Earlier this month, David Holt was sworn in as Oklahoma City’s 36th mayor. Hold said it was the honor of a lifetime to represent and lead his hometown.

“It’s been a long time coming. But I’m thrilled and I feel pretty prepared,” he said. “I’m ready.”

Elected on February 13th, Holt won the race with a 78.5 percent vote. At 39, he is currently the city’s youngest mayor since 1923.

He is also the first Native American mayor of Oklahoma City. Holt is a member of the Osage Nation.

Holt said he looks forward to making changes. He said he has many priorities in facing the city’s biggest issues.

“We have come very far and very fast in the last 25 years, but we firmly believe that we are not finished yet,” he said. “I think we need a new vision, and as mayor I feel like I’m uniquely positioned to help create that.”

Holt wants to continue improving public safety, infrastructure, the streets, education, recognizing diversity, and quality of life.

There has been a great deal of construction all over downtown and outside the area, making transportation sometimes difficult. Hold said he wanted to assure citizens the construction of the new street car downtown should finish in about six months to a year.

He also said the diversity of the community is important and that it will be “incorporated into any decision making process” for the city.

“People under the age of 18, and the kids of Oklahoma City are 60 percent minority, so that’s the future of Oklahoma City and we need to transition into that new era,” he said.

Holt served eight years in the Oklahoma Senate, and before that, served five years as Chief of Staff for former mayor Mick Cornett. In the Senate, he authored over 70 bills that eventually became law.

He graduated from Putnam City Public Schools, and attended George Washington University receiving his B.A. He has a law degree from Oklahoma City University, and is a licensed attorney working for a family-owned company in the city.

Holt has served on several community boards, including the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation, the Putnam City Public Schools Foundation, the Oklahoma City Arts Council, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum to name a few.

“It’s all just a dream come true,” he said.