Incoming Senate Democratic Leader Kirt applauds new, returning members

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma’s incoming Senate Democratic Leader Julia Kirt has offered her congratulations to the new and returning members of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Those members include Senators-elect Regina Goodwin, D-Tulsa, Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, Nikki Nice, D-Oklahoma City, and Sen. Jo Anna Dossett, D-Tulsa, who was reelected on Tuesday.

“I’ve spoken with each of these members on behalf of the Senate Democratic Caucus and offered our deepest congratulations,” said Kirt, D-Oklahoma City. “They each bring extraordinary talents, experiences and qualifications to the Legislature and a shared vision of working within our caucus and with members across the aisle to find lasting, bipartisan policy solutions to ensure all Oklahomans have the opportunity to prosper.”

New to the Senate, but not to the Legislature, Goodwin, who will serve Senate District 11, was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2015 and served as assistant minority leader as well as chair of the Oklahoma Legislative Black Caucus. A descendant of survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, she was principal House author of legislation providing resources and support for adult family members caring for loved ones, as well as legislation clarifying voting rights for former justice-involved citizens.

Dossett, a former educator with fifteen years’ experience in the classroom, is returning to the Senate for her second term representing Senate District 35. During the 2024 legislative session, she was principal Senate author of a new law aimed at reducing the number of Oklahoma women who die during or after pregnancy. Oklahoma is higher than the national rate for maternal mortality. She also authored legislation to better support dementia caregivers and offer incentives for gun safety devices.

Mann will serve Senate District 46. A small business owner, he served on the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education for seven years and was chosen by his fellow members twice to serve as the Board’s vice chair. He also served as chair of the district’s Finance Committee and was co-chair of the Bond Committee. He also serves as a board member of the Oklahoma State School Boards Association, Oklahoma Lawyers for Children and Families, and the Oklahoma Alliance for Healthy Families.

Nice will serve Senate District 48. A prominent radio and television host, Nice was elected to the Oklahoma City Council in 2018 and was unopposed for another term in 2021. A life-long resident of the district, she worked to address the area’s food desert and advocated for her ward’s inclusion in the most recent MAPS program. Nice has also been instrumental in the development of the new East End District, just east of the state Capitol, that will build business and tourism.

An oath of office ceremony for new and returning members of the Senate will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 2:00 p.m., in the Senate Chamber.

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For more information, contact:  Sen. Julia Kirt at 405-521-5636 or Julia.Kirt@oksenate.gov