Political Pulse

State Treasurer Scott Meacham has decided not to run for a second full term as the state’s top financial officer. Following is an excerpt from the press release issued on Friday, October 30 by the State Treasurer’s Office.

OKLAHOMA CITY – State Treasurer Scott Meacham today announced he will not
seek another term as State Treasurer following the expiration of his current term in January of
2011. He also announced that he will not seek any other elective office.
“There has certainly been a lot of speculation on my future political plans over the last
several months,” Meacham said. “I appreciate the patience shown by the media, my supporters
and others as my family has gone through a difficult time with the passing of my wife’s sister
from cancer.

“I am completing an eight-year commitment to public service and elected politics,” said
Meacham. “Although I very much enjoy public service and the job of being an elected public
official, I find I do not enjoy partisan politics and the process of continuously running for office.
The toll on my responsibilities to my family and just missing out on so many moments in my
children’s lives is too great.

“I have accomplished everything I set out to do in the Treasurer’s office thanks to a great
and dedicated staff that has worked hard to implement my vision for the office since my first
taking the post in June of 2005. We have dramatically increased earnings on the state’s
investments, cut costs for state financial services, reduced staffing levels and overhead in the
Treasurer’s Office, greatly increased payouts from the state’s unclaimed property fund and
substantially expanded the number of families taking advantage of the Oklahoma College
Savings Plan.

“I appreciate the many Oklahomans from both political parties who have encouraged me
to look at the Governor’s race or the Attorney General’s race. Although it would be a great honor
to serve the citizens of this state in either of those positions, I do not feel that is the best path for me or my family at this time.

“I have not yet even considered what I might do next in my career, although I certainly
have accumulated an interesting resume as a banker, attorney, state agency head and elected
statewide office holder,” said Meacham. “I believe the Lord leads us according to His will
through doors opening and closing along life’s path and while the elected office holder door is
closing, I am sure some other door will open.”

Meacham was named by Governor Brad Henry to serve as Oklahoma’s 17th State Treasurer and began serving in that position on June 1, 2005, serving out the remaining unexpired term of Robert Butkin. Prior to being named State Treasurer, Meacham had been the State Finance Director since January of 2003. Before answering Governor Henry’s call to serve as State Finance Director, Meacham was the Chief Executive Officer and General Counsel of the First National Bank and Trust of Elk City, Oklahoma. Meacham was elected to a full, four-year term as State Treasurer in 2006, garnering 59 percent of the vote in his first run for public office.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin is engaged and plans
to marry an Edmond attorney.
Fallin’s Chief of Staff Nate Webb confirmed Thursday the
Oklahoma City Republican accepted the marriage proposal of Wade
Christensen, an attorney and constituent.
Webb says Christensen flew to Washington on Tuesday to pop the
question. No wedding date has been set.
The 53-year-old Fallin is a GOP candidate for Oklahoma governor
in 2010.
Webb says the two met years ago while both attended Oklahoma
State University.
Christensen is 54, and both he and Fallin have been married
previously.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Candidates for governor and other statewide
offices are putting the finishing touches on their third-quarter
campaign finance reports.
The reports are not due until Monday. But some candidates say
they will submit their reports to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission by
Friday.
A few statewide candidates have already submitted their
quarterly reports. State Sen. Kenneth Corn, a Democratic candidate
for lieutenant governor, submitted his report on Monday. It shows
he has raised $418,090 for his campaign including $214,476 during
the third quarter.
Two Republican candidates for lieutenant governor have also
submitted their reports. State Sen. Todd Lamb reports raising a
total of $300,215 including $104,930 during the quarter. State Rep.
John Wright reports raising $11,729 including $9,375 during the
quarter.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says two former
senators will lead an advisory board charged with giving him
unvarnished counsel about the nation’s intelligence.
The president on Wednesday introduced Republican Chuck Hagel of
Nebraska and Democrat David Boren of Oklahoma as co-chairmen of the
President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. The job of the board is to
provide Obama with an independent source of advice about the
effectiveness of the intelligence community.
At a Cabinet Room event, Obama said the two will report to him
and have his full support.
Obama said he will announce other board members soon.
He says the quality of the intelligence system is improving, but
progress is needed in collecting and sharing information.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A Republican and an independent have become
the sixth and seventh candidates to announce for the 5th
Congressional District seat in Congress.
The seat is currently held by Republican Rep. Mary Fallin who is
running for governor rather than re-election.
Republican Paul Arabie of Del City says he’s running because he
doesn’t like the direction the country is heading.
Independent Clark Duffe of Edmond says he wants to cut spending,
audit the Federal Reserve , restore individual liberties, demand
honesty in the federal government and secure the borders.
Other Republican candidates are state Rep. Mike Thompson and
former state Rep. Kevin Calvey along with Johnny Roy of Edmond,
Rick Flanigan of Bethany and James Lankford of Edmond.
No Democrats have entered the race.