their patient? What do you believe is the role of Oklahoma State government in protecting the patient’s direct relationship with their health care professional, maintaining health professional’s ability to treat patients in the manner and setting in which they believe is most appropriate?
As our Declaration of Independence clearly states,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men…”
Thus, among government’s primary roles is the obligation of securing our God-given right of Life. Therefore, it is appropriate for our government to insure that our medical professionals are not in the business of taking lives. So this is one area where government can – and should – dictate policy to medical professionals.