Following the news that Mayor Mick Cornett will not seek re-election in February, 2018, David Holt is entering the Oklahoma City mayor’s race.   Holt announced via a web video posted online at holtformayor.com.

In the announcement video, Holt calls for Oklahoma City voters to maintain visionary leadership in the Mayor’s office.

“I’m part of the generation that has chosen to build our lives here because of the visionary leadership of those who came before,” says Holt in his announcement.   “We must maintain that same optimistic attitude, that same hunger to build a great city that got us here.   We must capture the best elements of the past, but inject them with new energy and new ideas.   We must renew the vision.”

In the video, Holt outlines the broad strokes of a platform for the city’s future.

“I believe Oklahoma City’s best days still lie ahead, but only if we rededicate ourselves to seeking the next big dream, while still maintaining a steady focus on the fundamentals – jobs, police and fire protection, streets and infrastructure, great schools, and quality of life in our neighborhoods.”

In the video, Holt is joined by citizens from different locations across the city declaring that Oklahoma City’s progress is “not finished yet.”

Backed by supporters in the closing scene of the video, Holt ends his announcement by making a call for city unity, or as he calls it – “one OKC”.

“This journey we’ve been on together – I want it to continue.   I know it can.   Over the course of the next few months, we’ll get to know each other even better, as we take this grassroots campaign to every corner of this city, our city.  A mayor must first listen, and I’ll be listening to you.   And then I’m going to ask you to join me as we write the next chapter of this story together, as one OKC.”

Holt was born and raised in Oklahoma City.   The son of a teacher and a social worker, Holt has had family in Oklahoma City for the better part of a century.   He graduated from Putnam City Schools before receiving his B.A. from George Washington University and his law degree from Oklahoma City University.

Holt served for five years as chief of staff to Mayor Mick Cornett before serving the last seven years in the Oklahoma Senate, representing parts of Northwest Oklahoma City.    Holt has authored 60 pieces of legislation that have become law, and he has been a champion in the Senate for increased teacher pay, better public schools, more government transparency, protections for domestic violence victims, and higher voter participation.   He has received the “Sunshine Award” from Freedom of Information Oklahoma, the “Guardian Award” from the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women, the “Bulldog Award” from the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council, and a Governor’s Art Award, among others.

Holt is the author of “Big League City: Oklahoma City’s Rise to the NBA,” which chronicles Oklahoma City’s recent renaissance.   He has served on numerous community boards, including the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, Allied Arts, the Oklahoma City Arts Council, the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation, the Putnam City Public Schools Foundation, the Ralph Ellison Foundation, and Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, among many others.   Last month, the OKC Friday paper named him “OKCityan of the Year.”

David and his wife Rachel, an Assistant Attorney General, have two children, George and Margaret.   The Holts are members of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church.   Holt is also a member of the Osage Nation.

For more information about the campaign, visit holtformayor.com, or follow David Holt on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

The election will be held February 13, 2018.

The endorsements include:

• Former Governor Brad Henry and former Governor Frank Keating

• City Councilmembers Meg Salyer, John Pettis, and Mark Stonecipher

• County Commissioner and former Councilmember Willa Johnson

• Business leaders Larry Nichols, Harold Hamm, Gene Rainbolt, David Rainbolt, Greg Love, George Records, Brad Naifeh

• Civic leaders Rhonda Hooper, Percy Kirk, Steve Hahn, Dave Lopez, Carl Edwards, Bob Ross, Brad Krieger, Lou Kerr, Dick Tanenbaum, Judy Hatfield, David Jackson, Bob Funk, Jr., Tim McLaughlin, Bob Spinks, John Kennedy, Rick Moore, Patrick Rooney

• State Treasurer Ken Miller and Labor Commissioner Melissa Houston

• State legislators Stephanie Bice, Cyndi Munson, Elise Hall, Chris Kannady, Greg Treat, Ervin Yen, Adam Pugh, Anthony Sykes, Anastasia Pittman, Tammy West, A.J. Griffin, Rob Standridge, Tess Teague, Mike Osburn

