A statement from House Speaker Lance Cargill

OKLAHOMA CITY (Jan. 28, 2008) – “I have decided to step aside today as speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. I want nothing more than to have good ideas to move forward without the burden of being weighed down by personal stories about me. I have always said my leadership has been about good ideas, and this move will allow those ideas to flourish as they should.

“For several weeks, our policies heading into the session have been buried in the newspapers, while personal stories have remained on the front pages. I take full responsibility for that, and hope that a new speaker can shift the focus back to the future of this great state.

“This decision came after I spoke with most of my colleagues over the weekend. I am humbled and honored by the outpouring of support the caucus has shown me and their continued endorsement in my leadership. But, one of the responsibilities of a leader is putting the needs of the whole before the needs of my own.

“For the future I will, with more inspiration than ever, fervently pursue my ideas from a chair at the back of the chamber. I remain confident that we can still make 2008 a year of solutions.

“This has been a remarkable journey. Many of you know that I was raised in the small town of Harrah. My dad was a fork-lift driver and mom was a stay-at-home mother. My parents worked hard, lived right, and taught my brother and me about faith, family and community. I have to say it was my upbringing, and the inspiration of my family, that allowed me to be the first in my immediate family to graduate from college and to attend Vanderbilt law school.

“I came home to Oklahoma because I this is where I want to live, these are the people that I love, and because I aspired to be a servant of the people and an agent for change. I have spent the past five years tearing down the walls of the old-guard that left Oklahoma stuck in the past, unable to inspire and incapable of moving forward. So for me, this is both a time of reflection and to celebrate our accomplishments.

“Tomorrow for me is a brand new day as I will unveil the 100 Ideas book, which we spent the past year writing. It was truly a bi-partisan initiative and we have together written a book full of innovative ideas. I hope that it's time to put those ideas on the front pages of our newspapers, so that we can have a genuine and open debate about the best way to move Oklahoma into the second century.

“I know there are a lot of questions about how this move will impact the upcoming session and our caucus is working out the details and we will have more answers in the coming days.”

Labels: Spkr. Cargill