Oklahoma City attorney Ryan Leonard, 37, was in Ardmore this week to discuss his candidacy for attorney general.
“We’ve gotten a lot of support from all over the state,” he said. “I think we’ve gotten a very good head start.”
The official filing period isn’t until June 2010, but candidates for state office usually begin their campaigns well before the filing deadline. Leonard, a Republican, is a former state prosecutor and senior aide to U.S. Senator Don Nickles.
He said, if elected, he had several priorities including cracking down on the state’s methamphetamine problem and acting aggressively on consumer protection issues. He said the state attorney general also has a role on the national front.
“I think the national environment promotes new and different challenges than we have ever seen before,” he said. “There is a lot going on in Washington, D.C, ,both legally and constitutionally.”
A fourth-generation native of Beaver in the Oklahoma panhandle, Leonard said he was shaped by the values he learned growing up in western Oklahoma. He said he applies the common sense and conservative values he learned in western Oklahoma to everything he does.
As a state prosecutor, Leonard prosecuted both serious felony and misdemeanor cases in Canadian County. As an attorney in private practice, Leonard has fought for small businesses, which form the backbone of the state’s economy. He has also been proud to defend the rights of individuals, including representing pro bono children in the state’s foster system.
In his four years as a senior legislative aide for Nickles, he was intimately involved in crafting federal legislation benefitting Oklahoma farmers and ranchers, building Oklahoma’s transportation infrastructure, securing the rights of Oklahoma hunters and fishermen in addition to legislation affecting the federal judiciary, natural resources and Indian affairs. He also assisted Nickles draft and pass legislation aiding victims of the Oklahoma City bombing and establishing the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
Leonard earned his law degree from the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife Carrie and their three children attend Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City.
“If elected, my job will be to work on behalf of the citizens of the state to do what is right as their lawyer,” he said.
Steve Biehn, 221-6546
