Rep. John Wright running for Lieutenant Governor
Rep. John Wright, a conservative Republican from Broken Arrow, has announced he is running for lieutenant governor in 2010.
“I have tried to be faithful with my current responsibilities and would certainly consider it to be an honor if the voters chose to entrust me with the responsibilities associated with lieutenant governor,” Wright said.
Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, a Democrat, will leave that post to run for governor. Gov. Brad Henry, also a Democrat, will end his second term in 2010 and be ineligible to run again.
Rep. Kenneth Corn, a Democrat, has announced he is running for his party’s nomination for lieutenant governor.
Wright said the office of lieutenant governor has two major roles. One is to be the principal ambassador for the State of Oklahoma.
Thirty years ago, Wright took a job traveling the state marketing computerized medical test results to rural doctors and hospitals.
“That gave me a unique understanding of the importance of the medical practices in the rural areas,” Wright said. “That weighed in on the debate on OSU Tulsa. I am very familiar with the state of Oklahoma and its topography, its terrain, its cities and towns, its challenges.”
From 1989-1998, Wright traveled mostly in the eastern half of the state marketing soft contact lens.
“I realized the No. 1 asset of Oklahoma is its people,”Wright said.
Secondly, the office of lieutenant governor serves as the “spare parachute,” Wright said.
“You hope you don’t have to use a spare parachute, but the lieutenant governor is there should something tragic happen to the governor,” Wright said. “In that case, it’s helpful to have someone who has had a long legislative career because they understand the process of what it takes to enact legislation, they understand the roles of the different legislative bodies and are comfortable with the whole process.”
Wright has served in the House while Democrats were in control and more recently, while his fellow Republicans were in charge.
In the recent session, Wright said there was a strong sentiment to not tap into the state’s “rainy day” fund.
“The State of Oklahoma so far has been less impacted than the rest of the country,” Wright said of the recession.
The state’s unemployment rate is still below 6 percent while in the nation it is climbing toward double digits.
“We essentially had budget cuts across the board of 7 percent,” Wright said. “We have protected some of the key elements of state government - education, healthcare, transportation and public safety. They have a level budget.”
Wright said the state was careful not to create on-going demands with money given to Oklahoma by the federal government.
“We took a very prudent course,” Wright said.
Wright worked on the Voter ID bill, a proposal that would require citizens to show a valid photo ID before casting a ballot. That was vetoed by Henry but will be on the November 2010 statewide ballot.
“I am very pleased that this will be decided at the hands of the voters,” Wright said. “It seeks to enhance the perception of voter integrity.”
Wright has been a champion for pro-life causes and has been rated as the “most conservative” legislator in Oklahoma.
“The interesting thing about politics is that the more you get to know the players, the more that is at stake, to me it’s more interesting than Bedlam (Oklahoma versus Oklahoma State) athletics,” Wright said.
Wrght represents District 76 which is about one-third of Broken Arrow. His campaign website is www.movingoklahomaforward.com. His cell phone is 855-5558.