Miller Out – Steele In

Aug 10 2009 Published by admin under State Legislature

steele1

Rep. Ken Miller, chairman of the House budget committee, has pulled out of the race for House Speaker and endorsed Rep. Kris Steele of Shawnee for the post. Miller’s decision to abandon his bid for Speaker came in an email to fellow Republican House members. He said he and Steele met over the weekend.

“After having positive and substantive discussions over the weekend, I am pleased to announce my support of Representative Steele in his efforts to become the next Speaker of the House,” said Miller in a press release this morning.

“While I am honored to have been a part of the conversation concerning future House leadership, I do not plan to seek the position of speaker-designate in the fall and look forward to working closely with Rep. Steele to move our state forward,” he said.

“Representative Ken Miller is a valuable member and a talented legislator. I’m honored and pleased to have his support and look forward to working together with him to grow our economy and tackle the important issues facing our state,” said Steele, who is currently the speaker pro-tempore of the House.  “The dialogue that Representative Miller and I have had will move the Republican caucus forward more unified than ever and that’s a tribute to his leadership,” said Steele, R-Shawnee.

With no other House Republicans expressing interest in the position, Steele is certain to become the next Speaker of the House.

Steele has earned a reputation for being able to bring House members together to craft legislative solutions to tough problems since being elected in 2000.  Steele has been a leader in crafting health-related legislation, most recently authoring an expansion of the “Insure Oklahoma” program this past session to provide greater health insurance coverage to small businesses and their employees.

House Republicans will meet in October in a closed meeting to formally vote on Benge’s successor. The winner will receive the title of speaker designate. The entire House will elect the speaker after the November 2010 elections.

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House Speaker’s Race News

Aug 05 2009 Published by admin under Oklahoma Politics, State Legislature

The race to be the next House Speaker is heating up as AP reporter Tim Talley wrote about it earlier this week, and now fellow blogger Chris Arps writes about the race between Kris Steele and Ken Miller.

From the Oklahoma City Conservative Examiner, by Chris Arps

Kris Steele: The Next Oklahoma House Speaker?

As Republicans struggle all over America to reclaim their identity, Oklahoma House Republicans face a tough decision this fall as they face an election for the next Speaker of the House.

The Republican’s rules state that an election must be held between the middle of October and November 15th, and two members are the leading candidates:

Speaker Pro Tem Kris Steele of Shawnee and Appropriations Chairman Ken Miller of Edmond.

Steele, an associate pastor at a Shawnee Methodist church, is the early favorite over Miller. But conservative Republicans outside the house GOP caucus are wary of Steel’s liberal tendencies, and the liberal-leaning and indolent Oklahoma press has done nothing to expose those flaws. “Republicans in Oklahoma aren’t going to know a damn thing about this race, and the ‘aw-shucks’ liberal ab out to become Speaker,” one political insider, an avowed Steele critic, says about the election.

Many observers around the Capitol for the last decade have expressed amusement to OKPNS over reports that Rep. Steele may rise to the highest position in the House and recalled details of his interesting political career.

First elected to the state House of Representatives at the age of 25, Steele had barely begun his second term when he launched an ill-advised campaign for the Senate seat vacated by Brad Henry. Steele’s bid for the Senate was unsuccessful, and he returned to his relatively safe House seat where he forged a
strong friendship with disgraced ex-Speaker Lance Cargill, then considered a rising star among House Republicans. Their shared ambition and closeness in age – Steele is just a few years younger than Cargill –led to them being a team inside and outside the Capitol, with their families eventually vacationing together.

As Cargill rose through the ranks, first as floor leader and then as a leading candidate for Speaker, Steele was right there at his side, assisting with Cargill’s ‘strategery.’ “Then the two had an abrupt falling out and battle lines were drawn,” says one former member. Despite Steele’s claims in a recent AP article that their relationship ended over Steele’s discomfort with Cargill’s fundraising and political tactics, concerns that were not raised until more than a year and half later (probably because of persistent rumors that Steele has a few fundraising skeletons of his own), insiders say the real cause for the fracture between the once tight pair was that Cargill would not promise Steele the position of Majority Floor Leader, the one caucus leadership position that is appointed by the Speaker.

“When Cargill wouldn’t promise the position to him, Steele recruited a candidate who would,” said another longtime presence at the Capitol. Within days freshman legislator Dan Sullivan declared his candidacy for Speaker and caucus members still remember the unusual move of the two campaigning together as a
ticket: Sullivan for Speaker and Steele for Floor Leader. The caucus chose Cargill as Speaker, and Steele was relegated to a minimal role in the caucus.

Insiders say Steele clawed his way back into power in 2008 (one said Steele did so by “double-crossing” Rep. Gus Blackwell) by becoming Speaker Pro Tempore.

