Henry names Roth to corporation commission

Gov. Brad Henry today named Oklahoma County Commissioner Jim Roth to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

Roth, 38, re-elected to a four-year term in November, succeeds Denise Bode, who announced last month she was stepping down from the commission to head a natural gas education foundation she is organizing.

Bode, a Republican, said her resignation will take effect May 31. She has nearly four years left on her current six-year term.

Roth, a Democrat, will have to run in 2008 for the remainder of the term.

A political unknown when he ran for the District 1 county commissioner seat in 2002, Roth said he ran for the post because he was tired of seeing commissioners hire political friends while roads deteriorated.

One of Roth's first actions after taking office was a reorganization of the district. He cut the district staff from 58 to 37 and eliminated eight of 13 supervisor positions. He also eliminated seven of 13 take-home vehicles in the district and got rid of many county-provided cell phones.

The Corporation Commission regulates public utilities, except those under municipal or federal jurisdiction or those exempt from regulation; oil and gas drilling, production and environmental protection; the safety aspects of motor carrier, rail and pipeline transportation; and the environmental integrity of petroleum storage tank systems.

Bode was appointed to the commission in 1997 by then-Gov. Frank Keating to replace Commissioner Cody Graves, who had resigned, and won a full term in 1998. In 2002, Bode lost a race for state attorney general; she won re-election to the commission in 2004. She ran unsuccessfully last year for the 5th Congressional District seat.