The McCarville Report presents the 2018 Primary Primer series. These features will take a look at the nomination races for the statewide elected seats. We are taking an excerpt from each candidate’s website (or social media account/public statements if they don’t have a website) and adding a link back to the candidate’s page. The candidates appear in the order they are listed on the Oklahoma State Election Board’s List of Elections.
Remember to vote in the June 26, 2018 Oklahoma primary elections.
Leslie Osborn
Rep. Leslie Osborn is a businesswoman and was the first Republican female House Appropriations and Budget Committee chair. She has also received several Legislator of the Year awards from various associations. Training and education are priorities for Osborn if she’s the next Labor Commissioner.
A vision for Oklahoma’s future.
“In my view, it starts with a trained and educated workforce,” Leslie says of her aim to ensure safe workplaces and strong companies.
“That said, I have opened a conversation with the citizens of Oklahoma to discuss their aspirations and ideas. I love this state, and I want to be part of a state government that serves its people by putting their interests above all else.”
Leslie, who graduated from Oklahoma State University with a degree in business, says she is a firm believer that moving forward will take a village of citizen-advocates and elected statesmen.
“We have serious problems in Oklahoma, but with leaders who put people over politics, I am convinced we can solve them.”
Keith Swinton
(Editor’s Note: It appears that Keith Swinton does not have a website and only a personal social media account. If you know of a website or public social media page for Mr. Swinton, please let us know by emailing McCarvilleReport@gmail.com)
Keith Swinton is a Norman resident. He is a businessman and inventor. He participated in NonDoc’s Republican Labor Commissioner Debate. In the publication’s story covering the debate, NonDoc’s Ben White in GOP labor candidates talk jobs, mental illness, mistrust on June 7, 2018, quoted Swinton on his experience as an employer and employee to take on the job.
“The number one goal for the commissioner should be to make [the department] accessible to the people who are working in that type of environment to be able to have some type of influence on their management team,” Swinton said.
As commissioner of labor, Swinton said he would ensure individuals with relevant knowledge would write the rules and regulations that govern industries.
“When you have people who are not qualified to do a job, you should not have them regulating it,” Swinton said.
Swinton was hesitant to suggest sweeping policy changes at the Oklahoma Department of Labor. Instead, he advocated for more efforts to enforce regulations that already exist before introducing new measures.
“Everyone seems to be talking over someone else and speaking on something they don’t really understand,” Swinton said. “That fosters mistrust.”
Cathy Costello
Cathy Costello is the widow of Labor Commissioner Mark Costello. She also is a businesswoman and a former teacher. Costello has become an outspoken advocate for mental health issues and she believes mental health is a major component of workplace safety. She has advocated for that issue on the state and national level.
Besides her national profile, Cathy has addressed thousands of Oklahomans at universities, hospitals, nursing schools, police departments, educators, counselors, doctors and multiple civic groups. Cathy has found a deep common concern among Oklahoma families and businesses – the struggle those who suffer with mental illness and substance abuse encounter daily to stay employed. By invitation, she will be addressing the New Jersey legislature in October ‘17 to present these challenges and her legislative reforms.
Cathy is an advisory board member for the Mental Health Association of Oklahoma; member of NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness); State Planning and Advisory Council Member to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse; National Council for Behavioral Health, Oklahoma Behavioral Health Association board member and a committee member for National Catholic Charities Partnership on Disabilities. Cathy has received the Dr. Krishna “Lifting the Stigma” award as well as the “A.C.C.E.S.S. Award” presented by the Oklahoma Council for Exceptional Children and OK-AHEAD.
