Primary challenge: Four Republicans seek Corporation Commission nomination
Republican voters have four candidates for Oklahoma's Corporation Commission to choose from in the June 28 primary election.
The winner will secure the party's bid for a chance to win a seat on the board that oversees Oklahoma's energy industry, drilling activity, regulated utilities and more, in November's general election.
Candidates in this year's primary race involve two lawmakers — one current and one past — a political newcomer and another who is seeking a seat on the board for a third time in six years.
Each could serve up to 12 years as a corporation commissioner if they were to win the general election and win reelection to the post. One term is 6 years, and commissioners have a two term limit.
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Elected commissioners at the agency make decisions on rate cases involving utilities, approve rules involving commercial wind turbines, govern horizontal drilling for oil and natural gas, make decisions impacting natural gas production from the state’s most prolific wells and give operators authority to determine whether production from their wells is wasteful.
They also work with the agency’s Oil and Gas Conservation Division staff, which in turn has worked with scientists and energy industry leaders to deal with induced seismicity problems attributed to saltwater injection wells.
Lesser-known duties include the regulation of cotton gins, the dispensing of motor fuels and related underground petroleum storage tanks, pipeline safety enforcement, oversight of railroad intersections with roads and intrastate passenger and freight hauling services.
This year's primary winner will face two other candidates who filed for Commissioner Dana Murphy's seat — a Democrat and independent who are preparing for November's general election.
Murphy, who won a special election in 2008 to fill a vacated seat on the three-member panel, won a six-year term in 2010, then was reelected in 2016. Term limits prevent her from seeking a third term.
The Oklahoman talked to all four Republican candidates and compiled notes for each regarding their plans for their time in office should they win, their career accomplishments to this point and more.
The candidates are listed alphabetically by last name.
State Sen. Kim David
David, 61, of Porter, is wrapping up a 12-year career in Oklahoma's Senate representing constituents in Wagoner and parts of Cherokee, Muskogee and Okmulgee counties.
Along the way, she led the chamber's appropriations committee and has worked with its leadership to address various state crises, including how Oklahoma's utilities struggled to serve their customers during the winter storm in February 2021.
David said she also helped craft last year's law enabling those utilities to use state-issued bonds to retire $3.5 billion in extraordinary fuel costs utilities paid to provide services during the storm.
"It really made us take a hard look at the Southwest Power Pool, how our utility companies prepare for those types of events and what all happened," David said. "That really interested me, how our utilities go after securing the energy they need to serve their customers, whether it be wind, solar, natural gas or another source of energy. I would like to be able to continue working on finding the best solutions to those issues so that we are much better prepared the next time a storm like that hits the Midwest."
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David said she also learned through her legislative service how much of the state's economy is regulated by the commission, adding she doesn't believe that most Oklahomans realize the agency's impact.
David said she believes leadership skills she acquired through her service could benefit the agency and Oklahoma's residents as it provides services to the businesses it regulates.
"I definitely have learned I will have to be fair and very thoughtful when it comes to decision making. I would like to continue to make a difference for Oklahomans."
Justin Hornback
Hornback, 38, is a welder who has worked in the nation's energy industry for about 15 years.
As a member of Pipeliners Local 798 in Tulsa (part of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters), he and that local's other members build high-pressure main transmission lines that carry oil, natural gas and other liquid materials.
Hornback said he deals with regulators involved in pipeline permitting across much of the nation and that he became interested in seeking a seat on the commission after trying to learn more about a natural gas pipeline rupture in Tulsa a couple of years ago that forced the evacuation of nearby homes and businesses.
Hornback filed an Open Records request, hoping to learn more about how the accident happened and more details about the line, such as its size and operating pressure. However, the information he ultimately received was scant, he said.
"Basically, it was a copy and paste of the company's news release," only announcing that the line had failed and had been repaired, he said.
"I understand the importance of proprietary information when it comes to the companies the agency regulates, but there needs to be some transparency there, as well, for citizens, and that (perspective) is what I'd like to bring into the position," Hornback said.
Hornback, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, is a first-time candidate.
"I am new to politics, but I don't see a seat on the commission as being a highly political (partisan) position, like it would be if you were a senator," he said. "Transparency is a big deal. Every citizen has the right to know about what the commission does and how it serves them. I feel like that is a good place where I could use my knowledge of the industry to help the state's residents."
Harold Spradling
Spradling, 87, is running in a third consecutive primary seeking to gain a seat on the commission.
He ran in 2018 against Commissioner Bob Anthony because he was concerned about the tone of politics, particularly in Washington. He ran in 2020 against Commissioner Todd Hiett because he hoped to help the agency make decisions that would return profitability and productivity to both private businesses and the state’s government, ultimately providing income, jobs and opportunities for Oklahomans.
This time, he said he is running because he would like to work with Anthony and Hiett to stem the tide of increasing costs Oklahomans are having to pay for goods, services and energy by influencing trucking companies and railroads to keep their costs in check, by encouraging the immediate production of oil within the state to help lower gasoline prices and by standing firm against repeated cost increases utilities are passing along to their customers.
"Even if a utility brought an increase before us that makes sense, I would say 'no' if I had given them one six months before. We should have time to think those things through."
Spradling didn't venture into the political world until after completing careers as a pastor, teacher and counselor, and also working in the oil and gas industry along the way.
He said he has been traveling Oklahoma in recent years to encourage older people from all walks of life to consider running for public office.
While he is careful to state he isn't accusing any seated commissioner of wrongdoing, Spradling adds he is concerned about recent conflict of interest allegations and suggestions that campaign-related donations could influence some commission decisions.
Spradling said he intends to run his current campaign the same way he did the past two — without taking campaign contributions.
"Money makes the difference."
Todd Thomsen
Todd Thomsen, 54, served in Oklahoma's House of Representatives representing part of southeast Oklahoma between 2006 and 2018, rising through its leadership ranks to chair its Utilities Committee and to serve on its Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Thomsen said his experience there helped educate him about the commission and the role it plays in regulating Oklahoma's industries.
"Before I was elected to the House in 2006, I couldn't have told you what the commission did. Like most Oklahomans, I didn't realize it impacts 80% or more of the state's economic infrastructure. As a commissioner, you have a significant impact on the viability of our state and the future of its economy," Thomsen said.
If his name sounds familiar outside of his legislative service, it should if you're a Sooner fan. While Thomsen attended the University of Oklahoma to earn a business degree, he also was a four-year starter for the Sooners as a punter and kickoff specialist, playing a part in the team's 1985 national championship.
After graduating from college, he spent the next several decades working with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes before retiring from his position with the organization the same year he left Oklahoma's Legislature.
Thomsen said he saw this year's Corporation Commission election as a unique opportunity to get back into serving the public, given that it is the first time a seat has opened up on the three-person panel because of term limits.
He said he has heard from people that they want someone on the commission who can look at something from all angles and can make fair, consistent decisions.
"They want somebody who is going to be willing to listen, find the truth, be fair and be consistent. I hope people saw when I served in Oklahoma's Legislature that I have a willingness to have an open, independent mind and hopefully the humility to know that I don't know everything, that I need help and input and that I am not too embarrassed to ask for it."
Business Writer Jack Money covers Oklahoma’s energy and agricultural beats for the newspaper and Oklahoman.com. Contact him at jmoney@oklahoman.com. Please support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by subscribing to The Oklahoman.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma primary 2022: See who's running for Corporation Commission
