Rick Dunham
Elections and appointments
Personal
Contact
Rick Dunham (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Oklahoma State Senate to represent District 21. He lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.
Dunham completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Rick Dunham was born on Cannon Air Force Base in Curry County, New Mexico. Dunham served in the United States Army. He attended Oklahoma State University. He graduated from the U.S. Army Reconnaissance Course, the U.S. Army Maneuver Captains Career Course, and the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Captains Career Course. Dunham's career experience includes working as a military officer and parachutist with the U.S. Army. Dunham earned a certification with the Incident Command System and with Troops to Teachers.[1]
Elections
2020
See also: Oklahoma State Senate elections, 2020
General election
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Rick Dunham advanced from the Democratic primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 21.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Tom J. Dugger advanced from the Republican primary for Oklahoma State Senate District 21.
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rick Dunham completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Dunham's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Rick Dunham. I am a 15-year combat decorated Army Veteran and 2008 Oklahoma State graduate where I attended school on an Army ROTC Scholarship. I served in Afghanistan with the 101st Airborne Division as a Recon Platoon Leader and later in my career with the 1st Infantry Division. I continue my military service today as a Major in the US Army Reserve and recently completed my Master of Arts in International Relations with an emphasis on National Security.
- Building Economic Diversity in Oklahoma
- Cybersecurity
- Education
The first message of my campaign is building economic diversity in Oklahoma. It is the lynch pin of my platform (as it should be for every candidate) because a healthy and diverse economy is the backbone to every other function state governments perform. It's important to me that I emphasize the phrase "economic diversity" instead of the overused phrase "economic development". Oklahoma goes as the Oil and Natural Gas industry goes, and given that industry's up and down nature, it's past time to diversify our economy into sectors other than the energy sector that will enable future generations of Oklahomans to better weather the economic storms of the future.
Cybersecurity is also very important to me, and this topic remains critically unaddressed at the Oklahoma capitol. Thousands of Oklahoma residents have no idea how much of their data is online, they have no idea how to protect themselves, and they have no idea how to protect each other. It's perhaps the most significant threat Oklahomans face daily and it's my goal to ensure that every Oklahoman knows what their responsibilities are in building a more cybersecure and cyber-aware state.
The last critical element of my campaign is education. Oklahoma is notorious for the poor condition our public education system is in, and it's a major dampener on every other facet of Oklahoma's forward progress. Oklahoma can't compete with 2008-level funding when other states are at 2020-level funding. The people I most identify with are many of the Generals and Admirals of our time...Mattis, McMaster, Mullen, McRaven (that's a lot of "M"s). Although not political per se, they nonetheless become de facto political figures by the nature of their work. Despite that, they often demonstrate a loyalty to the country that transcends the political squabbles of our time and find ways of retaining the trust our country has in its military...and mutual trust is perhaps the most absent factor that's led to our divided country.
Leviathan - Thomas Hobbes
Man, the State, and War - Kenneth Waltz
The Tragedy of Great Power Politics - John Mearsheimer
World Order - Henry Kissinger
I'm going to guess every politician is going to just list their own principles and say "they're most important"...so here goes...
My I draw my personal principles from the Army Values...Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. I think each one of these values are critical principles that elected officials carry with them.
In addition, the Army Values spell out the acronym "LDRSHIP", intended to convey the word "leadership", and that's also a critical aspect to serving as an elected official. It's more than just writing bills; it's serving my community as a leader, utilizing the influence of my office to bring my district forward and be visible on taking a public stand on the issues of the day. I am a forward, innovative thinker that enjoys looking at problems in new ways and expressing new ideas. I embrace debate, discussion, and criticism of new ideas that I present. My military background has taught me the importance of teamwork and loyalty to one's community, state and country, while my academic background provides me with the knowledge-base to make informed, logical decisions.
I believe affability is an important quality in elected office holders as it's very difficult to work with people you don't like. And for what it's worth, I think a reasonable sense of humor is important for this role. It's a world with a lot of fear, and sometimes a very quick, light joke can help put as all at ease.
1. Listen to constituents, investigate the issues they face, and either pursue a legislative solution or guidance on resolving their issue.
2. Stay informed of state, national, and international affairs. Our state does not exist in a bubble, and being aware of the various happenings around the world influence the direction our legislators should take in addressing the issues we face within the state.
