Congratulations Mr. Speaker

I know by the time you read this that all the major news outlets and daily papers will have already made the announcement but I would like to personally congratulate Representative T.W. Shannon for becoming Speaker-designate for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Every now and then somebody shows up on the political scene that just seems to kinda’ have natural electability. It always on the surface looks like those folks kinda’ fall into it but most of the time it’s kinda’ like the analogy of the duck. While they look like they are gliding effortlessly across the water, just below the surface they are paddling like crazy. Let’s go back a few years to my first relationship with a young high school senior named T.W. Shannon. I was the Ag. teacher at Lawton high school for 9 years, from 1988 to 1996. In that short span of years I, as well as my co-sponsor Mrs. Sue Wiginton, sponsored the senior class two different times. There was a tall young African American man who you just kinda’ had a feeling was headed for something big, just his natural charisma and his good looks and just that little something that made him stand above the crowd. T.W. had it back in those days and he’s got it now. It looks like the vote was taken Monday in the republican house caucus and in about a year he will be the new Speaker of the House. Representative Shannon has worked his tail off over the last year to earn the respect and trust of the republican house caucus. He left no stone unturned, he reached out to every single member, even those opposed to him including his actual opponents. He was thorough and very systematic in his approach. T.W. Shannon does not come from any kind of political legacy he just kinda’ did it the old fashioned way, he worked at it. He spent time as a field rep. for Congressman JC Watts and Congressman Tom Cole. He’s been a quick study in the political game. He’s blessed with above average intelligence and I hope that he will be a uniter of the republican caucus as we move forward. He’s a strong conservative but with enough sense to know that we still have a state to run and that the train must run on time. Speaker -designate Shannon will not actually take the reigns in the House until the current Speaker Kris Steele finishes his two year term as Speaker of the House. The Speaker -designate position was created to allow the designate to study under the seated Speaker so that the transition can be smoother.

Some will say that T.W. Shannon may be a little young to be the Speaker of the House and one could argue that point and not be too far off base but term limits, which everyone clamored for a few years ago, have created this new dynamic. It creates a conveyer belt if you will, that is 12 years long. Gone are the days of 20 year political careers in the House or Senate. We now have a fast track and it has totally changed the complexion of the Oklahoma legislature. A young member that hits that conveyer belt at a run and has some political background doesn’t have quite as much to learn and can sometimes be propelled forward and gain momentum early in their career, especially one who has the charisma and the overall perfect political package that Shannon possesses. I told him early in the process that I would support him in his quest to be Speaker but that I also would reserve the right to box his ears if I saw him heading down the wrong road. In this new political environment in Oklahoma, I’m an old guy, having been in the legislature for 10 years. I told T.W. that I was heading into my last term and that if he won I really had nothing to lose in jerking his reigns and have no fear of doing just that. I think he’s extremely bright and won’t need much of that and I hope and pray he’s the natural born leader that I think he is.

Historically it’s very difficult for anyone in Western Oklahoma to win an election to represent the whole state. We’ve had only a handful in the history of Oklahoma politics. One was former speaker Lloyd Benson and another was former Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins. If you look back through the history books of Oklahoma politics, few Western Oklahoma members win elections to state wide positions. A lot of it has to do with the fact that Western Oklahoma is more sparsely populated and the votes are much more concentrated East of I-35. Another historical road block that TW Shannon will have to overcome is the fact that the only Speaker to ever go on to any elected office higher than that was Alfalfa Bill Murray and that’s been way before any of our time. I believe this young man has the ability, the charisma and the political savvy to even rewrite that part of Oklahoma history one day. Time will tell and in the meantime we will chalk up a win for Southwest Oklahoma. Once again we are in the game. Congratulations Speaker-designate Shannon. We’re proud of you.

If you would like to contact me at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call 1-800-522-8502 or email me at donarmes@okhouse.gov.

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road:
A leader leads by example, whether he intends to or not. ~Author Unknown