State Senate Candidates Answer Tough Questions At BA Forum

Oklahoma state senate district 25 and 33 candidates faced tough questions Thursday night at the Broken Arrow's Chamber of Commerce Q&A session.

The number of audience members wasn’t huge, but their concerns were. They wanted answers about education and the state budget.

Just days before the statewide primary election for district 25 and district 33, state senate candidates met with their constituents; Tim and Krista McCartney were two of them.

"I love hearing the candidates speak tonight. I appreciate they were so forthcoming in their views and in their passion for the subject matter," Krista said.

The district Q&A session included two one-hour sessions; an audience member would read or ask a question and all the candidates would answer.

Some questions centered on improving the budget. One candidate suggested working to bring in new businesses for more taxes. Another suggested legalizing marijuana to cut down on the small offender prison population.

“The budget is easily solved by other means. They don't need to get rid of these extra programs for IEPs, or music or for anything else," Tim McCartney said.

But, the most important questions of the night centered on education.

Krista McCartney said, "Oklahoma is already sorely lacking in resources. The students who are on IEPs, I don't want them to be forgotten about. I want my son, who is on an IEP, to have the same opportunities as anyone else's child in Oklahoma."

All of the candidates agreed that more needs to be done to improve the state of education.

One recommended taking funds from a program that gives incentives to businesses and, instead, give it to education.

The primary election is Tuesday, but early voting is open until Saturday.