By Mick Hinton And Tom Lindley/Capitol Bureau, Tulsa World ~ Employees of Chesapeake Energy Corp., the state's largest natural gas producer, have sunk more than $100,000 into Jim Roth's bid to retain his seat on the state Corporation Commission, an analysis by the Tulsa World shows.
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More than 80 Chesapeake employees have contributed at least $1,000 each to the campaign of Roth, a Democrat running against Republican Dana Murphy. Roth sided with Chesapeake in a key vote last October involving construction of a coal-fired power plant.
"I've never had a contributor ask for anything in return and they must know that they would never get it,'' Roth said. [Aubrey McClendon and Clay Bennett are honorary co-chairmen of Roth's campaign. Roth's website reports, "In a letter mailed to friends by Mr. Bennett and Mr. McClendon they state, 'Moving Oklahoma forward by making it a better place to work and live is a mutual goal. Jim Roth also shares our vision of a pro-growth Oklahoma.' They continue, 'As the Incumbent, he is a leader that demonstrates the vision, integrity and experience necessary for the responsibility of this position.'"]
With five weeks to go before the Nov. 4 election, Roth's fundraising efforts already have set a record for a Corporation Commission race and could reach $1 million before it's over.
A former Oklahoma County commissioner, Roth was appointed to the three-member Corporation Commission by Gov. Brad Henry last year after Denise Bode resigned.
Roth and Murphy, an Edmond lawyer and former administrative law judge for the commission, are vying to fill the remaining two years of Bode's term. Through the Aug. 11 campaign reporting period, Roth had raised $884,143.18 and had $652,805.89 to spend. Murphy had raised $324,307.30 through the same period but only reported a balance of $60,965 after winning a Republican Party primary battle against Rob Johnson of Kingfisher.
Roth's campaign has received maximum $5,000 contributions from a number of prominent Democrats and Republicans, including Tulsa oilman George Kaiser; Clay Bennett, chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise; Enid oilman Harold Hamm; Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor; former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer; and oilman Boone Pickens.
Other Tulsans who have given $5,000 contributions to Roth's campaign are David Chernicky, George Krumme, Janet McGehee, Robert Price, Stuart Price, Joe Robson and Stacy Schusterman.
So far, 104 Chesapeake employees have contributed $100,675, including 82 who have given Roth $1,000 each, often on the same day, according to reports filed with the state Ethics Commission.
Aubrey McClendon, chairman and CEO of Chesapeake, gave a maximum contribution of $5,000, as did Energy for Oklahomans, a political action committee for the company.
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Chesapeake is Oklahoma's largest natural gas producer and the third-largest overall producer of natural gas in the United States.
Last year, McClendon led a campaign against the proposed Red Rock coal-fired power plant. Two of the state's largest utilities, American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., wanted to build the plant. Roth and Commissioner Jeff Cloud voted to deny pre-approval of the plant, which effectively stopped the project. Roth said the Red Rock debate was not about which fuel should be used to generate electricity. Rather, he said, it was about whether ratepayers should be asked to pay for the costs of the plant before it was put into operation.
"When I stood up to the utilities and said no to their $2 billion plan and advocated using Oklahoma fuel for Oklahomans, I'm sure that it did attract support of employees and businesses here in Oklahoma because they know I'm working for Oklahoma," Roth said.
State and federal law prohibits corporations from contributing to candidates, although individual employees can, as long as they are not coerced into giving and their giving is not carried out by the corporation itself.
Marilyn Hughes, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said that when employers start specifying amounts and to whom, it might appear that an employee's job is dependent on making a contribution.
"I do think that giving the exact amount, giving it on the same day to the same candidate would be facts that would have to be considered to determine whether there was coercion," she said.
Tom Price, Chesapeake's vice president of communications, said Thursday that his corporation is careful to follow the law regarding campaign giving: "I am extraordinarily proud of the fact that our employees get involved in the political process," he said.
Price said it was the perspective of many Chesapeake employees that Murphy had not been fair in her rulings as an administrative law judge at the Corporation Commission. In response, Murphy asked: "What do people from the financial department and human relations know about me?"
Price also said Chesapeake employees supported Cloud in his 2002 race against Murphy. In 2002, Cloud received $37,800 from Chesapeake employees, campaign reports filed with the state Ethics Commission show. Cloud has received $12,500 from Chesapeake employees so far this year.
Price said he finds Roth to be "an analytical and sophisticated decision maker who works as hard as any public official that I have ever had engagement with."
Roth and Murphy are involved in a hard-fought race dominated by contributions from donors associated with the oil and gas industry, which is regulated by the commission along with public utilities, telephone companies and interstate transportation. The regulated industries are traditionally among the largest donors in previous commission races.
Roth said he has strong support from people all across Oklahoma in every type of job because he "has been working very hard for a year and a half to serve Oklahoma." He said he is building a large campaign fund because "the work is important and a positive message always costs more in a tough political environment."
Murphy said her grassroots campaign features contributors chiefly from independent oil and gas producers who often have five or fewer employees. "I think it is fascinating that my opponent says he is a consumer advocate when it appears the majority of his money comes from the wealthy," she said.
Labels: Aubrey McClendon, Chesapeake Energy, Dana Murphy, Jim Roth, Tom Price
