State Rep. Shane Jett says he is 95 percent certain he will make a run for the Fifth District Congressional seat being vacated by present Congresswoman Mary Fallin. Fallin, serving her second term in Congress, has indicated she’ll give up the seat to make a run for governor next year.
Jett, serving his third term in the state House of Representatives, said he anticipates making a formal announcement either by the end of this month or in early August. He represents District 27 which encompasses most of the rural communities in southern Pottawatomie County stretching west of the city of Shawnee to McLoud, along with a portion of Cleveland County.
Jett said in June he formed an Exploratory Committee, comprised of Admiral Greg Slavonic and Dr. Robert Babb, who was his business professor at Oklahoma Baptist University. Babb also is a former dean of the School of Business at OBU, Jett pointed out.
He said once a formal announcement is made, the exploratory committee will be closed and proper paperwork will be filed with the Federal Election Commission in Washington, D.C.
Jett said that it was Slavonic who wrote the letter of recommendation for him to join the U.S. Naval Reserve. Slavonic also was the presiding officer during his commissioning ceremony earlier this year.
The state representative is in the middle of his third term in the House. Initially, he was elected in 2004 to the seat opened by Rep. Dale Smith being term limited. Jett was re-elected in 2006 and again in 2008.
He said, “I have methodically been putting together my ducks in a row. We are gearing up to make that announcement,” he added, although a decision as to when and where to make it formally is still to be determined.
Jett is chairman of the International Relations and Tourism Committee in the House and also is on the Energy Committee. He will give up his House seat if he makes the decision to run.
Jett says he has $237,000 which has been committed for the campaign from people not just in the Fifth District, but also throughout Oklahoma. “To be considered a legitimate candidate you need to raise $200,000 to $250,000 and we’re right smack in the middle of that,” he continued.
Others who have indicated they will make the run for Fallin’s seat are Rep. Mike Thompson, from Oklahoma City, Dr. John Roy, Edmond, and Kevin Calvey, from the Del City area, Jett noted. “These are all Republicans,” he said.
The Fifth District encompasses all of Pottawatomie and Seminole counties, in addition to a significant portion of Oklahoma County.
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Shawnee’s Regional Airport is hosting an Airport Fly-In beginning at 7 a.m. today with a pancake breakfast being served from 7 a.m.-10:30 a.m. The public is invited to eat breakfast at a cost of $6 a person.
The Thunderbird Remote Control Airplane Club will have several RC aircraft on display and will be giving a flying demonstration from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
The first 40 pilots and passengers will receive complimentary tickets to the final performance of the IFYR.
Door prizes which will also be given to pilots include dinner for two to Paul’s Place, lunch at Dave’s Donuts and Firelake Casino gift certificates. Shawnee’s Kiwanis Club also is helping sponsor the event.
The Shawnee Convention and Visitor Bureau will provide T-shirts for the event.
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Shawnee city commissioners have scheduled not one, but two executive sessions for the Monday night meeting. In one they apparently will go behind closed doors to discuss acquisition of property for the proposed regional park. That is after they have gone in to meet with legal counsel regarding pending litigation matters involving Shawnee Police Officer Alan Borcherding.
In open session they will consider accepting the grant agreement from the Federal Aviation Administration for an improvement project at Shawnee Regional Airport. They also have some budget amendments and bids to consider during their meeting which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers of city hall. The meeting is open to the public.
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SHAWNEE, Okla. —
