Oklahoma Endorsements

These come from the Indigenous Democratic Network, an organization whose work I like to emphasize from time to time:


Maya Torralba For Oklahoma House District 56

Maya’s district within Southwest Oklahoma, District 56, is where many cultures and all of their histories intersect. These communities include the Kiowa, Comanche, Apache, Fort Sill Apache, Wichita, Caddo and Delaware Nations; descendants of German and Czech farmers and ranchers; African-Americans; Mexican-Americans; Filipino Americans; and many other ethnicities.

As both a Kiowa tribal member and an Oklahoma citizen, Maya has witnessed the detrimental effects of natural disasters such as ice storms and tornadoes. She has also seen storms that are human in origin—poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence and outright denial that also cause destruction on Southwest Oklahoma’s families.

Yet, through it all, Maya sees something brighter. These are the spirits of Oklahomans as a whole, something that dust storms, tornadoes and ice storms cannot crush. These are the Oklahomans who will give their last dollar or cook the last morsels of food in the pantry to help a neighbor in distress. These are the Oklahomans who Maya has heard pray for everyone but themselves. These are the Oklahomans that Maya knows in District 56.

It is Maya’s personal belief that Native American and Oklahoma values are Progressive values. These include lifting our human brothers and sisters to a higher standard of living; making sure our elders and children live in a safe community; paving a smooth road to educate our future generations; and keeping technology and the environment in a sustainable balance.

Find out more from Maya Torralba's campaign website.


JEFF JONES FOR DISTRICT ATTORNEY (District 10)

INDN's List is proud to endorse Jeff S. Jones, a member of the Osage Nation, for District Attorney of Osage and Pawnee Counties of Oklahoma. Jones successfully completed the candidate training at our 2007 INDN Campaign Camp on the Morongo Reservation, where he impressed all of the trainers with his passion, talents, drive and ability to communicate his message.

Jeff is committed to enforcing the law, and respecting the people of Osage and Pawnee counties while building on the strengths of the District Attorney’s office. Jeff has prosecuted drug dealers, child abusers, murderers and rapists. His experience and dedication distinguishes him from his Republican opponent.

Jeff Jones is on the conservative side for a Democrat, but this is reasonable in Oklahoma. He comes from a real working class background, having been a UPS truck driver for 18 years before becoming a lawyer. He has been an assistant District Attorney for Osage and Pawnee Counties since 2002 and a member of the Board of Directors for the Oklahoma District Attorney's Association, so is amply experienced for the job. Challenging Jeff Jones is Republican state Representative Rex Duncan. For those not familiar with this right wing nut case, Rex Duncan's the guy who is so paranoid he introduced a law to ban Islamic law in American courts (I guess he doesn't realize religious law in our court system is prohibited by the Constitution) and he has tried equating liberals with Islamicists. So this really is a case of a sane, law and order Democrat (Jeff Jones) vs. a right wing fanatic with no real sense of the law (Rex Duncan). I certainly join INDN List in endorsing Jeff Jones.


Steve Burrage for Auditor and Inspector

Steve Burrage, a Choctaw, was appointed State Auditor and Inspector by Governor Brad Henry in July 2008, and is now running for election.

Steve has conducted audits that have prosecuted felons and saved the state of Oklahoma hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Steve is running for a full-term as State Auditor and Inspector. Burrage’s Republican opponent is the former Chair of the GOP, who resigned a few months ago to run against Burrage.

Find out more from Steve Burrage's website.