By ANDREW W. GRIFFIN

Oklahoma Watchdog, editor

Posted: July 9, 2010

andrew@oklahomawatchdog.org

NORMAN, Okla. – Still in her early twenties, Emily Virgin, running for Oklahoma’s 44^th House District, is one of the youngest candidates running for the Oklahoma state legislature.

This fact was noted last week in The Oklahoman in a story headlined “Young candidates say experience is not an issue in Oklahoma elections.”

Virgin, who is running in the primary as a Democrat, has raised more than $39,000 and is spending a lot of time working on building up name recognition, something she told The Oklahoman.

And talking to Virgin in Norman on a recent afternoon, she said one of the big issues she is looking to address on the campaign trail and in the legislature, if elected, is tax credits.

Virgin admits she has only recently learned about the complex nature of the state’s tax credit law, which is largely secretive and difficult to explain, but she understands all too clearly that money that could go into the state’s increasingly empty coffers is going elsewhere, with little-if-any oversight.

Virgin also said that if elected she would bring more attention to the transferability of the tax credits something she said she will attempt to stop if she makes it to the legislature.

Few profit off the tax credits, financial experts have told Oklahoma Watchdog. And it is also a non-partisan issue with Democrats and Republicans both sharing with this reporter that something needs to be done about the tax credit problem.

Virgin, an OU Political Science graduate and for equipment manager for the Sooners football team, is a volunteer in Norman, working with abused mothers and children and teaching Sunday School to third graders.

Asked about her campaign, leading up to the July 27^th primary, Virgin said she has been steadily knocking on Democrat doors.

With District 44, which was represented by outgoing legislator Bill Nations, encompassing the University of Oklahoma, education issues are particularly important.

Education, she said, “creates so many jobs in the district.”

Additionally, Nations has endorsed Virgin, saying, “Emily will be a passionate advocate for the values we share as a community: education, fiscal responsibility, and open and transparent government.”

She also said there are concerns about budget cuts affecting mental health services.

She is also concerned about women’s issues like the massive number of women who are incarcerated – Oklahoma is number one in the number of women in prison – and that alternatives are needed for non-violent offenders.

“We’re 49^th in women’s health,” she said. “That’s not only an issue with women but that’s an issue with children.”

Virgin has already said she will “commit myself to the work of supporting strong education, attracting and keeping good, clean jobs, and ensuring clean government.”

Noting that “our legislature is not being smart about things,” Virgin believes if she is elected and is able to serve District 44, she will be able to make a difference.

“If elected, my constituents would be happy if I spoke up about these things,” she said.

For more information go to www.emilyvirgin.com.

Copyright 2010 Oklahoma Watchdog