James Coburn
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — Oklahomans place energy at the forefront of their concerns, said Republican Dana Murphy of Edmond. So it’s more important than ever to evaluate the qualifications of candidates running for state corporation commissioner, she said.

Murphy and Rob Johnson, R-Kingfisher, will face off in the July 29 statewide primary election before the winner competes in the Nov. 4 general election against the state’s current corporation commissioner, Democrat Jim Roth.

“I believe we need a different kind of leadership,” Murphy said. “And we need people who are committed, very experienced people to stand up and help move Oklahoma in a positive direction."

Murphy said she’s the only candidate that’s given testimony as a geological witness at the Corporation Commission, presented cases as an attorney and heard cases as an administrative law judge.

“I know it from the ground up,” she said. “I’m the only person running, Republican or Democrat, that has over 20 years of experience in the energy industry.”

Born in Woodward, she is a fifth-generation Oklahoman raised on a ranch in northwestern Oklahoma with three brothers. Her father also was in the oil business, bringing his family to Edmond where Murphy graduated as valedictorian at Edmond Memorial High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree in geology from Oklahoma State University and a law degree cum laude at Oklahoma City University.

A member of the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce, Murphy has lived in the Chimney Hill addition for 16 years.

She also ran for Corporation Commissioner in 2002, but lost in a runoff with Jeff Cloud. Murphy then focused her energy as vice chairwoman of the Republican Party. Murphy also was elected a trustee at the Church of the Servant where she worships.

Murphy has an oil and gas law practice in Edmond, doing title opinions and regulatory work for producers and mineral owners.

For her service with the Corporation Commission, Murphy earned the 1997 Co-Employee of the Year Award and the 2001 Commissioners’ Public Servant Award. She traveled throughout the state to inform Oklahomans about the role of the Corporation Commission.

“I did it because I was sad to think the most powerful agency in the state with more than 500 employees and a budget that exceeds $43 million — nobody knows what they do,” she said.

Transportation, oil and gas, public utilities and the storage and dispensing of petroleum-based products are the four areas regulated by the Corporation Commission. It oversees the conservation of natural resources while balancing consumers’ needs.

In addition, it oversees the safety of 41,000 miles of pipeline, 4,100 railroad crossings and 6,200 for-hire and private motor carriers, Murphy said. There are more than 3,000 oil and gas operators and 120,000 oil and gas wells in the state.

“Petroleum storage tanks — we can’t control the price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump. But who makes sure that a gallon’s a gallon? The Corporation Commission,” Murphy said.

The Corporation Commission examines economic proposals when there is a demand for power, and what the reasonable rate of return would be. The 700 public utilities it regulates includes natural gas, some water, cotton gins, telecommunications and electricity.

“It should matter who you elect here because what you do every day is affected by that,” said Murphy of Edmond. “Don’t you want to make sure that somebody’s looking out for the reasonableness of your electric rates that has a broad perspective of understanding of different kinds of business?”

As corporation commissioner, Murphy would encourage the development of available resources such as natural gas, clean coal and windpower.

“It’s looking at diversification in the fuel sources that we need because we’re going to have to build more power plants,” Murphy said.

She said the commission can make the process more efficient for operators and regulated entities to do business. The Corporation Commission could save taxpayers’ dollars by following the federal sector’s example by using an electronic format to eliminate most paperwork, Murphy said.

The commission’s goal is to conduct business without operators having to file paperwork, said Matt Skinner, a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. A number of fields are moving to an electronic format including the transportation system and oil and gas regulation, he said.

“We’ve equipped every field inspector with a laptop so they can be in touch and do work from anywhere in Oklahoma,” Skinner said.

Meanwhile, Murphy said she is not running for office in order to move up the political food chain.

“I just feel like we’ve had people who have lost sight of who they represent. This isn’t about special interests.”

Murphy said more than 25 percent of her political contributors are retired people, agriculture people and small oil and gas producers. She’s also investing her own money, while setting aside a successful oil and gas practice to run for corporation commissioner.

“I’m going to win this because I’m working harder than anybody else,” she said. “I don’t have as much money. I have to do a better job. I have to work harder and smarter.”

The original article can be found here.