Ervin Yen in 2022 OK Governor's race
On Drugs:
Opposes medical marijuana without qualifying conditions
On legalization: "All Schedule 1 drugs have qualifying conditions," he said, such as the proper dosage and potential side effects. Oklahoma's medical marijuana proposal has no qualifying conditions, Yen said. As written, marijuana "could be prescribed
for any reason or for no reason whatsoever," he said. Yen authored two Senate bills that would have provided guidelines for regulation of medical marijuana, but both measures died in the House of Representatives.
Source: OKC Friday on 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial race
Jul 6, 2018
On Families & Children:
Has pressed for increasing vaccinations of school children
Yen said his opposition to the medical marijuana issue and his support of childhood vaccinations "could have been factors" in his defeat. "I wouldn't be surprised if they were."
Yen has pressed continuously for increasing vaccinations of school children in Oklahoma.
Source: OKC Friday on 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial race
Jul 6, 2018
On Gun Control:
Opposed permitless carry bill
Yen drew some opposition from
Second Amendment gun-rights supporters because, "I was against the permitless carry bill."
Source: OKC Friday on 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial race
Jul 6, 2018
On Health Care:
Mandate masks and mandate vaccines for coronavirus
A doctor and former state senator has officially announced his campaign for governor in 2022. Yen said, "The governor of Oklahoma's top job should be to protect our state and our people. Oklahoma is sorely lacking with that type of leadership.
If this is allowed to continue, we could still be in this pandemic on election day 2022." The announcement also comes when the Oklahoma State Department of Health reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 cases. "Oklahoma desperately needs a mask
mandate covering all 77 counties," Yen said. "This virus is so contagious, it will go everywhere. It just goes to rural areas later than urban areas. Mandating masks in a county after an outbreak is way too late."
"The benefits of vaccines far, far
outweigh the risks," Yen added. "They save lives and are going to be even more important in the future. Oklahoma's mandated vaccines should only have an exemption for medical reasons."
Source: KOCO-5 ABC News on 2022 Oklahoma Gubernatorial race
Nov 8, 2020
On Health Care:
COVID: Oklahoma desperately needs a mask mandate
On the coronavirus pandemic: "Oklahoma desperately needs a mask mandate covering all 77 counties," Yen said. "I thought perhaps Oklahoma would be spared being a hot spot, since we have always socially distanced, compared to places like NYC.
I was wrong. This virus is so contagious, it will go everywhere. It just goes to rural areas later than urban areas. Mandating masks in a county after an outbreak is way too late."
Source: KOCO News 5-ABC on 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial race
Nov 8, 2020
On Health Care:
Privatizing Medicaid is simply a bad idea
Yen said he is opposed to Gov. Kevin Stitt's plan to implement managed care. "Privatizing Medicaid is simply a bad idea.
This was tried years ago here and failed," Yen said.
Source: KOCO News 5-ABC on 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial race
Nov 8, 2020
On Principles & Values:
Reason for running: state's lack of response to COVID
On COVID: "The No. 1 reason I'm doing this," Yen told Tulsa public radio's KWGS, "is the state's lack of response to this COVID virus. In my opinion, the state is not doing anything about it. They did back in the spring when everything was shut down,
and that made sense, but now we are not doing anything."Every day I see these deaths and it just ticks me off more. This is horrible. We have to do something."
Source: The Journal Record on 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial race
Nov 12, 2020
On Principles & Values:
I have not changed; the Republican Party has
A Republican gubernatorial candidate renounced his political party and said he plans to challenge Gov. Kevin Stitt as an independent. Yen criticized the Oklahoma Republican Party's opposition to COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates and dismissed
conservative conspiracy theories about widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, baseless claims that have been debunked. "The Oklahoma GOP has left me," Yen said in a news release. "I have not changed; the Party has."
Source: Tulsa World on 2022 Oklahoma Gubernatorial race
Jan 22, 2022
Page last updated: Feb 14, 2023