Friday, November 11, 2011
Oklahoma City – Officials at the Oklahoma Insurance Department on Friday joined voices across the state in offering condolences and eulogies following the death of state Sen. David Myers, R-Ponca City.
The Republican chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee died Friday due to a lung infection.
“As a newcomer to politics, I feel so fortunate to have met and worked with Sen. David Myers during my brief tenure in office,” said Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak. “Most recently, Sen. Myers was a valuable contributor to a roundtable discussion of insurance issues with constituents in Noble County on Oct. 14.
“He was a wise, pragmatic, diplomatic man who made friends on both sides of the political aisle. Sen. Myers was a standard-bearer for the Oklahoma Republican Party and a public servant whose sensibility and style of leadership was a model for all public servants.
"I extend my deepest sympathy to Sen. Myers' family and friends."
Owen Laughlin, Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel at the Insurance Department, served in the Oklahoma Senate during Myers’ tenure. The men first met more than a decade ago when Myers first ran for the Senate unsuccessfully. Laughlin worked with Myers on that campaign and on the 2002 campaign when the Ponca City Republican gained victory and entered the Senate, representing District 20, including all or parts of Alfalfa, Garfield, Grant, Kay and Noble counties.
“This is a huge loss for the state of Oklahoma,” said Laughlin, who paused at times to compose himself. “We worked closely together on Appropriations matters when I was the floor leader in the Senate. He was my dear friend; I’ve been in his home. He was loved by the people out in the rural areas of the state and he did a great job of representing rural Oklahoma.
“David Myers was a man of high integrity and will be missed enormously by anyone who believes in good government.”
Services for Sen. Myers are set for Tuesday in Ponca City.
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About the Oklahoma Insurance Department
The Oklahoma Insurance Department, an agency of the State of Oklahoma, is responsible for the education and protection of the insurance-buying public and for oversight of the insurance industry in the state.
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For more information contact:
Glenn Craven
(405) 522-1769
e-mail: glenn.craven@oid.ok.gov