Marc Etters, businessman and Norman High School graduate, today announced he will be a candidate for east Norman’s state House District 45.
Etters, a Republican, will file his candidacy Wednesday morning. He said his lifelong roots in Norman make him well suited to represent his community. The former Oklahoma Sooner Rufnek has been married for 17 years to his college sweetheart,
Rachel Etters, and they have three children.
Etters, the son of a single mother, started mowing lawns and throwing the Norman Transcript as a second-grader to help keep food on the table and the lights on. He said his childhood experiences taught him how to overcome challenges.
“When you start working at a young age, you appreciate the value of a dollar, and you understand rolling up your sleeves to solve a crisis. Oklahoma needs a crisis manager and a builder, and I believe my resume is a perfect fit for our state right now,”
Etters said.
“Some have a Chicken Little view of our current state budget crunch, but it isn’t going to get better by blaming others.
“I choose to see the glass half full and believe that our best days are ahead because we’re going to work together to find ways to stretch our funding to accomplish more,” he said.
Etters, who attended OU’s College of Architecture, is a builder and a designer and has worked building mostly facilities for the healthcare and education fields. “During my career, we’ve stretched dollars to deliver projects in the peaks and valleys of
our economy.”
Always an optimist, Etters said he has worked with all kinds of people to accomplish tasks. “I’ve found success by listening to and involving all groups that will use a building project, including administrators, teachers, parents, students, as well as
physicians, clinical directors, nurses and support staff.
“Through shared stories and working together, we’ve created great looking, functional and durable spaces that last a long time and have a quicker return on investment,” Etters said.
Raised near the OU campus, Etters graduated with a bachelor’s degree in environmental design and a master’s degree in construction science. Sons Jack, 15, Peyton, 13, and daughter, Lily, 10, attend Norman Public Schools. Etters has been a youth coach for all three children in a variety of sports. He has been a Sunday School teacher at Crosspointe Church of Norman. He also is a board member of Cornerstone Kids Ranch.
