Through Loss, David Holt Gains a Servant’s Heart
David and his mother,
Mary Ann Fuller Holt
A public servant herself, she dreamed of one job – to work for an Oklahoma State Senator. She instead chose to raise her only son. When she died suddenly when David was just 14, a new life dedicated to public service was born.
Little did Mary Ann know the impact her courage, her activism, and her conservative values would have on David. He would go on to serve a U.S. President, a U.S. Speaker of the House, a Lt. Governor, a Mayor, a Senator and Congressmen.
“Mary Ann was so interested in public service,” says David’s father Stroud. “I often say that if she were alive to see what he has accomplished, she would need oxygen.”
The third generation to call Oklahoma home, Mary Ann journeyed to Washington, D.C. for college, graduating from the same school David later would, George Washington University. And like David would later do, she came home to serve in local government. But when David was born, she put her career on hold.
When David was a toddler, she was offered that dream job of working for a State Senator. David’s father and grandfather tried to convince her that they could figure out a way to make it work. But she said, “I want to see David grow up.”
And now, David seeks a seat in the Oklahoma State Senate, the very place Mary Ann dreamed of working.
“When I filed my papers to start my campaign organization,” says David, “I went back to my car and cried – because of what it would mean to her. Because she died young, a part of me wants to live for her, to do the things she was unable to do, to realize her dreams and live her values. I want to make up for the life she lost, and I want to continue my family’s tradition of public service.”
Mary Ann was an education activist in the Putnam City School District, fighting for truth, conservative values and education excellence. She also was active at the state level with issues relating to gifted and talented education. She was doing her work at a conference in southwest Oklahoma when she died suddenly of a rare blood disorder.
David Holt grew up that very day.
family HERITAGE
David’s father, Stroud Holt, and Mary Ann’s father, Col. Leonard Fuller, took over David’s upbringing after Mary Ann’s death. They, too, are a big part of why David has pursued a life of public office.
David and his father Stroud Holt.
“My dad and my grandfather did a great job raising me after my mother’s death,” says David. “They sacrificed for me. They sacrificed for a lot of other people, too. My dad was a teacher, and my grandfather was a colonel in the Army. Their example, along with my mother’s, instilled in me a sense of duty. That’s why I like public service.”
“I don’t know if I’m paying it back, but I’m trying to pay it forward with a productive, service-oriented life.”
Before David came along, the Holts were a family of farmers and ranchers in the Houston area until relocating to McAlester in 1951. David’s paternal grandfather, Charles Holt, served in the Navy in World War I.
David’s father graduated from the University of Oklahoma and spent three decades teaching English in the Putnam City School District, first at Putnam City High School and later at Putnam City North High School. After retirement, Stroud began ranching full time at the Holt Family Ranch. He dedicated St. Michael’s Chapel there in 2009.
On the Fuller side, his mother’s side, David is the fourth generation to call Oklahoma home. David’s grandfather, Col. Leonard Fuller, an Osage Indian, was raised in the Pawhuska area. He was a colonel in the U.S. Army, serving in the Pacific theater during World War II and in the Korean War, where he earned a Bronze Star. After retirement, he served in various community leadership roles.
Leonard Fuller spent the last three years of his life in the care of David and his wife, Rachel, in Oklahoma City. He died at the age of 96.
COLLEGE
David and Rachel
at the Holt Family Ranch.
David met his wife, Rachel, at his mother’s alma mater, George Washington University in Washington, D.C. David graduated from GW with a bachelor of arts in political science. David rowed competitively and was sports editor of the GW newspaper. David later obtained his Juris Doctor from the Oklahoma City University School of Law.
Throughout his undergraduate years, David interned on Capitol Hill, first for Congressman Ernest Istook, then a resident of Warr Acres, and later for Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr.
David and Rachel married nearly seven years ago. Rachel is a former prosecutor in Oklahoma County. The couple attends St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral. In December of 2009, David and Rachel welcomed their first son, George, into the world.
PUBLIC SERVICE
David and Speaker Hastert.
On September 11, 2001, just 10 days after David proposed to Rachel at the Holt Family Ranch, terrorists struck Washington. David later wrote about that day for The Oklahoman.
David bore witness not only to the events of 9/11, but also to the congressional response in the days and weeks after. David had a front row seat at the center of American politics during some of the most intense months in American history.
David and President Bush
in the Oval Office
David with Mayor Cornett and Speaker Newt Gingrich at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs
In 2006, David became the chief of staff to Mayor Mick Cornett, a current resident of the 30th District, and the president of the nation’s Republican mayors. David has served in that capacity for more than three years, and has served as the mayor’s top adviser during a period of unprecedented progress in Oklahoma City.
Entrenched in the Northwest Community
David (middle of first row)
was a Cub Scout, Webelos and Boy Scout, following in the legacy of his grandfather, who was a member of the first Boy Scout troop in America in Pawhuska, OK. This was taken when David was a member of Pack 599 at Wiley Post Elementary.
David grew up in the 30th Senate District. His first residence was at Wedgewood, at Northwest Expressway and Northwest 63rd. His parents then moved to Rock Knoll Village, and then to the Rock Knoll neighborhood, at Britton and Rockwell, where David lived for almost a decade.
David attended preschool at Learning Tree, inside of Grace United Methodist Church at Northwest Expressway and Northwest 63rd.
David entered kindergarten at Wiley Post Elementary School, where he later served as Student Council president. He attended Hefner, and then moved on to Putnam City North High School as part of the first freshman class to enter the building.
David has been involved in grassroots Republican politics since he was a child. He serves on the Oklahoma County Republican Party Executive Committee, and has attended two Republican National Conventions as a member of the Oklahoma delegation.
David at the 2004
Republican National Convention
David is a tireless community volunteer. He serves on the board of directors of the Putnam City Schools Foundation, the Northwest Oklahoma City Chamber, and the State Chamber’s Congressional Activities Committee.
David serves on two bodies entrusted with maintaining central Oklahoma’s water supply from Southeast Oklahoma. David also serves on the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum Foundation Board of Trustees and the Oklahoma City Zoo Trust, amongst many other boards.
David served from 2005 to 2008 as president of the board of Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, guiding that organization through its relocation to downtown Oklahoma City.
David was named "40 Under 40" by OKC Business News in 2006, and an "Achiever Under 40" by The Journal Record in 2010. He is also a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma City Class XXVI.
