The Republican runoff for Oklahoma House District 60 features Mike Kelley, a former firefighter who hopes to use his experience and contacts to better the district, and Ron Lynch, a small business owner who thinks the government could learn something from his popcorn shop.
In the four-candidate June primary, Kelley received 41.7 percent of the GOP vote to 21.8 percent for Lynch. Toni Pratt Reid finished with 18.4 percent, while Jason Warner received 17.9 percent support.
House Common Education Committee Chairwoman Rhonda Baker (R-Yukon) declined to run for reelection in HD 60, which runs from the eastern half of El Reno to the north side of Yukon and parts of southwest Oklahoma City. Baker recently took a job working on education policy for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce.
No Democrat filed to run in the Canadian County district, so the winner of the runoff between Kelley and Lynch will become the district’s new representative for 2025.
Why they’re running
Kelley, 62, never thought of himself as someone who might run for public office. In his career, Kelley has served with the OKC Fire Department and worked as the executive director of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association.
“It’s something I said I would never do,” Kelley said in a phone interview. “I have been advocating for public safety for a couple of decades now, and I have gotten to know some legislators. When Rhonda decided not to file, I asked someone in the know who was going to run, and they turned around and asked me if I might be interested. I went home and prayed with my wife about it. I still never really thought I would do it, but a few days later I got a call from the leadership of the Veteran’s Caucus asking me to run. And I have no regrets. It’s been a good experience. Right now it’s God’s race. It’s in his hands. That’s the way I live my life.”
For Lynch, 60, his conservative beliefs and experience as a small business owner got him interested in representing the Canadian County district. Lynch owns a popular popcorn and candy shop, as well as another company that makes fudge.
“We need more people with common sense in state government,” Lynch wrote by email. “I’m a conservative, and I’m also a small business owner. We need more of that real-world, small-business mentality at the State Capitol, people who will fight against tax-and-spend policies that make inflation worse and that hurt families.”
Both candidates believe their professional experience would be an asset to them in the House. For Lynch, that includes making hard decisions as a business owner.
“People who have to meet a payroll see how government could operate more efficiently with taxpayer dollars,” he wrote. “Before the small business owner gets paid, he has to pay his employees and his vendors. He has to make sure his customers feel they were served well. He has to pay the rent, the electric bill, the water bill. He has to decide what matters most and what is not essential. He has to allocate resources to where they are most needed. He can’t afford much waste. More people with this type of experience being in the state Legislature would provide a better balance to the tax consumers who just want to spend, spend, spend.”
For Kelley, he said working within an organizational structure commonly found in public safety — while also developing professional relationships — has been a benefit to him.
“It’s prepared me, and one of the ways it’s done is that I’m used to being the guy or part of a team when someone calls 911 with a medical emergency or a fire and we as a team showed up and mitigated that and didn’t leave until it was finished,” he said. “There is a lot of thinking outside the box in the job, and every emergency is different. That’s what I loved about the job. No two days were exactly the same. That kind of problem-solving is something I like. And it also requires sacrifice. You give up a lot of weekends, special occasions, and holidays for the job. It’s hard work, but it’s rewarding. I also think my experience as a CEO with the association the last 15 years has shown me that side of it.”
What’s on the menu if elected
If he wins the runoff, Kelley said his priorities would mostly be dictated by what his constituents think.
“Coming from a background looking at public safety issues would be one, but more importantly for me, it’s where my constituents direct me. If I accomplish nothing more than more transparency and improving efficiency, then that’s a win,” Kelley said. “I’m big on bucking the status quo. Just because it’s always done one way doesn’t mean there isn’t a better or more efficient way. I’ve seen some inefficiencies in government first hand, and I think we owe it to our constituents to make sure we’re spending responsibly and to show where we’re spending it.”
Lynch said cutting taxes would be among his top priorities while also streamlining when people vote on school board elections.
“We need to continue to cut taxes for working families,” Lynch wrote. “It’s the best inflation relief we can provide at the state level. We also need to move all school board elections to November, when people are used to voting so that candidates will receive more scrutiny. We also need to protect the integrity of our elections in Oklahoma; for example, we should not adopt any form of ranked-choice voting.”
Priorities outlined in House District 60 runoff
As the House District 60 runoff approaches Aug. 27, Lynch said the district could be best helped by continuing to reign in public spending.
“Canadian County is full of hardworking people pursuing the American dream for their families,” he wrote. “These people are the backbone of our state, and their concerns need to be taken seriously at the State Capitol. Many parents in our community feel like their concerns about our local schools are not taken seriously. Also, these people are taxpayers, and they see ever-growing spending by state and local government and know this is why taxes in Oklahoma can’t be cut further.”
Kelley said HD 60 is one of the fastest-growing areas of the state, but he said it is lagging behind when it comes to infrastructure.
“Canadian County’s growth has been huge, and there are some infrastructure issues with roads,” he said. “I think we need to find the best ways to incentivize businesses. Some of the district is rural and includes farmland that has been farmed for generations, so it’s sort of a unique district in that you have the suburbs and farming going on as well with each having their own unique needs.”
