In one of Oklahoma’s few Democrat-represented legislative districts, House District 85 incumbent Rep. Cyndi Munson is looking to retain her seat against David Hooten, a prominent trumpeter and meat sauce manufacturer who resigned his last elected office amid a workplace misconduct inquiry and the release of an audio recording in which Hooten claimed he was “genetically altered” to be impervious to alcohol.
Munson (D-OKC) has held the HD 85 seat since 2015, when she prevailed in a special election after the death of then-incumbent Republican David Dank. She became House minority leader ahead of the 2023 session and could serve through 2028.
Hooten is seeking a return to public office for the first time since 2022 when he resigned as Oklahoma County clerk after multiple accusations of sexual harassment and workplace misconduct, including the conversation recorded and released by employees whom he had pitched a bizarre team-building exercise.
“There will be alcohol involved, meaning we will drink. We will do things. We will gamble. We will do a bunch of things. Some will be fun, some will be scary, but the whole point is it’s going to take us out of your comfort level and at the end you’ll have felt like you endured something,” Hooten said in the recording. “And just so you all know, I’ve been genetically altered so I don’t get drunk no matter what. They gave me a chemical that changes your brain, because I travel in Europe, and so it actually won’t have an effect on me. But hopefully it has an effect on you all.”
NonDoc contacted both candidates to discuss their backgrounds, campaigns and policy positions, but Hooten did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.
HD 85 covers parts of Nichols Hills, Warr Acres, The Village and portions of OKC around the shores of Lake Hefner. It stretches southeast to encompass an area south of Interstate 44 and west of Interstate 235.
Munson: Public education top priority for HD 85 voters
Like several of her fellow Democrats campaigning in other legislative races, Munson said the “No. 1 thing” she hears when knocking voters’ doors is a desire for the Oklahoma Legislature to rein in State Superintendent for Public Instruction Ryan Walters. Elected in 2022, Walters has become a lightning rod for controversies and lawsuits during a tenure that bipartisan critics have argued is being used as a platform for “political theatrics” to campaign for higher office.
“I spend most of my time talking to registered Republicans and independents, partly because that is a majority of who’s registered in my district, and they are tired of having leadership at the highest level in state government not focused on their needs,” Munson said.
Munson, 38, said voters in HD 85 consistently highlight public education as one of their primary concerns. To that end, Munson said she has regularly supported increased budget appropriations for public schools. While major public education investments have occurred under Republican leadership in 2018, 2019 and 2023, Munson said some of these effort have been undercut by programs — such as tax credits for private school and homeschool families — championed by Republican officials.
“We’ve also fought incredibly hard to, again, keep public dollars in public schools,” Munson said. “We haven’t been able to accomplish that perfectly, because the Republicans have found ways to get public tax dollars to private schools, but we have been the steady, vocal voice that has stood up for our public education system.”
During her time in office, Munson has helped craft legislation requiring public schools to track and report homelessness among students. She co-authored a separate bill creating scholarship opportunities for students with learning disabilities.
Alongside House Speaker-designee Rep. Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow), Munson said she supported legislation designating funds for deferred maintenance at RUSO system schools, including the University of Central Oklahoma where Munson studied.
“We’re trying to address the items that are not always so ‘sexy’ when it comes to HVAC systems in buildings, because we know and understand that when we invest in infrastructure for our higher education institutions, we’re able to expand programs and get students into those programs so we can build up and prepare our workforce for the future,” Munson said.
Munson said she already has a positive working relationship with Hilbert, a factor that would make her a more effective legislator than her opponent. Hilbert is positioned to assume the role of speaker of the House for the 2025 legislative session, which is set to begin Feb. 3.
“We’ll work together on a more balanced approach when it comes to policies, or at least that’s my hope,” Munson said. “That he’ll use his leadership skills to really shut down some of the more extreme rhetoric and extreme ideas that come out of the Republican Caucus and that he’ll look to the Democratic caucus to find ways to work together.”
Hooten looks to overcome past controversy
Known as “Rootin’ tootin'” David Hooten for his trumpet playing and his 20-album music career, Hooten was born in Italy and operated Italian restaurants in Duncan and Oklahoma City. He still sells a meat sauce online with the slogan, “Italy is jealous!”
After resigning as county clerk in 2022, Hooten traveled to Italy for a family cruise but was quarantined by Italian officials after testing positive for COVID-19. He posted about the experience multiple times on Facebook.
“No cruise, no freedom, no food or water for eight hours. I’m in a six by twelve room with the door locked and no idea where I am,” Hooten said. “This is not America!!! I was born in Italy because my [Father] was a pilot in WW II. They see me not as an American Citizen but as an Italian native. Fight for freedom, because you never know when it will be taken away!!!”
Hooten, 61, first ran for office in 2014 but fell short in an unsuccessful campaign for Senate District 40. Hooten was elected Oklahoma County clerk in 2016 and reelected to the same position in 2020. In 2022, he had filed to run for state treasurer when the unusual recording was released and accusations surfaced about his conduct with employees. He received 17.62 percent of the Republican primary vote and failed to make the runoff.
