American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2018 - 92

ConventionCoverage: Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association

Blue Wave Hits Red Wall
In Sooner State
By Dan Holder
BRANSON, MO.-A figurative blue
wave may have washed over much of the
country during the midterm elections, but
James McSpadden, a lobbyist for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association,
pointed out that wave hit a red wall in the
Sooner State, as Republicans retained
every statewide office and made unexpected
gains in many statehouse races.
"There now are 76 Republican House
lawmakers, the largest number of Republicans in the state's history," noted
McSpadden, with Oklahoma City-based
McSpadden Milner Robinson. "The Democrats picked up one seat in the Senate,
but there still is a very solidly Republican
supermajority in the House and Senate."
The governor's race turned on the fact
that Democrat Drew Edmondson's campaign emphasized his dislike for the
state's two biggest industries: agriculture,
and oil and gas, which pushed voters
into supporting businessman Kevin Stitt,
McSpadden said.
McSpadden reported that out of the 18
House members who in the 2018 session
voted against HB 1010, a major tax package
that included a gross production tax increase,
only four remained in office. "There is no
need to panic, because the budget looks
pretty good this year, if we get the cost of
a barrel of oil back up to $65 a barrel," he
assessed. "If that happens, we will see a
surplus next year. Anytime you have a surplus, tax increases are less likely."
The state's oil and gas operators must
communicate with their legislators, McSpadden urged, equating one conversation
with a business owner to 10 conversations
with a lobbyist. Moreover, he added, the
need for constituent contact increases
every year, because term limits have decreased the average legislator's tenure.
With 74 Oklahoma representatives having
no more than two years of legislative experience, more educational efforts are
necessary, McSpadden reflected. "We
have to get to these new freshmen legislators and tell them about the industry,
which is something you could help with
tremendously," he said.
92 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Political Results
The 2018 election was a split decision
nationwide, indicated Brice Kornegay,
president of BK Strategies, and each side
had something to applaud, although he
noted Nov. 6 was a better night for Democrats.
"But, this could have been a lot worse
for Republicans," he offered. "Democrats
picked up more than 30 seats in the U.S.
House, and took control of it for the first
time since 2010. Democrats also picked
up six governorships, including pretty
important battleground states such as
Michigan and Wisconsin. But, they did
not win Oklahoma, and Republicans actually picked up seats in the Senate."
Looking at national macro-level political dynamics during the past two years,
Kornegay said while urban areas were
and would remain Democratic strongholds,
Republicans had seen significant gains
in rural/exurban areas. However, those
living in suburban areas that historically
were strongly Republican had shifted
party loyalties.
Those national trends are evident in
Oklahoma, he pointed out, noting that
the governor's race saw Stitt win 73 counties, but lose in two of the state's three
urban counties. Kornegay observed that
while many people outside Oklahoma
considered the state one big rural area, it
obviously was not.

"That will be an issue for Republicans
moving forward," he predicted. "Oklahoma's Fifth District went Democratic
for the first time in a generation. A lot of
people talk specifically about the quality
of the individual campaigns, but a changing
political dynamic in the urban areas is a
real thing that will affect that race moving
forward. In a couple of cycles, that will
start affecting the First District (in the
Tulsa area) as well."
Local Governments
Oklahoma municipalities threatening
oil and gas operations are a developing
threat that communication and planning
can mitigate, a panel discussion told
OIPA. Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association
President Chad Warmington moderated
the panel that consisted of Tommie Herell,
corporate business development with Select Energy Services; Sean Flynn, health,
safety and environment manager for
Marathon Oil Company; and Brian Exline,
vice president of land and business development for Red Bluff Resources.
Warmington said OIPA and OKOGA
began monitoring the impacts of municipal
infringement late in 2014, when Denton,
Tx., voted to ban hydraulic fracturing.
However, he noted both associations believed such a ban couldn't happen in
Oklahoma. "We have a great relationship
with our people, and we thought we

Preparing to deliver a
federal and state legislative update at the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association's fall
conference are, from left,
Brice Kornegay, president of BK Strategies,
and James McSpadden,
an OIPA lobbyist.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2018

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