- Source: Debbe Leftwich
Debbe Leftwich is a politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Leftwich was a member of the Oklahoma Senate from 2003 until 2010. She won the vacant seat through a special election after the death of her husband and former senator Keith Leftwich. She was a key figure in the 2010 Oklahoma political corruption investigation for her role in a bribery scheme in which she was accused of agreeing to not run for re-election in 2010 in exchange for a state job with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME).
Early life
Born in Chandler, Oklahoma, Leftwitch grew up in Wellston, Oklahoma where she graduated from Wellston High School. Leftwich's interest in politics began in high school with various mentors encouraging her passion. She went on to attend Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Central Oklahoma.
Political career
She was elected in a special election on December 9, 2003 to fill the vacancy from District 44 left by her husband, Senator Keith Leftwich, who died of cancer in September 2003. Leftwich was re-elected in 2006.
Senate Committees
Leftwich remained in office from 2003 until 2010.
Appropriations Subcommittee on Public Safety and Judiciary
Business and Labor - Co-Chair
Criminal Jurisprudence
Health and Human Resources
Transportation
= Corruption
=Leftwich was a key figure in the 2010 Oklahoma political corruption investigation.
Boards, committees and commissions
Aside from her service in the Oklahoma Legislature, Leftwich spent her time serving in a number of various organizations, including:
Chair of the Oklahoma Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Advisory Committee
Co-chair of Oklahoma Women’s Legislative Caucus
Co-chair of Oklahoma’s Cancer Caucus
Member of the Oklahoma Commission on Children & Youth’s Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Intervention
Member of the Small Business Regulatory Review Committee
Member of the Department of Labor’s Worker Safety Policy Council
Governor’s appointee to the Oklahoma Health Information Security & Privacy Collaboration Steering Committee
Member of the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women
Member of the SKIL Board
Member of the League of Women Voters
Member of the American Legion Auxiliary
Member of the South OKC Chamber of Commerce
Personal life
Leftwich and her late husband have two sons, Kevin and Kurt.
References
Malia K. Bennett, Debbe Leftwich: Following his Footsteps State Legislatures, October/November 2004
External links
Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project -- OSU Library
2008 2006 2004 campaign contributions
General Election November 7, 2006 Summary Results Oklahoma State Election Board