3. Serve as leaders and mentors within their own communities. Guide a new generation of informed leaders and critical thinkers to address the problems that are unique to their own time as the guiding hand of our state and country. The number 1 person I'm running for isn't someone I currently know...or at least I think I don't. But the number 1 person I'm running for is for the person who takes this office after me and building a state on a better economic foundation to tackle the problems we face.
If successive generations of elected officials are better at their jobs than I am...then I believe I've accomplished my mission.
Is this question about "asking my age" without actually asking it? In case anyone is wondering, I'm 34 years old.
The first historical event that I remember was when Bill Clinton was elected President in 1992. I had just turned 7.
My first job was sacking groceries at IGA in Edmond, Oklahoma. I worked their for one summer until the next year's football season began.
The Forever War - Joe Halderman
Geralt of Rivia. Who wouldn't want to be a medieval ghostbuster?
Kickstart My Heart - Motley Crue
I really struggled when I first left active duty. I know what it's like to wake up in the morning and struggle to find a sense of purpose. It took me a little while to get my feet back under me and start making forward progress again. Veteran issues is one of the key issues in our country and I feel I can really speak to that experience because I've lived that experience.
The two chambers in Oklahoma, the House of Representatives and the Senate, have many distinct responsibilities. The two most notable, I believe, are:
1. Tax bills must initiate in the House of Representatives. I believe this makes sense as the House is the closest to Oklahoma voters, and I believe it's important for voters to consent as a group to taxes.
2. The Senate approves Governor nominations for many positions and state judicial appointments. Yes, I do believe experience is important but that experience can come in many forms...not simply previously holding an elected position.
I believe it's not uncommon for "experienced" legislators to look at issues in a different way or consider alternative viewpoints. I also believe that there's room for innovative approaches in legislation and experienced legislators are unlikely to embrace innovative ideas.
Easily, our state's greatest challenge is going to be grappling with the decreasing demand for oil and natural gas.
Regardless of one's thoughts on climate change, one thing we can agree on is that the demand for renewable energy sources is only going to go up, both economically and politically. The increased demand is going to weigh heavily on Oklahoma's already one-dimensional economy and it's critical we take this opportunity to diversify the state's economy before it's too late and we become another West Virginia.
When I think of a word that describes the ideal relationship between a governor and the state legislature, I think of the word "partnership". Governing is a team effort, starting with the legislature initiating new laws and acting as stewards for the laws currently in effect, all with the governor's input. In turn, a governor acts upon the direction of the legislature (much like the relationship between a board of directors and the CEO of a company).
The legislature is also responsible for holding a governor accountable for failures to uphold the law.
I absolutely believe it's important to build relationships with other legislators. Politics is, in the end, about relationships and successfully managing those relationships.
As I've mentioned before, governing is a team effort, and teamwork is impossible when legislators build poor relationships with each other or emphasize their own desires or ambitions.
I believe redistricting should be an independent process, and furthermore, I don't see why we can't use computer-based procedures to guide the redistricting process that builds a legislature that will be truly representative of the people.
Current redistricting processes enable's politicians to "choose their voters"...and that is something I do not favor at all.
The Public Safety Committee is the most natural fit for me given my background. In addition, I'd like to serve on the Business, Commerce, and Tourism Committee given my campaign's emphasis on building economic diversity in the State. Finally, I'd like to serve on the Rules Committee. There are way to many bills presented that are more about making political statements then they are about actually getting work done and I'd like to work on limiting the time spent dealing with bills that serve no practical purpose.
That question is really outside the scope of anything I'm worried about right now.
Senator Jack Reed, Representative Seth Moulton, Senator John Kennedy (no relation to US President John Kennedy).
On Thursdays, I volunteer with a local organization called Mobile Meals. I deliver lunch to elderly residents. A few months ago, one of my clients that I've been with since 2016 informed me that cyber criminals had accessed her data, called her pretending to be her grandson calling from prison, and managed to scam her out of $1500 of her money in gift cards so "he could post bail".
I hear stories like that constantly, of our elderly citizens being the most vulnerable online. Stories like that are why Cybersecurity is such a critical issue for this campaign.
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See also
External links
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on June 9, 2020
Leadership
Majority Leader:Julie Daniels
Senators
Republican Party (40)
Democratic Party (8)
