Republicans Tania Garza and Beverly Atteberry are looking to flip House District 71 in an upcoming special election to replace former Democratic Rep. Amanda Swope, who resigned for employment with the City of Tulsa. But before either candidate can face the Democratic nominee Amanda Clinton, they have to win majority support from HD 71 GOP voters on May 13.
Running along the east bank of the Arkansas River in south-central Tulsa, HD 71 is a Democratic-leaning district, and whichever Republican wins the nomination will likely have to win over some Democratic voters to successfully flip what was once a Republican stronghold — especially during a special election.
Asked why Republican voters in HD 71 should support her campaign over Atteberry’s, Garza said she is a more electable candidate but still has values in line with the Republican Party.
“I am an electable candidate,” Garza said. “I was raised with very traditional family values. We all sat down for dinner together because it was a priority.”
Asked how she planned to appeal to Democratic voters in the general election, Garza pushed back on the notion HD 71 is a strong Democratic seat and said the district was more “for change” than for either party.
“You can see me and tell that I am different from your past Republican Party,” Garza said. “The truth is, the district isn’t just Democratic or progressive — it’s ready for change. It’s one of the largest minority-majority districts in the state, and for me, this isn’t just a campaign — it’s personal. It’s the embodiment of my story growing up in a mixed-immigration status family, Spanish as my first language, watching my dad work hard and my mom encouraging us to take every opportunity because nothing is handed to you.”
Atteberry said her experience living in the district since 1993 makes her the best candidate to represent the district.
“I’ve seen the ups and downs of our district and I understand it,” Atteberry said. “Tania, who is in the runoff, she’s been here six or seven years I believe. I’m not sure exactly but I know less than 10. I think that I provide a more historical (view of) where we’ve been, where we’re at and where we need to be in the future. Where, when you move into an area, all you’re seeing is where we’re at now. Because where we’re at now, other than the COVID years, to a certain extent within the district is about where we were at when Tania probably moved here.”
Attebery said her work in the community through the Church of St. Mary’s and as an attorney for the Tulsa Expungement Expo would help her appeal to Democratic voters in the general election.
“A lot of the issues and problems within our district I don’t think are necessarily Republican or Democrat, as much as, ‘Hey, this is an issue,'” Atteberry said.
Both candidates are campaigning in the runoff, although Atteberry appears to lack a website and has not registered a candidate committee. Garza, who does have a website, has raised more than $4,000 for her campaign and had $2,000 cash-on-hand on April 28. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, raised $20,000 between March 18 and April 28 to end the period with more than $11,000 cash-on-hand.
Early voting will take place at the Tulsa County Election Board headquarters at 555 N. Denver Ave. on May 8 and 9. The runoff is scheduled for May 13 with the general election set for June 10.
HD 71 Republican candidates talk education, economics, infrastructure
Garza said her top three priorities are the economy, a skilled and health workforce, and infrastructure.
“The biggest table topic that I constantly hear about is these roads. It’s the highways, it’s the construction,” Garza said. “Non-table topic, that tends to be more on the business side, is just like, ‘What is going to happen to our power lines when the summer comes with the (new) data centers? I don’t want to have a blackout.'”
She worries that the increased prevalence of AI, and its associated energy usage, may require additional investment in Oklahoma’s energy infrastructure.
“AI is going to be our companion for a lot of things, and so, when you take a look at how much energy that takes and how everyone is moving towards it, it’s just like, ‘OK, so this is a trend and this is happening,'” Garza said. “Where do we need guardrails?”
Asked about policy she would support, Garza said she would like to see the limit for on-site poultry production in Oklahoma increased from 10,000 chickens to 20,000 chickens to help alleviate rising egg and poultry prices.
“Right now, farmers have a 10,000 limit on poultry products per year (under state law) and the federal government has a guideline of 20,000,” Garza said. “Our state is one of the only ones in the nation that has this limit that prevents big farmers from producing more poultry.”
Since a 1968 amendment, the federal Poultry Products Inspection Act of 1957 has limited the number of chickens which may be slaughtered on-site without an inspector being present at a poultry farm to a maximum of 20,000 chickens annually. Oklahoma is the only state in the country with a 10,000 chicken limit, according to a map produced by the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund. One state has a 5,000 chicken limit, and eight states, including neighboring Texas, have a much lower 1,000 chicken limit. The other 40 states use the 20,000 limit from federal law.
Atteberry said her main priorities are the economy, strong public schools and infrastructure.
“You have got to have a good solid school base to help with your economics because employers (are) saying, ‘Hey, they have got to be able to read and write and do the math,’ and all those fun things we learned in school,” Atteberry said. “Economics, education and of course — like everything in Oklahoma — it’s all about roads. Whether it’s your city roads, your highway roads, (or) your county roads.”
Asked about legislation she would support, Atteberry proposed increasing the exposure of children in public schools to careers by having middle school students take field trips to visit professionals and allowing high school students to intern with businesses as part of their class schedule. She also said 3-year-old preschool should be provided throughout the state.
“In junior high, you start touring — hey, you go see an architects office, you go see a builder’s office, you go see the vet, you go see the plumber, you see the electrician,” Atteberry. “When they are in high school, start doing internships.”
She argued her work as a criminal defense attorney has given her insight into the importance of public education. She said she has advocated for longer school days and more school days during the year.
“The majority of my clients who commit crimes, they don’t have a high school education. Ninth and 10th grade and then they’re done, for whatever reason,” Atteberry said. “The city (and) the state did not do their jobs in making sure they were able to be in school.”
An attorney from Blackwell, an analyst from Texas
Atteberry was born in Blackwell, where her parents owned a custom harvesting business. She graduated from Blackwell High School in 1985.
“Our summers we spent traveling and working, and my dad owned combines and stuff,” Atteberry said. “We went from the Texas wheat harvest to clear up into Canada for the wheat harvest and then back down to Texas for the corn harvest every year until I was about 11.”
She then earned an associate degree from St. Gregory’s University in 1987 and a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1989 before moving to Tulsa to attend the University of Tulsa College of Law, earning a law degree in 1992. While in law school, she interned for the Tulsa County Public Defender’s Office, and in 1997 she entered private practice with her own firm.
“I moved into my house in 1993 there in the Brookside District, which is District 71,” Atteberry said. “I’ve seen the ups and downs of everything within the district.”
Atteberry ran for HD 71 in 2018 and 2020 and advanced to the Republican runoff in both elections, but she has yet to secure the party’s nomination for the general election
Garza is from Eagle Pass, Texas, and grew up in a “mixed-immigration status family.” She attended Texas Women’s University before moving to Tulsa in 2013. Garza worked for HUB International for about a decade as a portfolio manager for homes worth $2 million or more, and she now works for Tulsa Remote, a program which helps professionals relocate to the city.
“Being bilingual has taught me to constantly build bridges. I have to stop and ask you what you mean, what shaped that idea — because one word can be defined in so many ways,” Garza said. “I believe this district is looking for leadership rooted in that lived experience — and that’s what I bring.”
She also did “a six-week policy course” matched with an advocacy group and legislator where she worked with Mayor Monroe Nichols.
“My focus was in outcome-based financing, and I wrote specifically for workforce development,” Garza said. “I actually landed with the now-Mayor Monroe Nichols back when he was Rep. Monroe Nichols.”
