Oklahoma Gov. Stitt: available land gives Lawton an edge in economic development

Lawton’s economic development teams have a definite edge, with the amount of industrial tracts the community can offer to prospective industries, Gov. Kevin Stitt said Wednesday.

Stitt was the guest speaker at Lawton Economic Development Corporation’s annual luncheon, where economic development efforts are highlighted and community leaders honored for their support of those efforts.

Stitt, a successful businessman before winning his first term as governor in 2018, has made economic development one of his administration’s cornerstones. LEDC President Brad Cooksey said Stitt has worked hard in that arena and supports efforts in communities across the state, including Lawton. Stitt, noting the advances of economic development, said Lawton already has a distinct advantage with its industrial land in west and south Lawton, which totals almost 1,000 acres.

“You guys have a huge opportunity,” he said.

Stitt said it is important for Oklahoma communities to continue to take steps to expand their economies, adding that people outside the state are discovering Oklahoma is friendly to business. Oklahoma is in the Top 10, as far as the number of people moving to the state, and Stitt was delighted to tell Wednesday’s crowd many of those new residents are from California. He said Oklahoma officials are hearing that those new residents like what they see and what Oklahoma is doing, calling state efforts a “very business-friendly approach.”

To maintain that momentum, Oklahoma must focus on workforce development and education, Stitt said. He said elected officials are doing their job in that arena, increasing funding to education by 20 percent last year while implementing school choice legislation that allows all parents to decide where their children will attend school.

“School choice should not be for the rich,” he said, adding the choice of options such as charter schools should be for everyone.

Stitt said his goal is ensuring every student who graduates from high school is ready to either pursue a career or go to college. With 52 percent of high school students heading for higher education, Stitt said it is important to ensure the remaining 48 percent are ready for careers. Oklahoma is doing things to support that goal, he said, citing, for example, a new aviation academy in Norman that provides training to high school juniors and seniors seeking careers as aircraft mechanics or pilots.

It also is important to align the state’s education system with workforce training to ensure employers get the employees they need, and that will be his focus in the next three years of his administration, Stitt said. The governor said he already is working toward that goal. This summer, he added a new member to his cabinet: Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, who also is secretary of Workforce Development.