Robin Fuxa

Biography

Robin Fuxa is running for Senate District 21. She wants to ensure that all families can access care without the financial hardship that can so easily strike with one medical emergency or major illness. She also wants to work on state policy measures that make these essential services such as prenatal and postpartum care accessible. Fuxa also prioritizes more funding for schools and ensuring that qualified teachers are hired. She wants to support our career tech system and invest in Oklahoma’s phenomenal community colleges and universities to keep tuition down for those pursuing opportunities that will secure a brighter future for their families. Fuxa also believes we must address the growing childcare and elder care crises, significantly worsened by the pandemic, for the countless Oklahomans who have had to drop out of the workforce because of a lack of access to either of these essential services, whether out of reach because of the high cost or the driving distance to reach quality care. Additionally, she is committed to ensuring access to the veterans’ services for U.S. veterans.

Survey Issues

1,What do you feel should be the government’s role in public health and welfare?

Oklahoma is blanketed with healthcare deserts (75 of 77 counties), and we absolutely must do more to ensure that Oklahomans have access to pursue careers in medicine. Additionally, we must work to attract and retain professionals both from inside and outside our state’s borders. 

We have to work on the widespread health deserts for primary care physicians, women’s health, and more across Oklahoma. We must incentivize entry into health care in our state, especially among those from Oklahoma. 

Hundreds of rural hospitals have closed or are in danger of closing, and this leaves rural Oklahomans without access to care, increasing mortality rates, harming health outcomes, and vastly increasing the cost of care. 

2. What are your views on individuals being able to safely and securely access sensitive medical procedures in privacy and without state control?

Health professionals take an oath to care for their patients in the best way possible; we need to leave such difficult care decisions to patients and their doctors. It should not be controversial to state that women’s lives and well-being are of value. 

3. What changes would you make to ensure every Oklahoman has the chance to participate meaningfully in the electoral process?

Numerous states on both ends of the political spectrum utilize open primaries, including our southern neighbor Texas. As Oklahoma sees an increase in voters registering as Independents our systems must also evolve. 

4. Currently, only one political party in Oklahoma allows Independent voters to participate in primary elections. What will you do to ensure that all registered voters are able to fully express their political preferences?

Please see above.

5. Research from Pew Research Center indicates that “the role of money in politics” is consistently one of the top concerns of American voters across the ideological spectrum. What will you do to address this growing issue?

Specifically to Oklahoma, we must fully fund the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. Although much-needed funding was allocated this past session to update and replace the Guardian System (the online filing system that makes campaign finance data available to the public), the agency has still faced budget cuts in prior fiscal years. We know that campaign finance violations have gone unaddressed because the agency lacks full funding. Due to federal rulings, spending will continue to increase each cycle and we must fully equip the Oklahoma Ethics Commission to protect the interests of Oklahoma voters. 

6. Many Oklahomans experience discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, and other factors; how would you address these problems as an elected leader?

In early 2002 I had a student who was a junior in high school who attempted suicide after he was outed and his family wholly rejected him, including kicking him out of his home. While I am incredibly grateful that he survived, that was a wake-up call that I needed to make certain that my allyship was much more visible, and I have consistently done so since that time. I’ve spoken at the Stillwater Public Schools board meetings when there were efforts to ban books in the school library collection from a small group of community members (fortunately the local board followed the appropriate processes), and I have also addressed the State Board of Education and Ryan Walters and their harmful efforts at the state level during a board meeting. 

Our schools especially must be places where all students are safe and welcome, whatever their sexuality, gender, race, religion, socio-economic status, or ability. The attacks on our public schools and on our efforts to make sure schools are safe and welcoming for all are unconscionable. 

Lastly, each time lawmakers propose legislation that clearly aims to silence the stories of Oklahoma’s people of color, citizens of our 39 tribal nations, or LGBTQ people, companies we want to attract to Oklahoma are less and less likely to be able to persuade their employees to move to Oklahoma, no matter the tax incentive. Oklahoma is a place where new neighbors and their children will be welcomed, and we need to reflect that as well in policy as we do on our front porches. 

7. How will you ensure that First Amendment rights to freedom of religion, speech, protest, and press are protected from infringement?

Whether on one of my trips to the Capitol to advocate for education or at a school board meeting speaking up to ensure that a small minority of parents don’t remove access to a full look at our shared history and a breadth of high-quality choices in their reading materials, my commitment is clear. I won’t let others usurp our rights while they’re claiming to protect them. I will hold self-serving officials who repeat divisive culture war fictions accountable.

8. What issues do you see in our criminal legal system that could be reformed to be more equitable and efficient?

The horrifying revelations of abuse and neglect at the Tulsa County Family Center for Juvenile Justice have emphasized how the Oklahoma Justice System has failed our children. Children must be kept safe and treated with dignity; our policy must reflect that. 

Additionally, we must continue efforts to provide genuine rehabilitative efforts to curb recidivism and improve outcomes for those in our justice system. We know Oklahoma has one of the highest incarceration rates in the United States and the world. In 2016 Oklahomans approved State Question 781 to provide funding for substance abuse and mental health services to county governments. These are services critical to preventing incarceration and reducing recidivism yet legislators consistently failed to meet the requirements set by SQ 781 approved by Oklahoma voters. Although progress has been made in the past few years there is still more work to do. 

Lastly, Oklahoma children face high adverse childhood experience (ACE) scores. We know that fully investing in children, including investing in our public schools, improves outcomes and reduces carceral rates across the board. 

9. What measures would you take to address food insecurity in Oklahoma?

First and foremost, I would be a strong advocate for our state government to accept federal funds for free and reduced lunches. These are our tax dollars, whoever sits in the Oval Office shouldn’t be the determining factor for the Governor on whether we are feeding Oklahoma’s children. 

Many of my students throughout the years have relied on minimum wage jobs to make ends meet while studying to serve our students as public school teachers. Many minimum wage earners are parents of young children as well. The minimum wage is a crucial protection for individuals like my former students who are just entering the workforce and/or may be starting their first job at a local business. We need a minimum wage that fairly balances the cost of living and the cost of doing business in Oklahoma so that families can meet their needs and small businesses can thrive. 

Lastly, we must revise the Sales Tax Relied Credit. Currently, the credit returns $40 per household member for Oklahomans who make less than $50,000 a year if they are elderly, physically disabled or claim dependents and Oklahomans who make $20,000 or less per year. This tax credit rebate has not been updated since 1990. That needs to be updated to reflect the cost of living in 2024. 

10. How would you protect people renting in Oklahoma from predatory landlords and expand affordable housing options in our state?

As a state, we must invest and incentivize the development of multi-housing units and affordable starter homes for working families. Additionally, we must look at zoning and regulations for vacation rentals in residential areas through platforms like Vrbo and Airbnb and their impact on rising housing costs. Lastly, Oklahoma has one of the fastest eviction processes which leads to increased housing instability for renters and overwhelmed courts. Lengthening that time frame is common sense and has bipartisan support. Finally, I strongly support efforts to disallow retaliatory efforts against tenants who report concerns with their living conditions.