From growing up in Muskogee to serving in the Navy and then as Oklahoma’s Attorney General for 16 years, Drew has spent his entire life fighting for the people of Oklahoma. He stood up to Wall Street, Big Tobacco, and the special interests who tried to take advantage of our families,farmers, and small businesses. As Governor, he’ll put Oklahomans first and take on the outside interests and partisan politicians who, every day, are trying to hurt our way of life.
Growing up in Oklahoma
Drew’s values are rooted in his Oklahoma upbringing. The second son of June and Congressman Ed Edmondson and the nephew of former Oklahoma Governor J. Howard Edmondson, Drew learned the value of true public service early.After graduating from Muskogee Central High School, Drew attended Northeastern State College in Tahlequah on scholarship. While there, he met the former Linda Larason of Fargo,Oklahoma, who would become his wife. After their first date, Drew famously asked Linda,“When are we getting married?” and the rest is history.
Service First
Upon graduation from college, Drew enlisted in the United States Navy, where he reached the rank of Petty Officer Second Class and served a tour of duty in Vietnam. While in the Navy, he earned the Joint Service Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. His first job after the war was as a speech and debate teacher at Muskogee High School.He was elected to the state legislature in 1974, and he graduated from the University of Tulsa School of Law in 1978. He was named Chief Prosecutor for the Muskogee County District Attorney’s office in 1982. Drew was elected District Attorney the same year and he served in that position for 10 years. He was elected Attorney General in 1994.Drew was re-elected Attorney General in 1998 without opposition, and as his popularity grew,he received more than 60 percent of the vote in his 2002 and 2006 elections for that office. He left office in 2011 and has been in the private practice of law since.
The People’s Champion
As District Attorney, his peers named him outstanding DA for the State of Oklahoma and elected him president of the District Attorney’s Association.As Attorney General, Drew served as president of the National Association of Attorneys General and chaired the association’s committees on Consumer Protection and Tobacco Enforcement.In 2005, he received the prestigious Kelly-Wyman Award as the outstanding attorney general in the country.
Those honors follow a tremendous record of accomplishment. In 1998, Drew was one of eight attorneys general to negotiate a record-breaking settlement agreement with the country’s largest tobacco companies. To protect the settlement money received by Oklahoma, Edmondson led the charge to establish the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust,which constitutionally protected the settlement money and ensured that it can only be spent on public health. To date, the Tobacco Trust balance stands at more than $1 billion.
Drew’s efforts on behalf of public schools have also been noteworthy. In 2001, he negotiated asettlement with then Southwestern Bell to establish the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust. Since then, OETT has put more than $12 million in technology and training into Oklahoma public schools.
A tireless advocate for crime victims, Drew’s record includes establishing the first-ever Victims Services Unit in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office. With victims in mind, he worked to streamline the death penalty appeals process in Oklahoma.His love for Oklahoma’s natural resources is evident in his efforts to protect our land and water.In 2006, he sued more than a dozen corporations for polluting the Illinois River Watershed. Because of Drew’s work, the corporate poultry industry has changed its practices, trucking out thousands of tons of waste that was previously applied directly to land in the watershed.
Husband. Father. Grandfather.
Servant.Today, Drew and Linda are proud parents to their daughter, Mary, and son-in-law, Mike, and their son, Robert, and daughter-in-law, Andrea. Drew and Linda also enjoy spending time with their twin grandchildren, Andrew and Catherine, who were born to Mike and Mary in 2008.Linda is a retired medical social worker and active community volunteer and advocate. Drew has served on executive boards for Oklahoma City University School of Law, the Palomar FamilyJustice Center, the Oklahoma Mental Health Association, Bacone College and Rainbow Fleet, aprivate non-profit servicing parents and childcare facilities across the state. He is also a memberof Rotary Club 29 and the Oklahoma Academy and a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma, Class IV.He is an ordained Elder in the Presbyterian Church.
Answers to TBI Questions
Posted by Alicia Murie on Monday, May 7, 2018
Do you know anyone who has sustained a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Edmondson: Yes.
Edmondson: Yes.
2. What programs would you look into implementing once elected to help those with Traumatic
Brain Injury?
Edmondson: I would work closely with the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council and its staff
including Ann Trudgeon and Erin Taylor to improve existing programs and consider
implementing new ones. With all the cuts made by Republicans during the past eight years
our state Department of Mental Health cannot keep up with all the existing mandates,
much less prioritize new areas of concern. I will change that by seeking additional funding
for mental health and insist they provide additional resources to address underserved
populations like traumatic brain injury victims who may not receive care through other
health care providers.
