Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Enoch Kelly Haney, Seminole Chief, Oklahoma politician, sculptor

Enoch Kelly Haney, born November 12, 1940 in Seminole, Oklahoma, served as the principal chief of the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma, and served in both houses of the Oklahoma Legislature.    He was also an artist and his creation The Guardian is the bronze statue that sits atop the Oklahoma State Capitol. 

He graduated from Prairie Valley High School in Earlsboro, Oklahoma, and earned an Associate of Arts degree from Bacone College in Muskogee.  He obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Oklahoma City University and served in the Oklahoma National Guard.

He was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1980 to 1986 and then was elected to the Oklahoma Senate from 1986 to 2002.  He went on to be the Chief of the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma from 2002 to 2005.  

He passed away in April 2022.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Michael Brooks-Jimenez, member of Oklahoma Senate

Although not the first Hispanic elected to the Oklahoma Senate, Michael Brooks-Jimenez is helping change the face of Oklahoma politics.  A lawyer and a Democrat, he was elected in a 2017 special election to fill the seat vacated by Ralph Shortey, a Republican who resigned after being charged with soliciting prostitution from a male minor.  He represents the 44th district, which covers parts of southern Oklahoma City.

He is the only Latino member of the Senate and one of only three in the Legislature.  

Celebrating Pride Month - Al McAffrey, first gay person elected to Oklahoma Legislature

Al McAffrey, born in Konawa, Oklahoma and raised in Sulfur, is the first openly gay person to be elected to the Oklahoma Legislature.  He served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing District 88 (Oklahoma City), after winning the 2006 election.  He served three consecutive terms.

When Senator Andrew Rice announced he would resign from the Oklahoma Senate in January 2012, McAffrey announced his candidacy for the seat and won the special election. 

He has made two bids for the US House of Representatives, but has not been successful.