Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Mazzei held a veterans’ roundtable Monday, Oct. 12, to hear directly from local veterans about what matters most to them.
“We need to address some priorities, make a few changes, particularly in terms of rebuilding some of the relationships with the state and some of our veteran organizations,” Mazzei said.
During his campaign, Mazzei promised to eliminate the state income tax for all Oklahomans and abolish property taxes for seniors and veterans. The discussion also focused on helping veterans find good-paying jobs, expanding access to mental health services, and ensuring Oklahoma’s veterans have the support they need after their service.
“Well, two of the biggest issues we hear about are property taxes, as we discussed today, because there’s so much concern with being able to hold on to a home for a senior after taxes on what finance guys like me call an unrealized gain — taxes that have gone up 30, 40, and 50%. We also hear a lot about education, and we are not recruiting as many workers to the state of Oklahoma, given the bad reputation of being 49th in education. And that’s why I will hire a statewide literacy director in my first week of office to replicate the very successful Mississippi model, which took them from 50th to first in reading outcomes,” Mazzei said.
Mazzei will face off against Democrat Cyndi Munson in the general election Nov. 3.
