Gary Banz

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Gary Banz
Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
from the 101st district
In office
2004–2016
Preceded byForrest Claunch
Succeeded byTess Teague
Personal details
Born (1945-12-07) 7 December 1945 (age 78)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Alma materUniversity of Central Oklahoma, Southern Nazarene University [1]
OccupationRetired Teacher, Politician[2]

Gary Banz (born December 7, 1945) is a retired American educator and former Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. He served as a majority whip of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and as Oklahoma state leader besides national secretary of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).[3][4]

Banz was the author of a bill to reduce the number of state lawmakers.[5]

Early life

Banz was born December 7, 1945, in

Army Achievement Medal on May 7, 1985.[7]

Banz married Linda and had three children who graduated from Midwest City High School. Banz taught in various Oklahoma school districts before retiring and eventually running for office.[8]

Political career

Banz was first elected to House District 101 with no Democratic opposition in 2004.[9] However, he did face two primary opponents, Jeremy Sellers and Todd Dealy.[10] He faced no opposition in 2006.[11] In 2008, he defeated Democratic challenger Donnie Lewis.[12] In 2012, he defeated Democratic challenger Stephen Covert.[13]

Banz proposed House Joint Resolution 1021, which seeks to reduce the size of the Oklahoma Legislature by cutting the number of lawmakers.[14] The legislation was not enacted during the 2012 legislative session, but would have put a state question on the November 2012 ballot. If approved by voters, it would have been implemented in 2021.

References

  1. ^ Gary Banz Bio, VoteSmart.org Retrieved on May 8, 2009.
  2. ^ Gary Banz Bio, VoteSmart.org Retrieved on May 8, 2009.
  3. ^ State Chairmen, ALEC.org. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
  4. ^ Wines, Michael (August 22, 2016). "Inside the Conservative Push for States to Amend the Constitution". NYT. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  5. ^ Oklahoma Capitol briefs, The Oklahoman. Published September 9, 2011.
  6. ^ Gary Banz Bio, VoteSmart.org Retrieved on May 8, 2009.
  7. ^ Gary Banz Web site[permanent dead link]. Retrieved on May 8, 2009.
  8. ^ Gary Banz Web site[permanent dead link]. Retrieved on May 8, 2009.
  9. ^ Unopposed Candidates Elected (2004) Archived 2008-11-26 at the Wayback Machine at Oklahoma State Election Board (accessed April 9, 2010)
  10. ^ Republican Primary Election (July 27, 2004) Archived November 26, 2008, at the Wayback Machine at Oklahoma State Election Board (accessed April 9, 2010)
  11. ^ Unopposed Candidates Elected (2006) Archived 2008-11-26 at the Wayback Machine at Oklahoma State Election Board (accessed April 9, 2010)
  12. ^ 2008 election results Archived 2009-06-17 at the Wayback Machine at Oklahoma State Election Board (accessed April 9, 2010)
  13. ^ 2012 General Election Results Oklahoma State Election Board (accessed April 16, 2013).
  14. ^ Hoberock, Barbara. Coming Monday: Lawmaker seeks to reduce size of state House, Senate, Tulsa World. Published November 25, 2011.