I’m disheartened and disappointed to see that OPN and myself are facing some varied accusations after last weekend’s election at the 5th Congressional District Democratic Convention. It seems that some in the Democratic party are unhappy about the election results and have chosen to attack me and the work of OPN. As a longstanding member of the Democratic party as well as a candidate for office myself, I’ve always supported a party that is inclusive, welcoming, and conducive to our goals of advancing progressive policy in the state of Oklahoma. You can read more about our goals, which we published on our website, here: https://www.okprogressnow.org/ok_democratic_party

This year, we were very proud to support Rev. Christiane Byrd, Ben Eisenberg, and Lathonya Shivers, all candidates who believe in building stronger voter data, party infrastructure, and candidate support. Two of the three folks (Rev Byrd and Ben) were elected in a fair and open process that was transparent to all who attended the convention meeting on Saturday. Moving forward, we continue to support candidates who we believe represent the best that the Democratic party has to offer and whose voices we believe will be a benefit to our community. 

I would welcome any people who question the motives of OPN to simply get to know us better. I have an open-door policy; I’m not hard to reach via email or social media. I’d encourage you to get in touch with our slate and get their perspective on why they chose to run and what their goals are. I’d be more than happy to answer your questions about why we supported our chosen slate and to share the work that OPN has coming up, including a very exciting Summer of Action which will bring us into partnership with some of the state’s foremost leaders in progressive organizing and social justice. I also would welcome you at our monthly Progressive Meetups (our next one is this Saturday at Spiked), which have for over a year served as a safe and positive welcoming space for progressive folks across the city to meet and share resources. 

At the end of the day, what matters most to me, and to the team at OPN, is the work: the work of building progressive power in Oklahoma. If that sounds like you, we are happy to have you join us - all it takes is reaching out. 

Nick Singer, director Oklahoma Progress Now

Oklahoma Progress Now Board