• Former U.S. Congressman Dan Boren and former Corporation Commissioner and County Commissioner Jim Roth

• Former Councilmembers Pat Ryan, Gary Marrs, Guy Liebmann and Walt Morris

• Local legends Bart Conner, Jane Jayroe, Greg Burns, Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd, Kyle Dillingham, Rand & Jeanette Elliott, Dr. Carlan Yates, Nancy Miller

• Newspaper publishers Russell Perry and Vicki Gourley

• Arts advocates Jim Tolbert, Dick Sias, James Pickel, Scott Booker, Deborah Senner, Peter Dolese, Terri Cooper, John Seward, Jim Loftis, Stephen Kovash, Renzi Stone, Julia Kirt, Susan McCalmont, Eddie Walker

• Education leaders Robert Henry, Tracy McDaniel, Fred Rhodes, Renee Porter, Valerie Couch, Becky Haliburton, Carrie Coppernoll Jacobs, Dr. Reggies Wenyika

• Community volunteers, activists and leaders Mary Pointer, Tricia Everest, Polly Nichols, Sally Starling, Michael Laird, Steve Mason, Harry Wilson, Vinh Nguyen, John Yoeckel, Nathaniel Harding, Leslie Batchelor, Jeff Bezdek, Pam Henry, Kris Steele, Jan Peery, Andy Moore, Brenda & Jorge Hernandez, Laura Massenat, Edie Roodman, Xavier Neira, Kadir Akkus, Cher Golding, Kim Funk, Rabbi Ovadia Goldman, Mary Melon

• Dozens of small business owners like Kevin Perry, Bruce Rinehart, Tracey Zeeck, Teresa Moisant, Brett Brewer, Brent Brewer, Beverly Morgan, Ba Luong

• And hundreds more…

For more information about David Holt’s grassroots campaign to continue the Oklahoma City renaissance, visit holtformayor.com, where you can also join the team.   You can follow David Holt on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The full list of 450 endorsements, in alphabetical order:

