Filing for candidates running for statewide offices has concluded. Fortunately, I did not draw an opponent. This means I automatically fill the seat as your representative for another two years. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel for this vote of confidence, and I vow to continue to serve you to the best of my ability.
Gridlock at 23rd and Lincoln is how I can best describe the past two weeks. Budget talks have started, but this is causing some consternation between the Senate and the House. The Senate budget chair announced last week that the Senate would not hear any House appropriations’ bills until he obtained a copy of the House’s full budget request. My House Bill 3749 is tangled up in this. If it isn’t heard this week, I’m not sure whether it will make it out of the other chamber.
I hosted a meeting last week with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and a couple of our local electric cooperatives as ODOT is building a new bridge and not wanting electric lines attached to it. This dispute has been going on for a couple of years with no end in sight. I invited representatives from both sides, and we just simply talked about the entire issue. We did not reach a solution, but we did find some common ground and will continue these discussions. As I have stated in the past, so many times my role is simply connecting dots. Hopefully, this too will come to some sort of resolve.
I attended Eastern Oklahoma State College’s fourteenth annual Sapphire Ball this past weekend. This is an event to raise private funds for scholarships for deserving students. I’m not sure what the final tally on dollars raised is, but I am confident it was significant. Thank you President Wansick and your entire staff for making this important event happen.
As always, thank You for allowing me to serve you. I can be reached at (405) 557-7381 or by email at jim.grego@okhouse.gov.
Jim Grego serves District 17 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. His district includes Latimer County and part and Pittsburg County.
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