Randy Talley announces candidacy for HD56

Randy Talley announces campaign for Oklahoma House District 56

CHICKASHA – Communications leader and business advocate Randy Talley has announced his campaign for the Oklahoma House of Representatives, seeking to represent District 56 in Southwest Oklahoma.

With 38 years in professional communications, working as a leader in community development, education and charity, Talley has accepted the challenge to run for state office.

“I am committed to building responsible, sustainable government,” Talley said. “We Oklahomans live in the most prosperous time in history, in a strong economy with great potential for growth. If we can’t get this right … if we can’t manage our success … if we can’t build a path to excellence for our children, there’s something wrong.”

First- and Second-Amendment issues are top priorities in Talley’s campaign. “The Bill of Rights is really nothing more than a catalog of individual rights,” Talley said. “Every Amendment constrains government.”

The right to life for unborn persons is another inalienable right, according to Talley. “Every person living – including those not yet born – is a creation of God. In 50 years, people will be asking, ‘given scientific progress, how is it possible that you believed abortion was a moral choice?’”

Education funding and reform are important issues in Oklahoma, says Talley, who served on a local education task force last year. “I see first-hand the burdens that our teachers face. We need solutions that set Oklahoma schools and kids on a path to success.”

Military and law enforcement deserve more respect than they get, Talley says. “We are a nation of laws, and unless we vote for anarchy, we need to support and protect our military and first responders. I promise to support all those who serve honorably and I will work strongly against sanctuary city policies in Oklahoma.”

Long active in pro-business activities, Talley helped to establish the Chickasha Chamber Civic Hall of Fame. Currently he is employed as senior vice president for communications at First National Bank & Trust Co. in Chickasha.

Talley and his family enjoy volunteering for The Salvation Army of Grady and Caddo Counties, where he serves as chairman of the advisory board. He’s a deacon at his church and is active in poverty solutions in Grady County.

“My faith in Christ informs my politics,” Talley said. “Everyone has faith; we all believe in something that frames our worldview, even if it’s the goodness of man.”

Talley worked as a journalist after earning a bachelor’s degree in news-editorial journalism from Oklahoma State University in 1983. He taught journalism and worked in communication at three universities, eventually settling in Chickasha, where he led the team in communications at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma for 27 years. In 2006, he was named Oklahoma’s Communicator of the Year.

As a former journalist, Talley argues that ‘political correctness’ harms free speech for everyone. “You can feel the tension rising. People are afraid to speak their minds on local, state and national levels for fear of being called a bigot or being banned from social media. That’s wrong. We can’t maintain a civil society if acceptable speech is defined down to unscientific and emotional nonsense. We don’t need to silence people. We need to inform them.”

Talley was raised in Anadarko, where six generations of his family have lived. “I am blessed with a great family and deep Oklahoma roots. One of our sons serves in the Air National Guard and eight other members of my extended family currently are serving in various branches of U.S. Military service.”

Talley and his wife of 30 years, Kathie, have four adult children and a daughter-in-law.