But just weeks into his new role, members say he frequently vacated the chair and was already out campaigning for the position of Speaker Designate – nearly 11 months before the scheduled election and 20 months before the caucus would officially select a new speaker. Steele returned to the successful caucus election strategies he recommended to Cargill years earlier.

“It’s ironic that he used the very same tactics he once criticized Cargill for,” one member says. Steele then took the unprecedented step of collecting pledge cards from members during the legislative session – a practice that former Speaker Todd Hiett reportedly prohibited and one member called so “distracting and divisive” that the Senate Republicans’ caucus rules explicitly ban it.

Another source says Steele may be “the most blindly ambitious member the House Republicans have ever seen,” but has successfully learned to cloak that ambition with his “quiet demeanor, aw-shucks speech and ministerial facade.”

Whether Kris Steele will, in fact, become the next Speaker – something many caucus members apparently still doubt very seriously – will be determined by the House Republicans sometime this fall.

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House Republicans Report 2009 Accomplishments

Jun 10 2009 Published by admin under State Legislature

The Republican State House Committee (RSHC) sent the following report out today touting the 61-member strong caucus’ accomplishments this past legislative session.

Oklahoma’s 2009 legislative session ends: House Republicans continue wave of conservative reform

On Wednesday, May 27, the 2009 Oklahoma legislative session came to an end. This was the first session in state history in which both the House and Senate were led by Republicans, giving us a united front in the fight for conservative change.

Here are some key reforms that came out of Oklahoma’s Republican Legislature this year:

A Balanced Budget without a Tax Increase- Despite the economic downturn, House Speaker Chris Benge (R-Tulsa) and Budget Chairman Ken Miller (R-Edmond) helped compose a balanced state budget that leaves funding intact for critical services – roads, bridges, education, health care, public safety – without a tax increase or a rollback of the recent tax cuts!

Lawsuit Reform – This year’s historic lawsuit reform package, crafted in part by Rep. Dan Sullivan (R-Tulsa), limits the ability of trial attorneys to make frivolous claims and file class-action lawsuits, which result in job losses. It also eases the medical malpractice insurance burden on physicians, many of whom have left Oklahoma because of the financial strain.

Energy- With gas prices in flux, the energy reform package pushed by Speaker Chris Benge (R-Tulsa) provides numerous tax incentives for both citizens and business owners to use alternative energy sources. These include natural gas energy for cars, geothermal energy for homes, and wind energy for businesses.

Health Care- Once again, House Republicans used free-market solutions in this year’s health care reform package, authored by House Speaker Pro Tempore Kris Steele (R-Shawnee). The plan offers greater incentives for employers to provide health care insurance coverage for employees, as well as for individuals to pay for it themselves.

Pro-Life Reform – Since Republicans took the state House in 2004, Oklahoma has enacted pro-life reforms each year, and 2009 was no exception. Reps. Dan Sullivan (R-Tulsa), Pam Peterson (R-Tulsa) and others led the effort to outlaw abortions based on gender and to require better record-keeping for abortions in Oklahoma.

As they have for the past five years, House Republicans worked in 2009 to modernize Oklahoma’s state government, make efficient use of taxpayer dollars and cut out the waste.  Bringing common sense to state government isn’t easy – especially when it previously had not been the norm. But we are seeing true progress at our Oklahoma Capitol. With your help, we can keep it going.

The Republican State House Committeeis the main political arm of the Republican caucus of the House of Representatives.

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It’s Miller vs. Steele for House Speaker

Jun 05 2009 Published by admin under Oklahoma Politics, State Legislature

Representative Kris Steele (R-Shawnee)

Representative Kris Steele (R-Shawnee)

Representative Ken Miller (R-Edmond)

Representative Ken Miller (R-Edmond)

Associated Press reports today that Representative Ken Miller of Edmond, and Representative Kris Steele of Shawnee are the leading contenders to be the next Republican speaker of the Oklahoma House. Miller, a 42 year old economist from Edmond, is chairman of the powerful House Appropriations and Budget Committee and Steele is a 35 year old associate pastor at a Methodist church in Shawnee, who is the Speaker Pro-Tempore. The AP story naming these two members as top candidates for Speaker confirms what okiepundit.com first reported last month.

The AP story states that, “GOP insiders say Steele has an early lead that may be impossible to overcome.” However, okiepundit.com has learned from its own investigation that the race is very close and far from over with neither candidate holding all of the votes necessary to win yet.

Read the complete story as reported in the Edmond Sun.

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Session is Out, Let the Races Begin!

May 25 2009 Published by admin under Oklahoma Politics, State Legislature

election2010

With the end of session, several legislators have set their sights on higher offices.  Here’s a quick look at the announced candidates for various state offices that will be on the ballot in 2010 as well as the race for the next Republican leaders in the House and Senate.

