Senate Honors Capps for Service

The State Senate honored one of its own Tuesday. Senator Gilmer Capps was recognized by his colleagues for his 36 years of service in the distinguished body. The Snyder Democrat is leaving office this year due to term limits.

Elected to the Senate in 1970, Capps served as Majority Whip from 1987 to 2001. He was then appointed as Assistant Majority Leader during the 2001 Legislative Session. Senate Resolution 104 lauded Capps as being the “ultimate frontiersman of the Senate both in respect to space, the final frontier, and the wind swept plains of western Oklahoma. Neither his vision nor his legislative agenda have been limited by the boundaries of his district, his state or the cosmos.”

Senate President Pro Tem Mike Morgan acknowledged the loss of the Senate’s last dean, the person with the most years of service due to term limits, before presenting Capps with his microphone.

“You are the last dean of the Senate. There’ll be no more with term limits. You are something that none of us will ever have the opportunity to be.” Morgan said. “When we talk about the loss of institutional memory, you epitomize that and it will be our loss. You will be greatly missed.”

In addition to serving in leadership roles within the legislature, Sen. Capps has authored many pieces of groundbreaking legislation over the years. Besides being an unwavering supporter of agriculture in the state, he played a significant role in the creation of the Oklahoma Spaceport and authored legislation to create the Oklahoma Nanotechnology Initiative. Through his years of service, he has worked tirelessly for the people of western Oklahoma. He stopped a hazardous waste site from being established in that part of the state, authored legislation that limits spacing on deep gas wells to no more than 640 acres and assisted in obtaining funding for several major state highways and six new county health department buildings in his district.

"It has been my greatest privilege and honor to serve in the Senate and to represent the wonderful people of Senate District 26," said Capps. “I’m going to miss you. I would serve for nothing if I could continue to serve. But I’ve enjoyed it and I thank all of you.”

Over the years, Capps has received numerous awards including the Hall of Fame Award in 1997 from the Oklahoma Association Conservation District, an award given to champions of land, water and wildlife conservation. That same year, he was honored to be the first Oklahoman chosen to serve in the prestigious position of Chairman of the 16-state Southern Legislative Conference. In 2002, Capps received the American Space Legislator of the Year Award for his support of the commercial space industry in Oklahoma.

Capps is a third generation farmer and rancher who raises Black Angus cattle, cotton, wheat, and alfalfa hay on land that was homesteaded by his grandparents in 1902. He is a past president of the Chamber of Commerce as well as a past member of the Agriculture Committee for the Oklahoma Bankers Association. Currently, Capps is a Mason, a Rotarian and serves as member of the Soil Conservation Society of America. He is also listed in Who's Who in American Politics. But as he and his wife, Wanda, noted the true love of their hearts is their outstanding children and grandchildren.

Capps was joined by his children Gilmer J. and Cynda Ottaway along with their families. Capps’ granddaughter, Brielle, 15, opened the special ceremony by singing the national anthem – something she has done at numerous venues across the state including many major sporting events and festivals. A number of friends and other special guests also attended the event including George French, the president of Rocketplane, Inc. and other space industry officials from the U.S. as well as Japan.