David Holt (politician)


David Holt is an Osage American attorney, businessman and Republican politician who is the 36th Mayor of Oklahoma City. He is the youngest mayor of Oklahoma City since 1923, and for his first year in office was the youngest mayor of a U.S. city over 500,000. He is Oklahoma City's first Native American mayor. His signature achievement as Mayor has been the passage of MAPS 4 in 2019, a nearly $1 billion initiative including 16 projects. He also served in the Oklahoma Senate from 2010 to 2018 and there served as the majority whip of the Oklahoma State Senate.
Holt is the author of Big League City: Oklahoma City's Rise to the NBA. In 2014, Holt was named a "Rising Star" in politics by Chuck Todd of NBC News. In 2017, Holt was named "OKCityan of the Year." In 2017, Holt announced he would be a candidate to become the next Mayor of Oklahoma City in 2018. On February 13, 2018, he was elected and was sworn-in on April 10.

Early life and education

Holt was born and raised in northwest Oklahoma City, with family roots in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. David is Osage through his late mother, Mary Ann Fuller Holt, who inspired him to public service. He was also inspired by his maternal grandfather, Leonard Fuller, a World War II veteran and career Army officer who directed the Model Cities Program in McAlester, Oklahoma after his retirement from the military.
After graduating from Putnam City North High School in Oklahoma City, Holt earned a B.A. from George Washington University, which his mother had attended. He served as a sports editor for The GW Hatchet.
Holt also earned a Juris Doctor from Oklahoma City University, and is a practicing attorney. In 2014, he was named director of investor relations for Hall Capital. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City University.

Political career

Early political career

Holt served as an aide to Dennis Hastert when Hastert was U.S. Speaker of the House, and during the time of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He served in the White House Office of Legislative Affairs under President George W. Bush.
Holt returned to Oklahoma full-time in 2004 and served as Oklahoma's coordinator to re-elect Bush in 2004. He served U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe and Lt. Governor Mary Fallin. In 2006 he was appointed Chief of Staff to Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, where Holt served until his election to the Oklahoma State Senate. Holt was Cornett's Chief of Staff when Oklahoma City successfully lobbied to attract a major league basketball team, gaining what is now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association.

State senatorial career

Holt was elected to the state Senate on July 27, 2010 with 64 percent of the vote in the Republican primary and was unopposed in the general election. He took office on November 16, 2010. He succeeded Glenn Coffee, the first Republican Senate President Pro Tempore in Oklahoma history. On his first day of office in November, 2010, Holt was elected to the Senate Leadership as Majority Caucus Vice Chair. He was also named Vice Chair of the Senate Business & Commerce Committee and Vice Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee. His first session as a Senator was notable for his efforts to lower the Oklahoma income tax, and his efforts to ensure that local taxpayers have control over their tax dollars. In his first session, Holt was named "Most Shining Legislator" by a local weekly publication. Later that year, Holt was credited with branding Route 66 where it passes through Oklahoma City, in order to define it as a tourist destination.
In 2012, Holt's second session, he was noted for being the primary author of a bill to eliminate the Oklahoma income tax, based on a plan proposed by economist Arthur Laffer. Holt also authored legislation to open up the Oklahoma Legislature to unprecedented transparency. In addition, the Oklahoma Republican Party named Holt one of Oklahoma's seven Republican members of the Electoral College for the upcoming presidential election. In late 2012, Holt was credited with instigating Oklahoma's first state recognition of the Hanukkah holiday.
For the 2013-2014 legislative sessions, Holt was elected as a Majority Whip for the Senate Republican Caucus. He was also named Vice Chair of the new Appropriations Subcommittee on Select Agencies. Holt introduced a "parent trigger" law for Oklahoma in the 2013 legislative session, which would authorize parents to take stronger roles in trying to improve underachieving schools. A similar law was depicted in the film Won't Back Down. In 2013, Holt authored successful legislation that legalized "Black Friday" and other low-price sales in the state of Oklahoma. Holt spearheaded an effort to honor African-American writer Ralph Ellison with a portrait in the Oklahoma Capitol.
In 2014, Holt was named to the national Legislative Leaders Advisory Board of GOPAC. Chuck Todd of NBC News, reporting on the politics of all 50 states, named Holt as one of two Republican "Rising Stars" in Oklahoma. He was re-elected to a second term when he ran unopposed. That year Holt has received a number of awards from non-profits and interest groups for his work. They include the following:
For the 2015 and 2016 sessions, Holt was named Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Select Agencies. In January 2015, Holt introduced a comprehensive election reform package intended to boost voter turnout. He gained passage of a law to authorize online voter registration in the state. In 2015, Holt authored legislation to allow Oklahoma City and Tulsa to authorize charter schools. Holt was awarded the "Bulldog Award" from the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council for his work on addressing police videos taken from body-mounted cameras. Holt was a featured speaker at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in May 2015, an event that featured most of the leading presidential candidates. In September 2015, presidential candidate Marco Rubio named Holt as his Oklahoma campaign chair.
In 2016, Holt introduced a "sweeping proposal" to increase Oklahoma teacher pay by $10,000 to bring it in line with the national average. Holt helped spearhead a successful effort to secure an American Ninja Warrior shoot at the Oklahoma Capitol. Holt authored successful legislation to create a "revenue stabilization fund" intended to minimize the effect of future revenue shortfalls. Holt was awarded a Governor's Arts Award.
For the 2017 and 2018 sessions, Holt was named Appropriations Subcommittee Chair for Public Safety and Judiciary. Holt also introduced a comprehensive plan to increase teacher pay in Oklahoma by $10,000 again. Holt also carried successful legislation to allow Oklahoma flyers to use a drivers license to fly, as well as legislation to extend the statute of limitations for child sexual abuse. Holt was unsuccessful in his efforts to extend family leave for state employees.

