U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe
and the leader of a key private association advocating transportation
improvements in Oklahoma have applauded the decision of Governor-elect
Mary Fallin, announced this week, to retain Secretary of Transportation
Gary Ridley.

In a statement sent to CapitolBeatOK, U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, dean of the
Oklahoma congressional delegation, said: “I am pleased that
Governor-elect Mary Fallin has decided to retain my good friend Gary
Ridley as Oklahoma’s Secretary of Transportation. Throughout the years,
Gary’s dedicated service to Oklahoma has proven invaluable.

“Simply put, he is the best Secretary of Transportation in the country. I
look forward to working with both Governor-elect Fallin and Secretary
Ridley to meet Oklahoma’s transportation needs.”

Inhofe is the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Neal McCaleb, president of the T.R.U.S.T. Road and Bridge Coalition, echoed Inhofe’s acclaim.

In an interview with CapitolBeatOK, McCaleb said, “In my judgment, Gary
Ridley is the best director/secretary of Transportation in Oklahoma
history, and I say that without any false modesty. I applaud the
announcement from Governor-elect Mary Fallin.”

McCaleb served as secretary of Transportation for both Henry Bellmon and
Frank Keating, former Republican governors of the state. He has also
served at the federal level, and is a well-known member of the Chickasaw
Nation.

Fallin said Ridley will retain his role as secretary, and also serve as
director of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and of the state
Turnpike Authority jobs he has held in the latter years of Gov. Brad
Henry’s administration.

In a press release sent to CapitolBeatOK, Fallin said, “Gary has been
serving Oklahoma’s transportation needs for over four decades. I’ve
worked with him as a state representative, as lieutenant governor and as
a United States Congresswoman on the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, and I can attest to Gary’s unparalleled expertise and
dedication. I’m glad to have him on my team.”

Ridley was named secretary in 2009 by Governor Brad Henry. He has
directed the Transportation Department since 2001, and held the turnpike
post since October 2009. He is a career transportation specialist,
having started at the agency in 1965 as an equipment operator. He served
several years in the late 1990s as executive director of the Oklahoma
Asphalt Paving Association.

According to the Fallin transition team’s press release, during Ridley’s
tenure, “the number of bad bridges has been reduced and safety
features, such as life-saving cable barriers, have become commonplace on
Oklahoma’s highways. Ridley also improved the process of preparing the
department’s eight-year Construction Work Plan. With funding increases
for transportation, he was able to firm-up commitments made in the
fiscally constrained plan, particularly those during the first three
years.”

Last year, Ridley made quick use of federal stimulus funds to fill in a
backlog of Oklahoma road and bridge projects, without drawing the
critical analyses that marked the stimulus process in some states.

A contingent of
Oklahomans headed today (Wednesday, December 1) to Cancun, Mexico for
the United Nations Global Climate Change Conference. The Sooners plan,
at least figuratively, to rain on the parade of those who have organized
the U.N. event. In Tulsa, critics of global warming and current
“climate change” concepts are having a state-level gathering to join the
cause.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is bringing hundreds of activists to
Cancun to protest the U.N. gathering (www.HotAirTourCancun.com). The
Oklahomans’ jaunt to Cancun has been organized by Stuart Jolly of AFP’s
Oklahoma chapter. Jolly dismisses the U.N. event as part of a final
(and, he predicted in advance, unsuccessful) push for cap-and-trade
strictures to limit domestic use of fossil fuels. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe,
the Oklahoma Republican who is arguably the harshest congressional
critic of what he calls the global warming “fraud,” will speak via
Webcast to the AFP event in Cancun.

In an interview with CapitolBeatOK, Jolly said, “Obviously, the pendulum
on climate change attitudes is swinging back towards common sense and
reality. There for a while, the likes of Al Gore and friends tried to
scare the American people and prey on our emotions, but this isn’t an
emotional issue – it’s a freedom issue. At a time when American
taxpayers are hurting, the country should not be spending millions on
these conferences.”

AFP is sponsoring a series of “Hot Air Live” events, including one in
Sen. Inhofe’s hometown of Tulsa. At that event, Randy Brogdon, the
former state senator who gave Mary Fallin a run for her money in last
summer’s heated Republican primary, will be featured speaker at the
Tulsa event, which begins Thursday (December 2) at 7 p.m. CST.
Oklahoma’s “hot air” event is at the

Hilton Tulsa Southern Hills, 7900 S. Lewis Avenue. A $10 cost includes a BBQ dinner, Jolly said.

Jolly told CapitolBeatOK that AFP saw no redeeming features in the U.N.
gathering at Cancun: “Our position is that the remedy proposed is going
to be worst than the event.  There is nothing in cap-and-trade that will
prevent what is occurring naturally. It’s nothing more than a hidden
tax to get you to use less energy and rely on the government for your
needs. President Obama should not pledge emission reductions that
Congress has not passed.”

Jolly continued, “The Cancun meeting comes on the heels of the huge
failure in Copenhagen to reach an agreement on what will replace the
Kyoto Accord in 2012 when the plan expires. Copenhagen was lauded as the
largest gathering of world leaders in history and expectations could
not live up to reality as the conference collapsed of its own weight.

“The Cancun conference is even less likely to produce an international
agreement on greenhouse gas emissions. The world economy is still
recovering and most countries know better than to commit to a regime
that will raise energy prices and stifle economic growth.”

Jolly, state Director for Oklahoma’s AFP, argues, “Oklahomans don’t want
to regulate carbon emissions, and yet Washington bureaucrats continue
to run wild with taxpayer dollars. At a time when Oklahoma taxpayers are
struggling, the government should not be spending millions on the whims
of radical environmentalists who hope to raise our taxes and regulate
our lives.”

Inhofe will join AFP national President Tim Phillips for a live Webcast
on “how carbon regulating policies result in lost jobs, higher taxes and
less freedom.” After that Webcast, Brogdon will speak at the Tulsa
Event. After the live Webcast, State Senator Randy Brogdon will speak
live in Tulsa.

In a statement sent to CapitolBeatOK, AFP President Tim Phillips said,
“Just like Copenhagen last year, this Climate Change Conference will
fail to reach an international agreement on the issue.”

AFP, which has occasionally drawn (by name) the ire of President Barack
Obama, describes itself as “a nationwide organization of citizen-leaders
committed to advancing every individual’s right to economic freedom and
opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and intrusiveness of
government is the best way to promote individual productivity and
prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens to
support restraining state and federal government growth and returning
government to its constitutional limits.”

Oklahoma is one of 31 state chapters and affiliates for the group. While
the group is non-partisan and does not involve itself directly in
electoral activity, it has been active in state policy debates for
years. In October, the group brought entrepreneur Herman Cain to Oklahoma City.