OKLAHOMA CITY — Two local lawmakers led the 54th Oklahoma Legislature in missed votes.
Rep. John Trebilcock, R-Broken Arrow, missed 1,014 votes, or slightly more than 47 percent of the votes cast over both sessions of the 54th Legislature, which concluded its two-year run on May 23.
Trebilcock, who served his final term due to term limits, did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Percentagewise, he was followed by Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Tulsa, who missed 892 votes or nearly 47 percent.
Mazzei is recovering from a back injury he suffered in a 2008 car accident. He said his record greatly improved for the most recent session this past year.
“I was pleased to get my voting record up over 80 percent,” Mazzei said. “I would still like that to be 90 percent to 95 percent like I was before the car accident, but I felt productive this year and worked hard to do a good job for my constituents and work on positive legislation for job growth and tax relief.”
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The missed or excused votes were tabulated by eCapitol, a subscription-based bill-tracking service. The figures were based on votes on bills, including procedural votes. It did not include missed committee votes or executive nominations.
Sen. Harry Coates, R-Seminole, who also could not seek re-election due to term limits, had 866 missed or excused votes, or slightly more than 42 percent. He did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Rep. Cory Williams, D-Stillwater, missed 839 votes or nearly 37 percent. He could not be reached for comment.
Rep. Joe Dorman, D-Rush Springs, missed 759 votes or nearly 32 percent. Dorman is term-limited and is running for governor.
Dorman said he was not surprised, adding that he has been attempting to do two things at once, serving in the House and getting his campaign going. He said he tried to vote on final passage of bills.
In early April, the Tulsa World reported that former House Speaker T.W. Shannon, R-Lawton, who is running for U.S. Senate, missed a significant number of votes for the most recent session. His total missed votes for two sessions did not put him among the top five in the House for the 54th Legislature.
Rep. Eddie Fields, R-Wynona, had the best voting record of both chambers for the two sessions, missing eight votes.
“It is difficult,” Fields said of maintaining a near-perfect record.
He was followed by Rep. Jason Murphey, R-Guthrie, and Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, who missed 11 votes for both sessions.
Murphey said he has tried not to miss a legislative day and has been blessed he has not had other events on legislative days.
‘No’ votes
Sen. Constance Johnson, D-Forest Park, led the Senate in “no” votes. She is running for U.S. Senate. The tabulation includes committee votes.
She voted “no” 321 times, or slightly more than 14 percent.
Many of the proposals she opposed flew in the face of personal freedom and liberty, she said.
Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, followed Johnson in “no” votes. He voted “no” 285 times, nearly 14 percent of the time.
“A lot of times, it depends on if it is growing government, if the punishment fits the crime, especially if it is a felony,” Dahm said.
He also considers whether a measure is a proper function of government or has errors. He also will vote against a measure if it is a last-minute item and he has not had a chance to read it, he said. Another consideration is if the measure runs afoul of the state or U.S. Constitution, Dahm said.
In the House, Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, D-Tulsa, cast the most “no” votes.
She voted “no” about 27 percent of the time, casting 977 “no” votes.
McDaniel said she votes “no” if she does not see how the measure will help the people in her district or move the district forward.
“I didn’t think we had a lot of great ideas this year, frankly,” she said.