Mayoral career

Holt was elected mayor on February 13, 2018, after defeating Taylor Neighbors and Randall Smith in a nonpartisan race. Holt was sworn in as Mayor of Oklahoma City on April 10, 2018. He resigned from his position as state senator before taking office. At the time of his swearing-in, Holt was 39 years and one month, making him the youngest mayor of Oklahoma City since 1923 and the youngest current mayor of a U.S. city over 500,000, as well as the first Native American mayor of Oklahoma City through his mother who is a member of the Osage. Carrying a unifying message of "One OKC", Holt's stated priorities upon taking office were upgrading core services, continuing improvements in quality of life, improving public education and incorporating the diversity of the city into decision-making.
Holt's second year in office brought the development and passage of MAPS 4, a nearly $1 billion initiative to address 16 priorities. The Oklahoman called Holt "the architect" of the "most ambitious MAPS ever." The initiative received 71.7 percent of the vote on December 10, 2019, a modern record for a sales tax vote in Oklahoma City. MAPS 4 includes funding for parks, youth centers, senior centers, mental health and addiction, a family justice center, transit, sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, streetlights, homelessness, Chesapeake Arena, an animal shelter, a new fairgrounds coliseum, a diversion hub, the Innovation District, a civil rights center, beautification and a multipurpose stadium.
In 2018, Holt was named a recipient of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans award. In 2019, Holt was elected to the leadership of the United States Conference of Mayors and was named Vice Chair of the International Affairs Committee. In 2020, Holt was elected as a Trustee of the United States Conference of Mayors, the highest level of leadership in the organization.
In 2019, Holt organized a free Kings of Leon concert to open the city's Scissortail Park that drew 28,000 people, becoming the largest crowd to view a music concert in Oklahoma City history. In 2020, Holt was named the third-most powerful person in the state of Oklahoma and the most powerful non-tribal elected official in a local annual ranking of the 50 most powerful Oklahomans.
As Mayor, Holt has repeatedly drawn attention to communities that had not felt incorporated into Oklahoma City's decision-making in the past. He proclaimed "Indigenous Peoples' Day" for the first time in city history, proclaimed "Pride" to honor the LGBTQ community for the first time in city history, and has championed the African American community on numerous fronts, including efforts to highlight the history of the city's civil rights movement and the inclusion of a civil rights center in his MAPS 4 initiative.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Holt proclaimed a state of emergency on the first day that a local case was identified, put Oklahoma City into "shelter in place," and was continuously aggressive in addressing the pandemic.
During the 2020 protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Holt went twice to protests and listed to Black Lives Matter leaders and protesters in front of the Oklahoma City police headquarters.

Personal life

Holt is married to Rachel Canuso, and they have two children, George and Margaret. They attend St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church.
Holt has served on numerous civic boards in the Oklahoma City area. He was president of the board of Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park from 2005 to 2008, during which time he led relocation of the program to downtown Oklahoma City. In 2013, Holt served as co-chair of the Myriad Gardens' 25th-anniversary celebration.
Holt wrote Big League City: Oklahoma City's Rise to the NBA, a non-fiction political and sports book published by Full Circle Press. It details the arrival of major league sports in Oklahoma City, culminating with the 2008 relocation there of the National Basketball Association's Seattle SuperSonics. The franchise was renamed as the Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City became a "big league city." Holt, who served as Chief of Staff to Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett during the time, has said that "the arrival of major league sports in Oklahoma City was the most significant positive development in the city's history since the Land Run of 1889."
The book was positively reviewed by Oklahoma media. The Oklahoma Gazette described the book as a "fascinating historical account." Kelly Ogle of KWTV-DT television noted during his regular "My 2 Cents" segment: "Holt's book is an enjoyable read, and a dandy little primer on the whirlwind ride this dusty old big league city has enjoyed over the last 25 years." Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman wrote that "David Holt tells us how we got here."
In the fall of 2012, the book was adopted by Holt's alma mater, Putnam City North High School, as part of the required curriculum.

Election results

In 2014, Holt was re-elected without opposition.