Sen. Tom Ivester announces 2014 legislative session will be his last

Senate Caucus Chair Tom Ivester announced Thursday that he has decided not to seek another term in the Oklahoma State Senate. Sen. Ivester, D-Sayre, issued the following comments on his decision:

My wife and I have decided that it is time to pass the torch off to someone else to serve the people of Senate District 26. After prayerful consideration over the holidays we made the decision that I will not run for reelection. My time in the Oklahoma State Senate has been a tremendous experience. It is an honor to represent the great people of southwest Oklahoma.

Personally, I want to spend more time with my family. It is difficult to be away from home four months each year during the legislative session. More importantly, my wife and I feel that God is calling us in a different direction at this time in our lives.

I want to thank all those who have supported our efforts to improve the state. In the tradition of Cincinnatus, my service is done and I am going home.

Sen. Ivester has served in the State Senate since 2006 when he won the seat which had been held by term-limited Democrat Gilmer Capps. Ivester went unchallenged in his re-election bid for the seat in 2010. He has served as Democratic Caucus Chair since 2011. He is an attorney in his hometown of Sayre, OK, where he lives with his wife and three young children. Ivester works with his uncle in the same small-town law practice that his grandfather started in 1927. He serves as a Lt. Col. in the Oklahoma Army National Guard.