Catherine Peters

Catherine Peters earned a high school diploma from Muskogee High School, an associate degree from Oklahoma State University in 1991, an associate degree from Tulsa Community College in 2011, and a bachelor's degree from Rogers State University in 2016. Her career experience includes working as a businesswoman.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a proud and patriotic American in Oklahoma. I’m a lifelong resident of northeastern Oklahoma, who was born and raised to honor and live the Oklahoma Standard. I am also a concerned citizen, who strongly opposes the actions and directions taken by the present majority party controlling our state legislature. I, my neighbors and all Oklahomans are witnessing and experiencing the active destruction of our public education, our constitutional rights, our ability to afford a minimum healthy living standard, destruction of our alliances locally and globally and the extraction and destruction of our planet and climate.

The incumbent is a member of the legislative majority who wholly supports his parties’ actions. As a candidate of the minority party I am running against the detrimental platform and policies the incumbent votes in favor of. Oklahoma needs public servants that will fight to protect democracy and our constitutions, the Oklahoma & United States. I am running to establish universal healthcare, fully funded public education, creating a minimum wage adjustable to inflation, constitutionalize civil rights & human rights, invest in America's green energy infrastructure, change the tax code to benefit the bottom earners first and the top 1% last.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

I am running to protect and restore public education and Oklahoma's educational standing in the nation. The Declaration of Independence describes three unalienable rights that governments are created to protect; life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness. We, as a state, will not prosper if our posterity is unequipped with the knowledge or ability to attain their promised goal. We must make our state government invest our tax dollars into the constitutionally guaranteed right to a free public education.Healthcare, like public education, benefits citizens & America's prosperity. It is in the governments best interest to implement a healthcare system that supports: women's reproductive healthcare & family planning, mental healthcare & support, veterans healthcare & services, senior medical services, support for people with disabilities, paid family leave, strong investment in research & development, public health departments, lower prescription costs,

& eliminate insurance companies delegating the services doctors & hospitals provide. Investing in public education will create the doctors, nurses & staff that will, in return, provide the labor force to fulfill America's healthcare needs.Affordability, how can Oklahoman's prosper if our ability to meet basic living expenses keep rising? Giving tax breaks to the wealthy by cutting social services increases pressure on citizens. Our tax dollars pay for public education, hospitals, emergency services, public safety, libraries, water infrastructure & capital improvements. Restricting access to a higher minimum wage helps the wealthy & hurts those who need it the most. By overturning laws that prohibit raising the minimum wage & passing legislation that creates an inflation adjusted minimum wage will lift scores of people out of property & increase revenue that will be invested in the services the citizens need, not into the pockets of the wealthy.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1. Women's reproductive healthcare and constitutional rights. 2. Voting access and civil rights. 3. Climate protection & energy independence. 4. Expanding transportation choices. . . . 1. If we are to prosper as a state & nation, half of the population must be guaranteed constitutional protections from our bodies being legislated as public domain. 2. Women & children must be guaranteed physical and financial equality & equity. 3. We must stop the excessive extraction of resources from the planet and the unmitigated injection of human waste on the planet. Invest in green energy. 4. Invest in & expand transportation options: EV's, passenger rail state/nation wide, encourage and reward use of local mass transit.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Our ancestral women and the women of today who have endured and continue to fight for social equality & social equity. I follow all of their examples, because civilization wouldn't be where we are without women.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, character, intelligence, truthfulness, kindness & compassion

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To be a public servant, to govern for the people, to legislate in the public's best interest & benefit.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I made peoples lives better and happier.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Throwing newspapers, don't remember how long though. It was my first job because there were age limit labor laws prohibiting me from regular jobs.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Being regarded as an equal, valid citizen of American society.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

That the governor accepts the decisions of the legislature and works to advance the needs of the governed above and over the desires of capitalists.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Preventing the privatization of government functions, the implementation of a governing theocracy and stopping climate degradation.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

Historically women are expected to compromise. However, we are at the end of the first quarter of the 21st century and Americans have to fight hard to protect democracy. Honestly, I don't know if compromising has a beneficial use during legislation at this moment.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

To date: Oklahoma Democratic Party, Tulsa County Democratic Party, Oklahoma Democratic Party Veterans Federation, Moms Demand Action Gun Sense

What was the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember?

The assassination of JFK.