Inhofe Welcomes Gov-Elect Fallin's Decision to Retain Ridley

For more info please see: http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.PressReleases&...
Transcript:

Let me say, before getting into this subject, something really great happened today in a bipartisan nature. We have a new Governor who will be coming in to Oklahoma, Mary Fallin , who used to serve over in the House. In fact, I flew her around in my airplane and helped her campaign, and she won handily.

She made her first--she is still Governor-elect, but she made her first commitment today, and I was very excited about it. We have a guy in Oklahoma named Gary Ridley who has been the highway director and then the secretary of transportation in the State now for years and years and years. I was so proud that today she said she was going to reappoint him.

I can remember 8 years ago when Governor Brad Henry, who is a Democrat, was elected. I called him up and I said: I only have one request, and that is you keep Gary Ridley because he's the best there is in the Nation, and I really believe that. Now, 8 years later, she has done this.

I remember when I was critical of President Clinton in 1998 when he took $8 billion out of the highway trust fund and put it into deficit reduction. It was something that was the wrong thing to do, and Gary Ridley stood by my side for 8 years before we were able to correct that. So we are going to have a great road program and hopefully we will be able to get into some of these things. After all, that is what we are supposed to be doing.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Inhofe
• Oklahoma
• Gary
• Ridley
• Transportation

[408knw]

Here's the guy who, as Chair of Senate Environment and Public Works, essentially threatened Chicago Mayor Richard Daley after the closure of the old, near-downtown Meigs Field Airport. The Mayor should expect no more funding from the committee if he was gonna "needlessly destroy historic, irreplaceable transportation infrastructure." Meanwhile, he and Asphalt Lobby hack Gary Ridley were plotting to destroy OKC's historic Union Station rail yard to make way for 4 miles of relocated I-40. Thugs.