A lifetime of prioritising Oklahoma.
Drew has fought for the people of Oklahoma all of his life, from his upbringing in Muskogee to his time in the Navy and his 16 years as the state’s attorney general. He opposed Big Tobacco, Wall Street, and special interests that sought to exploit our farmers, small companies, and families. As governor, he would prioritise Oklahomans and confront partisan politicians and outside interests who want to undermine our way of life on a daily basis.
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Growing up in Oklahoma
Drew’s background in Oklahoma is the foundation of his ideals. Drew, the nephew of former Oklahoma Governor J. Howard Edmondson and the second son of June and Congressman Ed Edmondson, was taught the importance of genuine public service at a young age.
Drew received a scholarship at Northeastern State College in Tahlequah after graduating from Muskogee Central High School. He met his future wife, Linda Larason of Fargo, Oklahoma, when he was there. Drew famously asked Linda, “When are we getting married?” after their first date, and the rest is history.
Priority Service
Drew joined the US Navy after graduating from college, rising to the rank of Petty Officer Second Class and spending a tour of service in Vietnam. He received the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the National Defence Service Medal, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal during his time in the Navy. He taught speech and debate at Muskogee High School as his first post-war position.
After graduating from the University of Tulsa School of Law in 1978, he was elected to the state legislature in 1974. In 1982, he was appointed Chief Prosecutor for the district attorney’s office in Muskogee County. In the same year, Drew was elected District Attorney, a post he held for ten years. In 1994, he was elected Attorney General.
As his popularity increased, Drew won more than 60 percent of the vote in his 2002 and 2006 campaigns for Attorney General, and he was re-elected without contest in 1998. Since leaving government in 2011, he has been practicing law privately.
The Champion of the People
He was voted president of the District Attorney’s Association by his peers, who also recognised him as the State of Oklahoma’s best DA.
In his capacity as Attorney General, Drew presided over the National Association of Attorneys General’s committees on tobacco enforcement and consumer protection and served as its president. He was honoured with the coveted Kelly-Wyman Award in 2005 for being the nation’s best attorney general.
Those accolades come after a stellar track record of achievement. Drew was one of eight solicitors general who negotiated a historic settlement with the biggest tobacco corporations in the nation in 1998. Edmondson spearheaded the creation of the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, which guaranteed the settlement funds’ constitutional protection and restricted its use to public health initiatives. The balance of the Tobacco Trust is currently above $1 billion.
Drew has also made significant contributions on behalf of public schools. He established the Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust in 2001 by negotiating a deal with Southwestern Bell at the time. Since then, Oklahoma public schools have received over $12 million in training and technology investments from OETT.
Among his many accomplishments as a persistent advocate for victims of crime, Drew founded the first-ever Victims Services Unit in the Attorney General’s Office of Oklahoma. He sought to expedite Oklahoma’s death penalty appeals procedure while keeping victims in mind.
His efforts to save Oklahoma’s land and water demonstrate his passion for the state’s natural resources. He filed lawsuits against over a dozen companies in 2006 for their pollution of the Illinois River Watershed. The corporate poultry sector has altered its methods as a result of Drew’s efforts, transporting out thousands of tonnes of manure that were formerly sprayed directly to the watershed’s land.
Husband. Grandfather and father. Servant.
Drew and Linda are now proud parents to their son Robert and daughter-in-law Andrea, as well as their daughter Mary and son-in-law Mike. Andrew and Catherine, the twin grandkids born to Mike and Mary in 2008, are another group of people Drew and Linda love to spend time with.
Linda is an enthusiastic community advocate and volunteer who is a retired medical social worker. Drew has held executive board positions at Bacone College, the Oklahoma Mental Health Association, the Palomar Family Justice Centre, Oklahoma City University School of Law, and Rainbow Fleet, a private non-profit organisation that provides services to daycare centres and parents around the state. In addition, he graduated from Leadership Oklahoma, Class IV, and is a member of the Oklahoma Academy and Rotary Club 29. He is a Presbyterian Church elder who has been ordained.
