Published: June 04, 2008 01:16 pm      

Holland campaigns

MARLOW, OK — In mid-May, Corey Holland chose to leave a career he loved, and in which he’d thrived, when he resigned from the teaching and coaching staff in the Marlow school district.

It was an acknowledgment Holland had gleaned a lesson from a previous venture into politics.

“When I ran the first time, I was trying to do my job as a teacher and coach, while I was also campaigning for office. I discovered that people don’t like politicians knocking on their door late at night,” said Holland, explaining why he resigned after 14 years in the Marlow school district to enter the race for the District 51 seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Tossing his hat into the ring for the Republican primary election on July 28, Holland said his decision to resign and run for office full time was difficult. Not only was he giving up being in the classroom, where he had a direct impact on the lives of students, Holland also left a job as one of the state’s top cross country and track coaches.

In 14 seasons, Marlow’s cross country teams won four Class 3A state team championships and Holland produced dozens of individual state champions in both cross country and track.

In the classroom, his performance as a history teachers earned Holland the honor of being named Marlow Teacher of the Year in 2002.

However, campaigning is demanding, as Holland learned in an unsuccessful bid to unseat District 51 Rep. Ray Gene McCarter in 2004.

“I love teaching and impacting our youth, and I am the kind of person who gives 100 percent to whatever I commit to doing,” Holland said. “If I remained a teacher while running a campaign, one of the endeavors would suffer, and that would be unfair to my students, and also to the constituents I hope to serve in District 51.

“Nobody will work harder or be more committed to effectively represent this district and build our community for the future. As a representative, I can have an even greater impact on our community and make a real difference for the kids I can about so much.”

Holland, 38, pledged to be a tireless worker for the future, guided by what he felt are traditional values.

“I have spent most of my life investing in the kids of our community. As a state representative, my job would change, but my passion for our future would remain. I aim to restore discipline and strengthen schools, and I also aim to uphold traditional values and protect our rural way of life,” said Holland, who described himself as a man of faith, a dedicated family man and “a conservative with common sense and a heart for people.”

“We need to invest in our roads and highways,” he added, “while also making our health care more affordable and accessible.”

Holland and his wife Kim have been married 18 years and have two sons, 15-year-old Chisholm and Walker. 7. Kim Holland is a nurse practitioner and works as the director of education at Comanche Country Memorial Hospital in Lawton. Both are active members of First Baptist Church in Marlow, where Corey Holland is a deacon and has served as a volunteer youth minister.

The District 51 seat is being vacated by veteran Democrat McCarter, who has term-limited, and Holland commended McCarter for his many years of service. He becomes the first candidate in either party to officially declare as a candidate for the position.

“I have learned that you don’t have to be the best at what you do, but you do have to work the hardest,” Holland said. “I have instilled that lesson in my students and my sons, and I will certainly put it into practice in this race.”