On Hooten’s campaign website, which prominently features photos of the candidate toting the trumpet that appears in his logo, he also expresses support for greater public education funding. He advocates for “improved classroom discipline and reduced administrative burdens” while supporting fine arts education for “nurturing creativity and critical thinking skills.”
Hooten’s website further emphasizes his work in “modernizing” the county clerk’s office during his tenure.
“David’s new website allowed citizens to purchase and print official records online, without having to come downtown to the County Courthouse. Not to mention, he equipped the website to operate in three different languages and enact voice commands for people who may be blind or otherwise unable to use the system,” Hooten’s website reads. “To combat fraud, property owners can now sign up for automatic notification of legal filings made in their name. Always advocating for transparency, David created a YouTube channel that live-streamed all public meetings and archives recordings for anytime playback.”
Hooten’s hopes for office hinge on whether voters are more inspired by his “Hooten for the House” campaign jingle and the pro-business, pro-law enforcement ideals enumerated on his campaign website than they are dissuaded by his prior bizarre behavior, which reached a crescendo in 2022. Episodes of his county clerk tenure range from a relatively harmless — if strange — request for tens of millions of public dollars toward a dog-training facility linked to former OU football coach Barry Switzer to Hooten allegedly asking a female employee, “How many times do you think I can make you [orgasm] before we get back to the office?”
As outlined in an Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office investigative report, former county clerk’s office employee C.J. Cavin also alleged Hooten would ask him to work on Hooten’s county clerk reelection campaign while being paid by the county, an action that would have constituted a violation of Oklahoma law.
In an interview with Brianna Garcia of Oklahoma City Free Press, Hooten said the 2022 allegations against him were lies created by disgruntled employees and the media.
“Anybody who thinks that for whatever reason, because of whatever they’ve heard, thinks that I’m not worthy of being in office, then don’t vote for me…,” Hooten said. “I did a good job, a great job, as county clerk, and whomever would like to vote for me, will vote for me.”
Munson, meanwhile, said her opponent’s past controversies are damning indictments of his fitness for elected office.
“First and foremost, I think of the victims of his harassment — I’m so sorry to them that they had to endure that type of behavior from not only an elected official but someone that they should be able to trust as a supervisor, as a boss and leader in the county clerk’s office,” Munson said. “In terms of him deciding to run for office, it’s unfortunate that he would put himself on the ballot, because he clearly is unfit to be in public office.”
Hooten spoke to NonDoc in 2022, defending the audio recording of his controversial conversation with employees. He claimed his team-building exercise was intended to address office culture issues.
“Ultimately, I am doing everything I can to save these people’s jobs,” Hooten said at the time. “They cannot fight with each other or not trust me and work for me. They don’t take direction. They won’t show up to work. They literally have their own hours, and that is an issue with me.”
Despite the saga, Hooten is still appearing with former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich in a national TV campaign for Home Title Lock that lists him as “county clerk.”
Munson backs abortion vote
During the 2023 legislative session, Munson introduced House Joint Resolution 1044, an effort to put abortion access to a vote of the people as other states have done after the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson.
Should she be reelected, Munson said she will continue advocating for a statewide vote on abortion access.
“I would hope that the Legislature would hear the call of a majority of Oklahomans who have said our abortion ban is too extreme and look at ways to overturn our abortion ban. I don’t have a ton of hope, because I think the people who put it into law are not going to be quick to undo it and say that they were wrong on the issue,” Munson said. “I also believe that if we don’t get it done through the Legislature, Oklahomans will work to find ways to get it on the ballot and allow them to have a say.”
Among other public health legislation she has worked on, Munson cited House Bill 2748. Signed into law this year, the legislation prevents health care providers from requiring “step therapy” for clients experience metastatic cancer and “associated conditions.” Step therapy is a practice where insurers bar coverage for more expensive or advanced recommended medications until patients have tried less expensive options first. This could occur even if a patient’s medical provider initially recommended a medication the insurance company considers “non-preferred.”
Munson was also the primary House author of 2019’s SB 509, which required insurers to provide an exception to the step therapy process for all medications.
“Many were being denied access to those therapies and medications because their insurance wouldn’t cover it,” Munson said. “Now, that insurance company has to provide peer-reviewed research proving that that medication wouldn’t help a particular illness.”
The HD 85 race will be on the ballot Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. Early voting runs from Wednesday, Oct. 30 through Saturday, Nov. 2. Voters in Oklahoma County can vote early at the Oklahoma County Election Board office, 4201 N. Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, or in Edmond’s Mitch Park Multi-Activity Center, 2733 Marilyn Williams Dr.
Hear the ‘Hooten for the House’ campaign jingle
(Update: This article was updated at 12:16 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31, to include additional information and correct a candidate’s age.)
