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State Capitol, Oklahoma City – A letter to national trial lawyers by State Senator Stratton Taylor, D-Claremore, that advertised Oklahoma as a great place to file lawsuits is a major blow to the state’s job recruitment efforts, Republican legislative leaders said today.

Taylor’s letter received some unwanted national attention in a December 19 editorial in the Wall Street Journal, which was highly critical of Oklahoma’s pro-lawyer tort (lawsuit) system.

State Senator Debbe Leftwich is officially on the job. This afternoon, Leftwich was sworn in as the newest member of the Oklahoma State Senate.

The South Oklahoma City Democrat won the seat in a special election last week, succeeding her husband Keith who lost his battle to cancer in September.

Family members, friends and supporters looked on while State Supreme Court Justice Marian Opala administered the oath of office to Senator Leftwich during a ceremony in the senate chamber.
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State Senator Kathleen Wilcoxson and State Representative Thad Balkman have filed legislation calling for a statewide vote to allow future Oklahoma governors to appoint the state school superintendent. Currently, that position is an elected, statewide office.
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State Capitol, Oklahoma City – Senate Republicans today challenged Governor Brad Henry to stand with the people of Oklahoma against recent liberal court rulings across the nation.

“We would like to know if he agrees with his fellow Democrat, Senator Bernest Cain, who said anyone who opposes the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage is a bigot. Or does the governor agree with the vast majority of Oklahomans that marriage is a sacred institution that should be protected?” said Senate Republican Leader James A. Williamson, R-Tulsa.