Gus Blackwell Announces Re-election Bid

Today, State Representative Gus Blackwell (R-Laverne) announces he will once again be running for the State House in District 61. Representative Blackwell has been elected to five terms in the House of Representative and this term would be his last as allowed by term limits.

Representative Blackwell has served in the House as Acting Speaker, Speaker Pro Tempore, and Chairman of several committees. He has served on the powerful Appropriations and Budget Committee for three separate terms. He has also chaired the Rules Committee, the Corrections and Public Safety Committee, and the A&B Judiciary Committee.

During his tenure, Rep. Blackwell has been the primary author of over 65 bills dealing with important topics, affecting this rural district. He has passed many important bills covering education, school land, corrections, criminal justice, wildlife, agriculture, and economic development.

�??When I first ran I wanted to help the panhandle area be a place where children could grow up and raise their own families,�?� said Rep Blackwell. �??That is something I have worked toward in the bills that I have sponsored.�?� District 61 will now contain all of Cimarron, Texas, Beaver, Harper and Ellis counties as well as the town of Fort Supply due to the new redistricting lines.

Rep. Blackwell has been married to Joanna Jett of Clearlake, Oklahoma, for the past 22 years and has three children. He worked as a campus minister with the Baptist Student Union for 20 years before being elected to the legislature in 2002.