State rep Harrison eyes DA's spot

By Doug Russell, News Editor

STIGLER, Dec. 3 —“Right is right and wrong is wrong.” With those words, Terry Harrison ran for the District 18 state representative’s post in 2002.

The words apply to his latest political bid as well, he said, perhaps even more than they did to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. Harrison is running for the District 18 district attorney’s position.

“When I first decided to run for the state legislature, it seemed like it was the thing to do,” Harrison said, noting that his wife was pregnant with their first child at the time. “We both, Amy and I, have a passion to make things better, and we still want to do that, but there have been a lot of changes since I first ran for office.”

For one thing, when Harrison was first elected there were still many “old school” politicians at the state Capitol. Partisanship was common, but just because one person was a Democrat and another a Republican didn’t mean that they couldn’t be friends.

“You and I can disagree on something, but we can still get along on other issues,” Harrison said. “That’s the way it should be, and that’s the way it was. It’s not that way any more.

“When I was first elected to the legislature, you never heard me say ‘Democrat’ or ‘Republican.’ Right was right and wrong was wrong. I don’t have to think something is right just because a Democrat said it or something is wrong just because a Republican said it.” He shook his head. “It’s not that way anymore.

“I’m tired of party politics.”

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