Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released the following statement after learning of the passing of former Oklahoma Department of Transportation Secretary Gary Ridley.
“It was with great sadness I heard of the passing of former Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley. He was not only a superb public servant but a good personal friend.
“Gary served multiple Oklahoma governors as a career professional at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. He rose through the ranks to serve as Secretary of Transportation for governors of both parties. At the peak of his career of public service, he was regarded by many, including me, as the finest state director of transportation in America.
“Gary was exceptionally able and professional. He was bipartisan in his style and incorruptible as a person and a public official. Thanks to him and the standards he set for his department, Oklahoma’s roads and highways are safer and better located and maintained than at any time in our state’s history. And the safety measures he pioneered and instituted have saved the lives of countless Oklahomans.
“I first met and worked with Gary as a state legislator in the late 1980s. We continued to interact during my time as Secretary of State in the Keating Administration of the 1990s and as a member of Congress since 2003. I never had a meeting with Gary in which I didn’t learn something. And he never asked me to do anything other than help provide Oklahomans the best transportation system possible with the resources that were available at the federal, state and local levels.
“Gary Ridley was a wise, far-seeing and splendid servant to the people of Oklahoma both as a public official and a private consultant. He served them selflessly and ably for many decades. I will miss him greatly. The people of Oklahoma and the career professionals at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation will miss him even more.”
