Young faces challenger in NE OKC primary

Running what is likely his last campaign, state Sen. George Young said residents of his northeast Oklahoma City district seem to be more pessimistic about politics than eight years ago when he first ran for office.

There is often an ideological divide between this heavily Democratic district and the state Legislature, which is dominated by Republicans.

But Young’s message to his constituents is to not get too discouraged.

“I tell (my constituents) that If you just stop for a minute and take a look at how far we have come, particularly for my community ... there is some hope,” said Young, D-Oklahoma City.

“In this (job), you can still make a difference.”

Before you vote: Oklahoma primary election 2022: Everything you need to know about early voting.

First elected to the state House in 2014, and then the state Senate in 2018, Young has grown accustomed to being a part of the minority party and finding ways to make an impact beyond votes on bills.

But in Tuesday’s primary election in Senate District 48, Young, 67, faces a challenger 37 years his junior who believes a senator from one of the most Democratic districts can get more done.

“We have to have someone who can write bills that have a chance of passing,” said Rico Smith, 30, a native of Spencer who has studied political science at the University of Oklahoma and George Washington University.

Smith said he believes a senator can use their platform to advocate for initiative petitions that have a better chance at advancing progressive policies, such as increasing the minimum wage. But when it comes to writing bills, he plans to focus on expanding the state’s quality jobs program to small businesses and work on criminal justice reform policies that provided better support for people at risk of ending up in the state prison system.

“We are faced with a Republican super majority, and a lot of people like to think that we can’t pass bills, but I think we can,” Smith said.

Young acknowledges the challenge in getting bills passed but said his impact is felt beyond votes on the Senate floor.

Remarking on some of his accomplishments, Young said he was able to get the state to put up a sign on Interstate 35 to honor A.C. Hamlin, the state’s first Black legislator, and helped coordinate one of the state’s largest COVID testing sites in his district.

But even when his vote can’t stop a bill his district opposes, Young still speaks his mind.

“I think I'm strong enough to be able to stand up for my community and for my constituents to say, ‘Listen, this is what I'm hearing, this is what we believe,’” Young said.

Given another four years, which would bring him to term limits, Young said he wants to get more involved in economic development, especially in a way that ensures growth in his community isn’t forcing residents out.

“You can't stop progress, but you can shape it,” Young said.

Before his time in the state Legislature, Young worked for more than 30 years as a pastor. Last year he came out of retirement to fill in as an interim pastor at Greater Mt. Carmel Baptist Church.

Smith is the owner of a candle company and has been active in community organizing, including a recent effort to change the way legislative districts are drawn in Oklahoma.

Young has raised twice as much money as Smith — $40,000 to Smith’s $17,500 through June 13, according to state finance reports.

“Challenging an incumbent is not the easiest thing to do,” Smith said. “But I feel like we’ve done what we need to with the election coming up.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: George Young faces Rico Smith in Oklahoma Senate primary