Former Tulsa DA Tim Harris running for Congress

From the ORU Oracle:

[ORU] Adjunct professor and alumus Tim Harris running for congress

“I am announcing a congressional candidate,” said former District Attorney Tim Harris April 2017.

Tulsa County saw Harris serve a record setting record 16 years as district attorney, aiming to fight for the rights for victims of crime.

Recently, Congressman Jim Bridenstine has not endorsed Harris’ campaign, but encouraged him to run. Bridenstine is “self-term limited by his own choice” according to Harris. Bridenstine is also in line to be considered for the director of NASA inside the Trump Administration

Harris reports if he gets that appointment there will be a special election called by Gov. Mary Fallin no early than 60 days after Bridenstine vacates the position. On the normal cycle for election the primary is set for June of 2018; however with this change, it could be a special primary set for September and October in 2017.

“That’s why I’m announcing now,” said Harris. “If this is the Lords call, and he has told me to run, God never tells you to do something without equipping you to do it.”

Currently an adjunct professor of law at ORU, Harris, a self proclaim constitutionalist, has had his heart set on justice in the court of law for as long as he can remember.

“I wanted to be a lawyer since I was eight or nine,” said Harris. “Went to college did a couple years, I was visiting my brother in South America and ended up going for eight months. That’s where we did our mission work, it was one of the most amazing trips of a life time.”

After spending time in the mission field, Harris found himself as a construction worker with a dream still inside to become a lawyer. Later he returned to school at the University of Wisconsin to achieve his undergraduate in Behavioral Science and Law.

“My parents came through Tulsa and picked up a brochure on the O.W. Coburn School of Law [ORU’s former law school]. I read that, and started calling around,” said Harris as he was looking to continue on into law school, and encountered ORU in the early stages of the university.

The ORU O.W. Coburn School of Law would attain accreditation while Harris was in attendance, and after successfully passing his Bar examinations, the now Lawyer, from Milwaukee, found himself quickly at the District Attorney office in downtown Tulsa.

“My senior year here I started interning with the district attorneys office, the prosecution bug bit me,” said Harris. “All of a sudden it was like the Tulsa County Courthouse, I can advocate for victims of crime and children. I can move the ball forward at this mission field called the courthouse.”

After serving the people of Tulsa in public service for close to tw0 decades, Harris felt the need step away in the 2014 election.

“In late 2014 the Lord tapped me on the shoulder and said He has another chapter for me. Four different election cycles in four-year terms, I was supposed to be there. This was my mission field.”

In 2013 the Tulsa World released an article entitled ‘Tulsa Count District Attorney Tim Harris will not seek re-election in 2013,’ covering the details of his service through 1998-2014. Although this transition to Steve Kunzweiler the current DA looked like a career retirement, for Harris it was a preparation season for what dreams lay ahead.

“I kept seeking His face what is this new chapter, and the Lord told me to put my team together, so that’s what I am doing,” said Harris. “I see our constitutional rights being eaten away; our religious liberties are being taken away from us. I want to go to Washington for the people of the first district for people of Oklahoma and America to keep our constitutional rights in tact.”

Following years of serving as the first director of Crimes Against Children and being apart of the first specialty child abuse team in Tulsa County history, Harris is passionate to take his ideas to the market for the state.

“Our crime rate is up,” said Harris in response to the 82 reported murders last year inside of Tulsa County, which is an all time high, the former DA feels his duty as a prosecutor affects state value. “We have to have a safe environment to grow our economy but who is going to come to an area where they don’t feel safe?”

In 2013 after his retirement, the Tulsa County honored Harris by renaming the Victim Witness Center after him. In this same center Harris plans to make his official announcement of candidacy on the 8th floor in the Tulsa County Courthouse on April 24. Prior to this public announcement, Harris has already placed everything for his campaign in order, filling for FEC and preparing Facebook and web pages.

“No matter what happens, I’ll never go negative, if I cant win this race in the marketplace of ideas about what I stand for then God’s got a different plan,” said Harris.