Lawton Town Crier

Senate District 31

Occupation: Retired
Education: Associates Degree
Legislative Experience: Senate Member, 2004 – present
Hometown: Lawton, OK
Party: Republican

Encouraged to run for the Oklahoma State Senate by friends, family and mentors, Senator Don Barrington was elected to his first term of office on November 2, 2004 and to his second term on November 4, 2008 by the voters of Senate District 31. He is proud to serve the citizens of Comanche, Cotton, Jefferson and portions of Grady and Stephens Counties.

Don Barrington was born September 7, 1947 in Pryor, Oklahoma to Burt & Lura Barrington. He graduated from Rexford High School in Rexford, Kansas in 1965. He enlisted in the United States Army and served from 1966 through 1969; including an eighteen-month tour in Viet Nam where he received an Army Commendation Medal.

Don’s professional career began as a rookie with the Lawton Fire Department in 1969. During his 32-year tenure, he spent 26 years on shift at the fire station. He advanced through testing to the levels of Driver, Lieutenant and Captain, and was then promoted to Deputy Chief. He received an Associates Degree in Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University in Oklahoma City in 1993. He was appointed as the Fire Chief of Lawton in 1996 and served until his retirement in 2002.

He married Jennifer (Morgan) Barrington on February 7, 1970 in Cache, Oklahoma. They have resided in southwest Oklahoma for the past 39 years and have two children. Their daughter, Alicia (Barrington) Rodgers, is an educator at Fort Gibson Public Schools. She and her husband, Gary, reside in Muskogee with their two children, Kade and Kenady. Their son, Jaron Barrington, is a music minister at the Walnut Ridge Baptist Church in Mansfield. He and his wife, Vicki, reside in Grand Prarie, Texas with their children Emma, Cole and Kate.

He is a member of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association, Oklahoma Retired Firefighters Association, Oklahoma Fire Chief’s Association, Lawton Salvation Army Advisory Board, and serves as the Co-Chair on the Steering Committee for Law Enforcement and Public Safety through the Great Plains Technology Center. He is an active member of the Lawton Chapter of Gideon’s International where he served as their Secretary and Vice President. He also is a charter member of the First Baptist East in Lawton where he serves as a Deacon.

Senator Barrington is in his first year of his second term. He spent the last two years serving as the Co-Chair for Public Safety & Homeland Security, and was recently named the Chair of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Vice-Chair of Veterans and Military Affairs in the Oklahoma State Senate.    Barrington continues to use his fire service and public safety experience for critical lawmaking decisions. He also is a key member of the Republican Rural Caucus where significant agricultural producer’s issues are protected by those Senators whose districts are mainly comprised of rural communities. He was named the 2008 ‘Legislator of the Year’ by the Oklahoma State Troopers Association and the 2008 ‘Senator of the Year ‘ by the Oklahoma Veterans Council.