3. In the Report to Congress: The Management of Traumatic Brain Injury in Children:
Opportunities for Action it states that “in 2003, there were approximately 640,000 TBI-related
emergency department (ED) visits, 18,000 TBI-related hospitalizations, and 1,500 TBI-related
deaths among children 14 years of age and younger. In this letter I stated Oklahoma is one of the
top 10 leading states in the nation with the most cases. What do you propose can be done to start
changing this stat?
Edmondson: The first step would be to make sure we are collecting the necessary data to understand
why these injuries are happening, and why our rates are so high in Oklahoma. Once we
understand the problem we can begin to address root causes of TBIs in Oklahoma and
reduce them. I will coordinate all state agencies to work with the Children’s’ Hospital in
Oklahoma City to see that children with TDI receive worldclass care.
If you were to look at the website for the Center for Disease Control under Traumatic Brain
Injury > Severe TBI it states “The estimated economic cost of TBI in 2010, including direct and
indirect medical costs, is estimated to be approximately $76.5 billion. Additionally the cost of
fatal TBIs and TBIs requiring hospitalization, many of which are severe, account for
approximately 90% of the total TBI medical costs.” Is there anyway you think it can be balanced
here in the state?
Edmondson: I plan to reverse the disastrous decision of Mary Fallin and accept the Medicaid expansion
and bring healthcare coverage to roughly 150,000 Oklahomans. This would provide
needed resources to treat TBIs for a large portion of the population. Extending coverage to
low-income Oklahomans would ensure that those that can least afford it are not weighed
down financially by TBIs and other injuries.
When it comes to traumatic brain injury related death, self-harm was the leading cause. Besides
promoting getting professional help, I would really want to see something done on encouraging
kids to building up their circle of friends & teaching them about who you surround yourself with
defines you and can really build you up. My doctors greatly attribute a) the support I received &
still do from my friends I knew growing up in Chandler when I had/still have flashbacks and
being my rock b) Stillwater - community, athletes at OSU for helping to encourage me and to re-
learn what it was like to be part of a unit. What type of awareness raising would you do?
Edmondson: I am aware that teen suicide is a big problem in the state and will work with the State
Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to implement prevention
programs to lower the rate of suicide and give teens the support they need. Restoring the
funding of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services would go a
long way in providing services in communities around the state. The state, most likely
through the Department of Health, could also initiate a mental health public information
campaign to bring awareness and change perceptions of mental health issues.
If someone goes to democrats.org and wants to find information about ADA rights, nothing is
there. SAD. How can someone believe you when you won’t put anything on your ADA rights
page?
Edmondson: Democrats.org does have a section on Americans with disabilities which you can read here.
One sentence that sums up our feelings on the issue is “Democrats will continue our efforts
to defend the Americans with Disabilities Act against attacks intended to undercut the
rights of people with disabilities, and we will work to ensure that workers with disabilities
are no longer denied the workforce protections available to every other American.” I am
committed to these same efforts on the state level.
Those with Traumatic Brain Injuries and Disabilities depend on both Social Security Insurance
and Medicaid/Medicare. I was kicked off a few months after I was married. Even before I was
married I was only allowed to make $80/month before money started getting cut back. Since
being kicked off I am working on doing something that will not only benefit those on SSI &
Medicaid/Medicare but get the agencies talking to one another. What are you planning to do to
help those with Traumatic Brain Injuries and Disabilities who depend on SSI and are either
completely unable to work or can work some but not work the total time someone a without
disability does?
Edmondson: While I understand the difficulties involved in continuing SSI Disability eligibility and
working as much as possible, this is a federal issue that would I have no direct influence
over as Governor. But there are many falling through the cracks between SSI, veterans
care, workers’ compensation, and wrong-headed decisions from health insurance
companies where a Governor can make a difference. Specifically, I disagree with the
decision by the Fallin Administration to sign legislation which reduced Oklahoma’s
workers’ compensation benefits to the lowest level in the nation. Working families can be
devastated by a work injury, especially the severe ones that result in a TBI. I am
committed to working to reverse these wrong-headed benefit cuts and help Oklahomans
with work-related injuries to receive the medical, indemnity, and job training benefits they
deserve.
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