Senator Randy Brogdon of Owasso is the only legislator to enter the Governors race so far.  Brogdon, who is widely considered to be the most conservative member of the Senate, has a solid voting record, including authoring this year’s resolution declaring the state’s sovereign immunity under the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.  But Brogdon’s ultra-conservatism also has put him at odds with the business community making it difficult for him to raise the campaign warchest necessary to be a competitve candidate against Mary Fallin.

On the Democratic side, former House member and current Lt. Governor Jari Askins has already begun her campaign for Governor, and current Attorney General Drew Edmondson (who has already raised nearly $500,000 and has not even announced his intentions yet) is rumored to be running.

Several legislators are eyeing the Lieutenant Governor’s seat, left open because of Jari Askins’s decision to run for Governor.  On the Democratic side are term-limited State Senator Kenneth Corn from LeFlore County (already announced he’s in) and State Representative John Carey from Durant.  Carey has indicated he’s going to run, but will make a formal announcement very soon.

On the Republican side, the field is already more crowded.  This past week term limited State Representative John Wright of Broken Arrow announced he’s a candidate.  Both State Senator Todd Lamb of Edmond and State Representative Colby Schwartz of Yukon are probably going to run and both have said they will make formal announcements this summer.  Given how close he came to winning in 2006, former House Speaker Todd Hiett of Kellyville, must not be counted out.  Other than helping the Oklahoma Republican Party and the Mary Fallin for Governor campaign raise money, Hiett has kept a pretty low profile, but should he enter the race, he would instantly become a front runner for the GOP nomination.

All other statewide offices (except one of the three Corporation Commissioners) will be on the ballot next year.  Among the Republican names being discussed for those seats are: Speaker Chris Benge, former Chickasha State Representative Susan Winchester, and former State Senator Owen Laughlin of Woodward for State Treasurer; former House staff attorney Jason Reese (he has already kicked off his campaign) and Mark Wayne Mullin, owner of Mullin Plumbing, (who has already begun raising money) in the race for Labor Commissioner, and Dr. Janet Baressi, former Co-Chair of the Achieving Classroom Excellence (ACE) Task Force that was created in 2007, for State Superintendent.

The Attorney General’srace seems to be drawing a lot of early interest on both sides.  On the Republican side are Sheldon Sperling, the current (though outgoing) U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District.  Sperling is the man who took down Gene Stipe and prosecuted him; Senate Pro-Tempore Glenn Coffee, State Senator Jonathan Nichols of Norman, Oklahoma City attorney Ryan Leonard  (who has already kicked off his campaign) and former Broken Arrow State Senator Scott Pruitt.

Democratic State Senator Tom Adelson of Tulsa is considering a run for Attorney General should Edmondson not seek reelection.  And there’s speculation that Treasurer Scott Meacham, who is a close friend of Governor Henry and has done a good job of appearing to be a “pro-business Democrat” is looking at this race.  Okiepundit.com has learned that Meacham’s political team has been doing work for Edmondson’s campaign, a good indication that he will run for Edmondson’s vacated position.

In the race for the 5th Congressional District, State Representative Mike Thompson of Oklahoma City and former State Representative Kevin Calvey have both already kicked off their campaigns.  Other Republicans rumored to be looking at that race are State Senator Clark Jolley of Edmond, Corporation Commissioner Jeff Cloud, and Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, who lost to Mary Fallin in the 2006 Primary run-off.

There are also two big races inside the Capitol – the race to be the next Senate President Pro-Tempore and Speaker of the House.  Both men who hold those positions right now, Glenn Coffee and Chris Benge, are term limited in 2010.

The Speaker’s race, much to the chagrin of some in the Republican caucus, has already begun with members Kris Steele and Ken Miller both seeking to be the next Speaker.  House caucus rules say that the election cannot be held until sometime between September and December this year – an attempt to keep the internal politicking from interrupting the unity of the caucus – but Rep. Kris Steele and his supporters were passing around pledge cards during this session.  Rep. Ken Miller has taken a different approach, focusing on his duties as Chariman of the Appropriations and Budget Committee during this session and waiting until the interim to begin gathering his support.  Both Steele and Miller are leaders within the caucus and that race will probably be as close as previous races for Speaker have been in the recent past.

Over in the Senate, no real race has begun yet as perhaps Republican Senators are waiting to see who in their caucus ends up running for state wide and Congressional positions. Should Todd Lamb opt not to run for Lt. Governor, he may be considered a strong choice to replace Coffee as President Pro-Tempore.  Lamb currently has the number 2 postion in the Senate – Floor Leader.  Other potential candidates are Senator Brian Bingman of Sapulpa and Senator Clark Jolley of Edmond.

There is still a lot of time left before November 2010 and there will surely be many additions and maybe some subtractions to the list of candidates above.

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