Lonnie Paxton, the Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore designee, and Oklahoma Rep. Kyle Hilbert are comfortable working together, and part of it stems from a shared history.

Paxton’s oldest son competed in Future Farmers of America speech contests throughout high school with Hilbert, the incoming House Speaker.

“We don’t just put on an act that we get along; we actually do,” Paxton said. “We have a lot of common goals. I’m sure there will be times where we are kicking dust on each other’s feet because we feel like we have to.

“…But that relationship I have with Kyle is a genuinely good relationship, and I think that will be good for the state.”

Paxton shared that anecdote and others Monday during the Tulsa Regional Chamber’s Executive Committee meeting in the Chamber offices. Jay Helm, vice chair of the Oklahoma BizPac, moderated the dialogue with Paxton, who touched on such subjects as education, state budget negotiations and lawmakers with extreme views.

A fifth-generation Oklahoman and resident of Tuttle, Paxton was first elected to the Senate in 2016. He has operated an insurance company the past 24 years.

Paxton spent all his teenage years when Ronald Reagan was president, and the Oklahoma lawmaker said he likes to pepper his speeches with Reagan quotes.

“One of things he said was, ‘If you agree with me 70% of the time, you’re not my 30% enemy,’” Paxton said. “With some of my colleagues, it’s 100% or nothing. If they don’t get their 100%, they take their ball and go home.

“…Every single state deals with fringe elements, whether it’s left or right. It’s maybe more pronounced now. Social media exacerbates it more than it used to. But it’s something that we just have to deal with in Oklahoma.”

As for education, Paxton said universities need to improve their interaction with businesses to better feed the workforce.

The state also needs to make upgrades in public education, he said.

“What can we do to make teachers’ lives better?” he said. “Pay is definitely a part of it. It always makes their life better when they have enough money to pay their bills. But also it’s their quality of life, the quality of their job. If our superintendent of education would focus on things like that, that’s the kind of things we need to be working on.”

In his closing remarks, Paxton praised his fellow legislators, saying the vast majority are looking out for the people who elected them.

“It really is a diverse group of people at the Capitol,” he said. “There are some people who make the news more than they should. But most of us up there keep our heads down. We work. We try to represent our constituents.

“I have four children. My goal today is to make sure my kids and all your kids and grandkids, if they choose to live in Oklahoma, that we have the economic availability here for them to do that.”