Jill Adler
Kadir Akkus
Joseph Alsay
Dave Amis
Rusty Appleton
Stefanie Appleton
Jon Armstrong
Randy Baker
Rose Mary Baker
Jon Bargas
Dr. Royce Bargas
Kelley Barnes
Emmalee Barresi
Ben Barresi
Dan Batchelor
Leslie Batchelor
Mark Beffort
John Benefiel
Jim Benson
Debi Bentley
Tim Berney
Shannon Bert
Jeff Bezdek
Sen. Stephanie Bice
Bev Binkowski
Micah Blackwood
Ed Blau
Missy Blevins
Scott Booker
Former Cong, Dan Boren
Bill Bradford
Sherri Bradford
Sarah Brawley
Todd Brawley
Brett Brewer
Brent Brewer
Kathryn Brewer
Jerry Broughton
Allen Brown
Billie Brown
Brian Brown
Carla Brown
Betsy Brunsteter
Bob Burke
Andy Burnett
Greg Burns
Barry Burris
Gwendolyn Caldwell
Tony Caldwell
Nathan Cao
Debbi Carmack
Chip Carter
Wade Carter
Christy Carson Hanshew
Jon Chasteen
Rocky Chavez
Rob Cherry
Darla Cheek
Cathy Christensen
Mickey Clagg
Lester Claravall
Jeff Click
Ann-Clore Duncan
Mona Cohlmia Spivey
Donna Cohn
Jayna Conklin
Janet Connel
Mark Connel
Bart Conner
James Cooper
Terri Cooper
Carrie Coppernoll Jacobs
Casey Cornett
Marek Cornett
Valerie Couch
Jim Cowan
Wayne Coyne
Terrance Craft
Beth Cupp
Ronn Cupp
Roger Dahlgren
Karen Dahlgren
Missy Dean
Barbara Anne DeBolt
Alberto de Armendi
David Dickerson
John Dill
Ricky Dill
Kyle Dillingham
Ali Dodd
Dena Doolin
Peter Dolese
Bebe Dotter
Don Douglas
Michael Downes
Alisia Drennan
Steven Drozd
Greg Duffy
Jerrie Duffy
Marc Dunham
Kelli Dupuy
Stacy Dykstra
Laura Eckel
Tyler Eckel
Todd Edmonds
Carl Edwards
Randi Ellefson
Jeanette Elliott
Rand Elliott
Kate England
Denise Engle
Doug Estep
Jennifer Eve Fish
Tricia Everest
Danielle Ezelle
Josh Fahrenbruck
Clay Farha
GiGi Faulker
Brian Ferguson
Fran Ferrari
Mike Fina
Kelsey Fink
Adam Fink
Chaya Fletcher
Scott Forester
Daniel Frankenstein
Marna Franklin
Chip Fudge
Angela Fuller
Sam Fulkerson
Bob  Funk, Jr.
Kim Funk
Scott Georgi
Charlie Givens, II
Kay Goebel
Jonathan Gold
Alan Goldfarb
Sue Goldfarb
Cher Golding
Ovadia Goldman
Nechama Goldman
Ernie Gomez
Brent Gooden
Chris Gordon
Vicki Gourley
Randy Grau
Nick Gray
Derek Green
Dustin Green
Paige Gregory
Sen. A.J. Griffin
Eddie Griffin
Pat Grisham
Spencer Guinn
Steve Hahn
Becky Haliburton
Rep. Elise Hall
Lorne Hall
Pat Hall
Harold Hamm
Jon Haque
Nathaniel Harding
Amanda Harding
Jenna Harlow
Nick Harroz
Judy Hatfield
Robert Hefner, V
Gov. Brad Henry
Pam Henry
Robert Henry
Brenda Hernandez
Jorge Hernandez
Estela Hernandez
Zeke Hernandez
Jake Hickman
Gayle Higgs
Gary Higgs
Kevin Higgs
Jennifer Higgs
Brian Hill
Melissa Hill
Jason Hines
Randy Hogan
Kay Holt
Elaine Hood
Aubrey Hooper
Jamie Hooper
Ron Hooper
Rhonda Hooper
Labor Commissioner Melissa Houston
Buck Irwin
David Jackson
Marcy Jackson
Matt Jackson
Mike Jackson
Michelle Jameson
Jane Jayroe
Mary Jenkins
George Johnson, Jr.
Rick Johnson
County Commissioner Willa Johnson
Joe Johnston
Clark Jolley
Brenda Jones
Mautra Jones
Donald Jordan
Rep. Chris Kannady
Gov. Frank Keating
Cathy Keller
Thomas Keller
John Kennedy
Lou Kerr
Ryan Kilpatrick
Tammie Kilpatrick
Justin King
Percy Kirk
Julia Kirt
Jonna Kirschner
Jeff Kline
Kym Koch Thompson
Stephen Kovash
Brad Krieger
Mike Krywucki
Sue Kuntze
Rusty LaForge
Michael Laird
