Ervin Yen

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Ervin Yen
Ervinyen.jpg
Member of the Oklahoma Senate
from the 40th district
In office
2014–2018
Preceded byCliff Branan
Succeeded byCarri Hicks
Personal details
Born1954 (age 67–68)
Taipei, Taiwan
Political partyIndependent (since 2021)
Other political
affiliations		Republican (until 2021)
Spouse(s)Pam
EducationUniversity of Oklahoma (BS, MD)

Ervin Yen is an American physician and politician who represented the 40th district in the Oklahoma Senate from 2014 to 2018.

Early life, education and career[]

Yen was born in Taipei in 1954. His parents moved to the United States soon afterward, prior to the First Taiwan Strait Crisis, and settled in the Oklahoma City area in 1959.[1] Yen graduated from Putnam City High School in Warr Acres. Yen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology from the University of Oklahoma and then a medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.[2]

Career[]

Outside of politics, Yen works as an anesthesiologist. He witnessed Oklahoma's October 28, 2021 execution of John Grant and testified, at a rate of $1,500 per day, opining that the prisoner was fully unconscious when he was observed vomiting and respiratory distress on the execution gurney. [3]

Oklahoma Senate[]

Yen ran for the district 40 state senate seat against Brian Winslow, Joe Howell, Steve Kern, David B. Hooten, and Michael Taylor in a Republican primary in 2014. He defeated pastor Steve Kern in a runoff.[4] He defeated Democrat John Handy Edwards in the general election. Yen is the first Physician in the Oklahoma Senate in 40 years. He is also the first Asian American in the legislature in Oklahoma history.[5]

Yen supports only medical exemptions to school vaccinations and introduced bills to that effect in the 2016 and 2017 legislative sessions.[6]

Yen lost his 2018 primary election to veterinarian Joe Howell, an advocate for parental choice in health and education.[7]

In February 2019, Yen received the American Medical Association's Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service as a State Legislator.[8]

2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial election[]

Yen announced he will run for the 2022 Oklahoma gubernatorial election.[9] Yen later left the Republican Party and registered as an independent, citing the rise of COVID-19 misinformation in the GOP and the party's rejection of mask mandates.[10]

Notes[]

  1. ^ "About Ervin Yen". Archived from the original on 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
  2. ^ KOCO Staff (2020-11-08). "Former state Sen. Ervin Yen officially announces campaign for Oklahoma governor". KOCO. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  3. ^ "Judge denies Oklahoma death row inmate's request for stay". 23 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Steve Kern Loses GOP Oklahoma Senate District 40 Runoff To Ervin Yen". KGOU. AP. August 26, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  5. ^ Greer, Kate (November 24, 2014). "First Asian American Legislator Elected in Oklahoma history: Historical Marker, But No Milestone". KGOU. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  6. ^ Hardzinski, Brian (October 17, 2016). "Oklahoma Lawmaker, Physician Ervin Yen Will Try Vaccine Mandate Again In 2017". KGOU. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  7. ^ Felder, Ben (June 26, 2018). "Incumbent District 40 senator falls in OKC primary". newsOK. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  8. ^ "AMA presents government service award to former state senator".
  9. ^ "Former state Sen. Ervin Yen officially announces campaign for Oklahoma governor". 8 November 2020.
  10. ^ Savage, Tres (2020-11-05). "Hello 2022: Dr. Ervin Yen forms committee to challenge Gov. Kevin Stitt". NonDoc. Retrieved 2021-10-25.


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