ANADARKO, Okla. – Maya Torralba spent her summer knocking on doors because she wants change.
Not the change that jingles, but change that can help communities grow, communicate and work together.


Torralba, 32, is a candidate for Oklahoma State House District 56, and her shoe-leather campaigning reached voters in Anadarko, Verden, Binger, Carnegie, and Gracemont. She said one motivator for entering the political arena is, “The need for change, the need for somebody helping our area out, helping our people out, there’s a lot of disparity. I wanted to see that change.”
Torralba, who is Kiowa, Comanche and Wichita, said there are issues rampant in southwest Oklahoma such as substance abuse, mental health issues, child abuse, suicide, kids being left alone, gang violence, poverty and lack of jobs that can be helped through legislation. She said these are issues she sees in the community and she wants to help end the cycle. Plus, she feels she can deliver more perspective to the State Capitol when it comes to the eight tribes that touch District 56.
“There’s not a lot of representation at the state house for southwest Oklahoma tribes and I know our eastern brothers and sisters, they’re there, they’re well represented and they work well with state government; but we haven’t had that chance yet. I think that when in office I can bridge that gap and bring some unity,” Torralba said.
After the 2004 presidential election Torralba said she felt powerless and scared and told her husband they needed to do something to bring change, although she wasn’t quite sure what to do. She began working as a Johnson O’Malley tutor for the Anadarko Public Schools.
“I noticed these kids coming to school just looking defeated already; sad and depressed and it affected their academics,” Torralba said. “In talking to parents I said OK this is a chain reaction.”
These visits sparked her interest in running for office and her motivators were members of the community. She said she wants to do something to help the whole community.
In 2007 she was asked to attend a campaign camp in California for training. She was then nominated to be a Young People For (YP4) fellow, and after that a fellow for the Front Line Leaders Academy. She received intense campaign training and it helped her lay the foundation for her current campaign.
Torralba said people tell her it’s great that she is running for office, but she tells them it’s not about her, but about “us.”
“My campaign is something I can do for us, and if I don’t win then the next Native woman will step up and run for office, then the next person will do that, and that’s all I am is a conduit. Our brothers and sisters will hopefully be inspired and know that they can do it. If I can do this, they can do this,” Torralba said. “This campaign isn’t about me, it’s about us. It’s about getting that political power back in our hands for our future generations.”
The three main issues on Torralba’s platform are: Safer families and streets, economic development and improved state-tribal relations in southwest Oklahoma.
Torralba said she would like to work with the state and tribes on building bridges and roads that lead to tribal areas. She said a lot of the roads haven’t been fixed because they go through trust land. Also, she would like to see everybody benefit from social services, whether it’s from state or tribal agencies. She said children who need assistance are being missed or progress gets caught up while people are deciding if it’s the tribes business or the state’s business.
“I think tribe and state agencies can work together. There’s a communications gap there. I think we can open that up and have a good way to communicate so these kids … don’t fall through the cracks because of paperwork,” Torralba said.
She said would also like to open up gaming issues in her area, because the state and the tribes need to communicate in order to succeed. “I’d like to help foster that relationship,” she said.
Torralba is the founder and community organizer for Anadarko Community Esteem Project. She helps females, and occasionally males, ages 12-18 with self-esteem issues and helps them become involved with their culture and community. She’s a member of the ROOTS Youth Coalition and the Kiowa Tribe Teen Suicide Prevention Task Force, and secretary for the Caddo County Democrats.
Torralba also co-hosts the KACO-FM “Indians for Indians” radio program, served as the Kiowa language grant coordinator for the Kiowa Culture Preservation Authority, and served as chairwoman for the southwest Oklahoma Native Vote in 2008. Her husband, Brian Daffron, is a professor at the Comanche Nation College, and they have three children; Chado, 8, and twins Kateri and Matthias, 5.
Torralba said people have been very receptive of her door-to-door campaign. She said they like being asked personally for their vote and that she is making herself accessible to the community.
“Maya is a strong advocate for her community and she’ll bring that strength to the state house if elected,” Daffron said.
For more information about Torralba’s campaign visit www.rebuildwithmaya.com. Also running for State House District 56 is incumbent Phil Richardson (R).