Oklahoma Spotlight: State Rep. Nick Archer

The “Oklahoma Spotlight” highlights elected officials in our state and community.

Meet State Representative Nick Archer, a friend to the business community, who represents House District 55 in Elk City.

Chamber: Can you please share with us where you grew up, went to school, and some of the values you picked up along the way?

Rep. Archer: I grew up in western Oklahoma. I was born and raised in Beckham County, graduating from Elk City High School. After high school I went to the University of Oklahoma where I was a member of Presidents Leadership Class and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

Being a country kid, I learned early on that a strong work ethic will get you a long way. I remember the second week of summer when I was 13 years old, my dad woke me up and said, come on I got you a job this morning. I was hired to clean and put all the tires away at a tire shop in Elk City. New tires got put away inside and old tires loaded into semi-trailer to be discarded.

I made a hand, worked hard, and held that job every summer until I went to college.

Chamber: You formerly served as Mayor of Elk City, Oklahoma. We were excited to visit your district and see how you passed and successfully implemented a “CAPS” plan, a penny sales tax for economic development. How has Oklahoma City’s experience with MAPS inspired your efforts, and what can other communities learn from Elk City/OKC in this regard?

Rep. Archer: Elk City started looking into the idea of replicating OKC MAPS in 2016. At that time I was a member of the city's planning and zoning board. I saw the opportunity to do something great for our community. We worked on hypothetical MAPS projects in school and I believed my training in architecture could help bring the plan to life and that is what inspired me to run for Mayor.

Ultimately the proposal passed and I was elected as mayor. At this time the city has completed several projects:

• Turfed 16 fields at the baseball / softball complex, as well as the high school baseball field in Ackley park.
• Built a 52,000 square feet indoor activity center, the Arrowhead, which has a large gym for basket / volley ball, indoor play ground, walking track. Currently the Western Oklahoma Bulls use the space as their home court. https://westernokbulls.com/
• Created a water park to replace the city’s 50’s era Olympic style pool.
• Renovated the Carnegie library.
• And our most recent project opened last week, a pump track adjacent to the cities skate park.

Quality of life is critical to all communities. We have seen influx of people migrating into western Oklahoma due to this investment. Using data we know that these facilities see over 100,000 visits from unique users each year. This draw is crucial for sales tax generation.

In looking at sales tax, that is how a community of 11,000 people has consistently averaged over 1 million each month in sales tax collections. To put that in perspective that means more collections than all other communities in western Oklahoma. It is more than El Reno, and more per capita that Yukon.

Chamber: What motivated you to run for public office?

Rep. Archer: I have always held leadership roles, but as stated above I was motivated to run for public office to try and improve our community. After serving as mayor for two terms, district 55 was term limited and I had a lot of people encourage me to take the next step and go to the state level. It wasn’t an immediate decision but after a lot of thought and consideration, we jumped in. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family.

Chamber: What are your top three goals for this legislative session?

Rep. Archer: I have ran a bill, HB3424, which is the Quality of Life Enhancement Act. This legislation looks to replicate the success of OKC Maps, and Elk City Caps, creating a mechanism for all communities across our state to have access to funds for quality of life projects.

I truly believe if we are going to be a top 10 state, we have to invest in all 77 counties.

My next priority is working on economic development at Clinton/Sherman OSIDA spaceport in Burns Flat. As one of 14 spaceports nationally, and the 5th longest runway in the nation, By advancing this bill, Oklahoma is not just participating in the aerospace industry; we are setting the stage to become leaders in a field that promises significant economic, technological, and educational benefits for our state and its residents.

Lastly, I think just furthering our state and moving the needle in as many areas as possible has to be a priority. Issues like child care, education, are important.