Mickie Lara
Whitney Lawson Hollar
Ryan Leonard
Carrie Leonard
Art LeFrancois
Shelley Leveridge
Harrison Levy
David Lewis
Guy Liebmann
Judy Liebmann
John Limber
Sally Limber
Becky Lindsay Karpe
Willard Linzy
Stephanie Lippert
Jan Loftis
Jim Loftis
Dave Lopez
Greg Love
Matthew Love
Sen. Kyle Loveless
Kim Lowe
Ba Luong
Ed Lynn
Andy Mahbubani
Cary Sue Majors Vega
Daniel Maloney
Denise Mankin
Jamie Manoles
Matt Manoles
Gary Marrs
Dan Martel
John Martin
Steve Mason
Travis Mason
Laura Massenat
Susan McCalmont
Robert McCampbell
Josh McClintock
Evelyn McCoy
Tracy McDaniel
Anthony McDermid
Kathryn McGill
Todd McGinley
Matt McGuire
Kelley McGuire
Tim McLaughlin
Shannon Medley
Dana Meister
Harry Meister
Mary Melon
Chris Merideth
State Treasurer Ken Miller
Nancy Miller
Teresa Moisant
Jennifer Monies
Tony Moon
Andy Moore
Rick Moore
Beverly Morgan
D.J. Morgan
Chris Moroz
Chantal Morris
Walt Morris
Rep. Cyndi Munson
Blair Naifeh
Brad Naifeh
Pam Nance
Jack Nance
Xavier Neira
Vinh Nguyen
Larry Nichols
Polly Nichols
Ben Nockels
Eric Oesch
Danny Ojeda
Dave Ortloff
Rep. Mike Osburn
Shane O’Toole
Rachel Pappy
Jim Parrack
Michael Payne Conat
Kristin Peck
Jan Peery
Lee Peoples
Bailey Perkins
Kevin Perry
Russell Perry
Councilman John Pettis
Lindsey Pever
Dr. Joe Phillips
James Pickel
Trent Pitt
Sen. Anastasia Pittman
Cacky Poarch
Mary Pointer
Myron Pope
Renee Porter
Donna Powell
Sen. Adam Pugh
David Rainbolt
Gene Rainbolt
Katie Rathkey
Zabayr Rahman
Emily Ratcliff
George Records
Jason Reese
Kathlyn Reynolds
Fred Rhodes
Jerry Rickerts
John Riesenberg
Susan Riley
Bruce Rinehart
John Robberson
Lynn Robberson
Anne Roberts
Hayden Roberts
Sarah Roberts
LaNeale Robertson
Mike Robins
Emily Robins
Tom Robins
Emma Rolls
Edie Roodman
Patrick Rooney
Sean Rose
Bob Ross
Dan Ross
Jim Roth
Seth Rott
John Roy
Leah Rubio
Claudio Rubio
Pat Ryan
Councilwoman Meg Salyer
Dan Schiedel
Kim Searls
Sally Selvidge
George Selvidge
Deborah Senner
John Seward
Tamar Shawareb
Kirk Shelley
Don Sherry
Simon Shingleton
Kimber Shoop
Jennifer Shoop
Dick Sias
Eric Smith
Leslie Spears
Bob Spinks
Sarah Spinks
Robbie Squires
Dee Dee Stafford
Carolyn Stager
Sen. Rob Standridge
Jeff Starling
Sally Starling
Ainslie Stanford
Kris Steele
Geren Steiner
Bobby Stem
Clint Stone
Renzi Stone
Councilman Mark Stonecipher
Ken Stoner
Tim Strange
Julie Strebel Hager
Anika Stucky
Jason Sutton
Charlie Swinton
Sen. Anthony Sykes
David Syler
Marcy Taber
Russ Tallchief
Glenna Tanenbaum
Dick Tanenbaum
Leah Taylor
Jason Taylor
Sarah Taylor
Rep. Tess Teague
Danny Thomason
Jan Thompson
Matt Thompson
Mike Thompson
Hayley Thompson
Edith Thurmond
Matt Tilly
Jim Tolbert
Lonny Towell
Victoria Tran
Sen. Greg Treat
Joe Trzcinski
Patrick Turpen
Chris Tytanic
Saundra Vallejo-Delgado
Kristy Ventimiglia
Evan Vincent
Eddie Walker
Diana Wall
Harper Ward
Chad Warmington
Courtney Warmington
Stacey Weddington
Trey Welker
Dr. Reggies Wenyika
Rep. Tammy West
Nate Wiewel
Chuck Wiggin
Natalee Willard
Phyllis Worley
Deborah Williams
Mark Williams
Mark Willingham
Harry Wilson
Susan Winchester
Jacque Wright
Allen Wright
Nick Wu
Dr. Carlan Yates
Sen. Ervin Yen
John Yoeckel
Tracey Zeeck