By Andrew Knittle
The Norman Transcript
NORMAN — The first woman to win the Oklahoma governor’s seat was sworn in Monday on the Capitol steps, a light snow falling during the outdoor inauguration.
Gov. Mary Fallin, the state’s 27th governor, didn’t waste much time in acknowledging her pioneer status as she addressed a light crowd on the Capitol’s south lawn.
“That is indeed historic,” she said of her place in Oklahoma history.
Fallin addressed the challenges facing Oklahoma and the rest of the nation, telling those in attendance that hard times, including the Great Depression, the oil bust of the 1980s and the current recession, are nothing new in the Sooner State.
“Oklahoma has always emerged a stronger, better state,” she said, “because of the tenacity and resiliency of our people.”
Fallin, a Tecumseh native whose mother was the first female mayor of her hometown, pledged to improve the business climate in Oklahoma and clean up tort reform and workers’ compensation laws.
“In Oklahoma what we need are more jobs, not more taxes,” she said. “We must make certain Oklahoma’s business climate can attract new capital, new investments, which produce new jobs and retain existing jobs.”
The newly sworn-in governor promised to simplify the government bureaucracy, saying it’s “time to ask those probing questions ... those ‘why’ questions.”
“Why have we done it like this for years and why can’t we consider another approach, a different approach, a modern approach,” she said.
Fallin said the job of the government is to serve the people, not become a distraction.
“We were elected to solve problems, not create them,” she said. “We do not need more government, we need better government.”
Fallin also briefly touched on state-funded incentives, which have drawn criticism from the public and members of the state House and Senate. She said her stance on them is simple.
“If tax incentives produce jobs, stay,” Fallin said. “Incentives that do not, go.”
The former U.S. congresswoman, who served four years in Washington, said that improving education will be one of the top priorities of her administration.
“We must do better in Oklahoma,” Fallin said. “Too many children are dropping out of school. Too many students are ill-prepared.
“Too much money is spent on administration and not enough money is spent on educating our students.”
Braving the cold
With her Bible in hand, Catherine Wootten watched the inauguration from the near-deserted open seating area south of the pulpit where the newly sworn in Fallin addressed her constituents.
The event, which was lightly attended (most likely due to the weather), began just before noon and lasted about an hour once it started. Most of the open seating area was empty and it snowed, some times more heavily than others, throughout the inauguration.
Wootten, who came from Chickasha to watch history unfold live, said she the fact that Fallin was the first female elected governor “never occurred to me,” but that she was still proud to see her take the oath of office.
“I think this one is going to be great ... she explained herself so clearly,” she said. “I can hardly wait to see how this all unfolds.”
Oklahoma City resident Carl Crawford was pleased that his home state finally elected a female to the state’s highest office, saying it was about time.
“It’s good,” he said. “She’s been in the game a long time, she knows what she’s doing. Plus, you hate to live in a state that’s never had a woman at the top — it’s kind of embarrassing these days.”
Tightened security
Following the shooting of a congresswoman in Arizona, which happened during an attack that left six others dead and about a dozen injured, security for Fallin’s inauguration was tightened significantly.
Highway Patrol Capt. Pete Norwood, chief of Oklahoma’s Capitol patrol, said more than 50 troopers were on hand Monday to supervise the inauguration on Monday. He said the number of tactical officers present during the event was doubled in the wake of the shooting in Arizona.
Officers had a presence on every floor of the state Capitol building on Monday and bomb-sniffing dogs could be seen roaming the site before, during and after the event.
There were also unmanned security sensors placed strategically around the inauguration site on the south steps of the Capitol and snipers were perched on nearby buildings.
Andrew Knittle 366-3540 aknittle@normantranscript.com
