John George is an American politician who has served as the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's b ...

member from the 36th district since November 16, 2022.

Education

George earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in criminal justice from East Central University.

Career

George served five years in the Oklahoma National Guard and reached the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

before joining the

Oklahoma City Police Department ) , formedyear = 1889 , formedmonthday = , preceding1 = , dissolved = , superseding = , employees = 1,382 (2020) , volunteers = , budget = $226 million (2021) , nongovernment = , country ...

in 1991 as a detective. In 2012 he was elected to serve as the Oklahoma City

Fraternal Order of Police The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) is a fraternal organization consisting of sworn law enforcement officers in the United States. It reports a membership of over 355,000 members organized in 2,100 local chapters (lodges), state lodges, and the ...

(Lodge 123) president. As president of the Fraternal Order of Police, he supported Oklahoma City Police Chief Wade Gourley when

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...

Oklahoma City called for his resignation in 2020. He dismissed criticisms the FOP unfairly defended officers, arguing that officers paid dues for legal defense from the union. He publicly clashed with Oklahoma city councilwoman Jobeth Harmon after she shared a post from

Oklahoma City labeling police killings of African-Americans as terrorism and comparing it to the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...

. George described the comments as a "false narrative because we don't have this epidemic of police officers murdering innocent black men in this country." On November 23, 2020 five Oklahoma City Police Department officers shot and killed 15-year-old Stavian Rodriguez after he had allegedly assisted 17-year-old Wyatt Cheatham in robbing a gas station. In March 2021, the officers were charged in

Oklahoma County Oklahoma County is located in the central part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2010 census, the population was 718,633, making it the most populous county in Oklahoma. The county seat is Oklahoma City, the state capital and largest ci ...

. George defended the officer's conduct saying "a loss of life is always a tragedy and we know these officers did not take firing their weapons lightly. The OKC FOP stands by these officers and maintains they acted within the law." He served in that position until he resigned in 2022.

Oklahoma House of Representatives

George announced his campaign for the

in June 2021. Since the new legislative maps were not finalized yet, he initially launched his campaign for house district sixty-six to succeed retiring incumbent Representative

Jadine Nollan Jadine Nollan (born September 29, 1958) is an American politician who served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members intro ...

. However, redistricting led him to run in house district 36 which was moved from Osage County. Five Republican candidates ran for the seat formerly occupied by Representative Sean Roberts: Charles De Furia, Donald Paden, Anita Raglin, Wade Roberts, and George. He campaigned on cutting taxes, strengthening

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

laws, and criminal justice reform without decriminalization. He advanced to a runoff with Anita Raglin. During the runoff election, he was endorsed by Governor

Kevin Stitt John Kevin Stitt (born December 28, 1972) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 28th governor of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, he began his first term as governor in January 2019 and was reelected to a second t ...

and the

chapters for Choctaw, Edmond, Norman, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County Sherriff's office and the state chapter. George won the August runoff, and since no non- Republican candidate filed for the seat the general election was canceled. He was sworn in November 16, 2022.

Publications

*"George: A chance to truly support police, protect OKC" in ''The Journal Record'' (September 7, 2017). *"George: An Oklahoma City model for safety" in ''The Journal Record'' (December 2, 2016).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:George, John 21st-century American politicians Living people Military personnel from Oklahoma Oklahoma police officers Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives East Central University alumni People from Oklahoma County, Oklahoma Year of birth missing (living people)