Agricultural News
Osage County Sen. Eddie Fields Sets Sights on Lt. Governor's Post - Seeks Active Role in Ag Policy
Wed, 16 Aug 2017 16:20:08 CDT
During a recent Oklahoma Farm Bureau event in Okarche, Okla., Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays, caught up with State Senator Eddie Fields, a rancher and small businessman from Osage County, who announced nearly a month ago his intention to run for Lieutenant Governor in 2018. Hays and Sen. Fields had the opportunity to discuss briefly his aspirations for public office, what issues are most important to him and what his outlook is regarding the state budget crisis. You can listen to their complete conversation by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
"This will be my tenth session. Due to term limits, I would be on the ballot in '18 anyway and only be able to serve two years of a four-year term in the Senate," Fields said. "If I do that, it would cause a special election that the taxpayers would have to pay. I think the timing is right for me to make that jump from the Senate to the Lt. Governor's office."
For him, should he be elected, the job at hand would focus on increasing jobs, enhancing economic development, improving healthcare, making government more efficient, promoting Oklahoma's growing tourism industry and working with legislators, parents and teachers to improve the public school system.
"That affects all 77 counties in the state of Oklahoma," he said, "regardless of whether you're in an urban area or a rural area."
Having served in both the House and Senate, currently serving as the Chairman of the Rules Committee and Chair of Appropriations Subcommittee of Natural Resources and Regulatory and Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Fields says he has developed a wide-range of relationships that will prove essential to effectively conducting business in the role of Lt. Governor.
In addition, representing an ag-centric county with previous experience serving on the Senate Ag Committee, having served at one point as the committee's chairman, Fields also implies he has a great deal of knowledge and understanding when it comes to Oklahoma's agricultural industry.
On the matter of fixing the state budget, though, Fields says he and the rest of the state's senators are merely spectators, as the House of Representatives continues to negotiate a compromise. Several options, he says, are being considered.
"There's different options being looked at, but until the Speaker and the House can work out some agreement with Minority Leader Inman," Fields remarked, "the Senate kind of has its hands tied."
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