The Democratic candidate says his work in education, the arts and community groups has prepared him to use an office with room to set his own course.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Kelly Forbes has spent much of his career working in schools. The lieutenant governor does not run them, but holds a seat on the state commission that oversees land producing money for education.
“How do we get the biggest bang for our buck?” Forbes asked during an interview with OK Politics Today.
It is one of several ways the Democratic candidate says he would put his experience to work if elected. Forbes also points to the lieutenant governor’s roles in tourism and broadband, and to the chance to bring people together on problems he has heard about while traveling Oklahoma.
He faces Republican T.W. Shannon, a former speaker of the Oklahoma House, in the Nov. 3 election.
Forbes was born in Tulsa and grew up between Skiatook and Broken Arrow. His parents divorced when he was young, and he lived much of the time with his grandparents in Skiatook. They ran a cattle feed store across the street from their home and took him to school, helped with homework and got him to basketball practice and performing arts lessons.
His father served as Skiatook’s Republican mayor and on its city council. Forbes said they talked about public service before his father died in May.
Forbes studied Spanish at Oklahoma City University and earned graduate degrees in education and leadership. He has worked as a teacher and school administrator, directed federal programs and dual-language education, and now runs an education consulting business. He is a former president of the Oklahoma Association for Bilingual Education and serves on the board of Palomar, Oklahoma City’s family justice center.
For years, Forbes said, his grandparents joked that he should have become a lawyer because he liked to argue. Conversations about politics followed, but he did not enter a race until he felt his consulting business gave him the time to campaign.
“I’ve been talking about this, I’ve been wanting to do this, and so can’t sit on the sidelines anymore,” he said.
His grandmother used to tell him during family cruises that he would perform on a ship’s stage someday. Years later, he did. His grandparents were in the audience for his opening-night show aboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas. Forbes said his work in the arts and his travels would help him promote Oklahoma.
How he sees the job
The lieutenant governor fills in for the governor when needed, serves as president of the state Senate and sits on boards and commissions dealing with state finances, tourism, school lands, broadband and other matters. The Senate’s elected president pro tempore runs the chamber’s daily work.
Forbes said he would use those board seats and the reach of a statewide office to focus on education, workforce needs, health care and broadband access. In his consulting work, he said, he traveled the state before becoming a candidate and saw how schools affect a community’s ability to keep families and attract employers.
Forbes said he heard from rural residents about poor internet service and spoke about its effects on telehealth and the ability to reach help during a domestic violence crisis. The lieutenant governor has a seat on the board that oversees the Oklahoma Broadband Office and sets broadband expansion policy.
Forbes said he would bring local officials, service groups and others into those conversations. He spoke about helping people develop ideas that lawmakers could consider and continuing to visit communities across all 77 counties.
His answer was more about how he would work than about a single project he would take on. He said he wants to listen to people closest to a problem, use the boards where he has a vote and keep attention on needs that might otherwise be missed.
“As much as we’re elected for these positions, we’re being hired for a job,” he said.
His case against Shannon
Asked why voters should choose him over Shannon, Forbes contrasted his years working in schools with Shannon’s record as House speaker. He criticized Shannon’s support for income tax cuts, arguing that they hurt school funding.
Forbes said that while Shannon pushed to lower taxes, he worked with nonprofits and other groups to “raise enough money to keep the teachers that we needed.”
Forbes knows the difficulty of winning statewide as a Democrat in Oklahoma. Asked about his path to victory, he answered, “Listening, learning, and leading.” He said he has talked with Republicans who want to work across party lines and believes voters will hear him out if he shows up and answers their questions.
His partner, Dr. Chris Culver, encouraged him to run. Culver now helps manage the campaign’s social media and travels with Forbes when he can. Forbes said Chris sometimes reads him messages from voters while he is driving so they can respond together.
“He’s running just as much as I am,” Forbes said. “You may not always see him in the forefront, but he’s just as busy and is incredibly supportive.”
Forbes said he could not have taken on the campaign without Culver’s support.
