In the evenly-divided Oklahoma State Senate, Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City, has established himself as a consensus-builder and a strong advocate for children and families.
When Oklahoma voters elected 24 Democrats and 24 Republicans to fill the State Senate, many feared that it would lead to gridlock at the State Capitol. However, Senator Rice has worked closely with Democrats and Republicans in both the House and Senate to get results for Oklahoma.
Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Rice saw his life take a dramatic turn on September 11, 2001, when his older brother, David, was killed in the terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Center. A graduate of Bishop McGuiness High School in Oklahoma City and a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa, David was working at the investment firm, Sandler O’Neill at the time of his death.
As a result of his family’s tragic loss, Andrew Rice re-dedicated his life to social justice work and common-sense public policy. He has been involved since 2002 with other families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 terrorist attacks to oppose the War in Iraq and attempt to refocus America’s leaders on the terrorist network that attacked us. He was also a strong advocate for creation of the 9/11 Commission to examine events that led to the attack.
After graduating from Colby College in Maine with a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies, Rice worked in Sri Lanka and Thailand on rural development projects in impoverished villages. He returned to the United States one year later to attend Harvard Divinity School, where he graduated in 1999 with a Masters in Theological Studies. While in graduate school, he collaborated with his sister, Amy Rice, to produce the documentary film, “From Ashesâ€, about an ex-convict who runs a hospice for rejected HIV-positive people in Bangalore, India. At the time of his brother’s death, Rice was working in New York as a documentary film producer.
Shortly after 9/11, Rice worked at the Texas Faith Network (TFN) in Austin, Texas, where he organized Texas religious leaders to advocate for moderate and progressive public policy ideas. He also organized education programs about religious intolerance at places of worship all over Texas. He returned to Oklahoma in 2003 to establish the Progressive Alliance Foundation, which advocates fairness and equity in public policies. In 2005, Rice launched a bid for State Senate District 46, a diverse inner-city district that includes small business owners, ethnic neighborhoods and Oklahoma City University. He defeated two Democratic opponents in the primary and won the general election with 70 percent of the vote after personally walking the entire district and meeting or contacting every voter.
Rice is married to Dr. Apple Newman Rice, an Oklahoma City pathologist and native Oklahoman. They live in the heart of Rice’s OKC Senate district with their two sons, Noah, 2, and Parker, six months.
To learn more about me visit my campaign website at andrewforoklahoma.com
or visit my page on the Oklahoma Senate website at oksenate.gov
