Harry Coates

Harry Coates is a Republican politician from Oklahoma who served as a member of the Oklahoma Senate. Political career Harry Coates began his political career when he was elected from Senate District 28 to the Oklahoma Senate in 2002. He won reelection unopposed in 2006 and won again in 2010. In the Senate, he was the Chairman of the Tourism and Wildlife Committee, and a member of the Business and Commerce, General Government, and Veterans and Military Affairs Committees, as well as the Subcommittee on General Government and Transportation. He is known for being the Senate author of both the Kelsey Smith-Briggs Child Protection Reform Act and the "Stand Your Ground" law. Steering of state contract to company that hired mistress In 2010, Coates worked to steer a $10-million state contract to a private company that had hired his mistress Haley Atwood. Drunken-driving arrest In May 2014, Coates was arrested in Texas on a complaint of driving while intoxicated. Two months later, he was charged with Driving While Intoxicated. In January 2015, he pleaded guilty to the charge.