7.14.06
Hobson promises different kind of lieutenant governor
By Liz McMahan
Phoenix Staff Writer
One of eight candidates
for Oklahoma's lieutenant governor office campaigned
in Muskogee Thursday, promising to "be a
different kind of lieutenant governor" than
the state has had in the past.
Sen.
Cal Hobson, D-Lexington, is leaving the Senate
because of term limits. He will face fellow Democrats
Jari Askins, Pete Regan and Jim Rogers for the
party's nomination in the July 25 primary election.
The winner of that contest will
go against the winner of the contest between Republicans
Nancy Riley, Scott Pruitt and Ted Hiett and E.Z.
Million, independent candidate in the November
general election.
Hobson said that after 12 years
in the state House and 16 years in the Senate,
he knows the political ropes.
"I know how to get votes.
I know how to count, and I know how to push programs
through," Hobson said.
Under the Constitution, the
lieutenant governor is president of the Senate.
With the Senate almost evenly divided between
the two parties, the next lieutenant governor
may get to cast the tie-breaking vote quite often,
Hobson said.
His major accomplishments in
the Senate this past session included getting
full state funding for cancer and diabetes research
and treatment centers that will be handled through
the University of Oklahoma, Hobson said. Those
centers will be accessible both from Oklahoma
City and Tulsa, making them available to most
of the state's residents.
He is advocating a special legislative
session to fully fund the $3,000 pay raise given
to Oklahoma teachers this year. The raises were
funded, but not the Social Security and other
benefits.
He also wants a program that
would provide after-school activities for students
over 12.
Reach Liz McMahan at 684-2926
or
lmcmahan@muskogeephoenix.com.
Originally published July 14, 2006
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