The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today announced the appointment of Denise Bode as its new CEO, effective January 2, 2009.
Bode will succeed Randall S. Swisher, who is retiring after a 19-year stint with AWEA.
Bode, who is currently CEO of the American Clean Skies Foundation, is a nationally recognized energy policy expert and served for nine years on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
Her experience in the energy field is extensive and includes seven years as President of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) and nine years on the staff of then--U.S. Senator David Boren (D-OK) as his legal counsel, focusing on the areas of energy and taxation.
"Denise Bode is an extremely dynamic and well-respected leader on energy issues in Washington, D.C.," said Swisher, "and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to AWEA. We are very fortunate to have such a talented and able individual available to lead the Association at a time when renewable energy stands on the threshold of dramatically expanding its contribution to America's energy supply."
"We were very lucky to have Denise's leadership to get ACSF established as a real player in the debate on energy and the environment," said Aubrey K McClendon, Chairman and Founder of the American Clean Skies Foundation.
"I am thrilled by my new opportunity of working with the AWEA team to grow wind power in the U.S.," Bode said. "I am particularly proud of the role I played as Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner to bring commercial wind power to Oklahoma."
AWEA is the national trade association of America's wind industry, with more than 1,600 member companies, including global leaders in wind power and energy development, wind turbine manufacturing, component and service suppliers, and the world's largest wind power trade show.
AWEA is the voice of wind energy in the U.S., promoting renewable energy to power a cleaner, stronger America. More information on wind energy is available at the AWEA Web site: www.awea.org
Anybody think its odd that
Denise Bode,
now work for a
Aubrey McClendon/Chesapeake Energy PUPPET ?
Funny how things work out. LOL
OKLAHOMA CITY — Employees of Chesapeake Energy Corp., the state's largest natural gas producer, have sunk more than $100,000 into Jim Roth's bid to retain his seat on the state Corporation Commission, an analysis by the Tulsa World shows.
More than 80 Chesapeake employees have contributed at least $1,000 each to the campaign of Roth, a Democrat running against Republican Dana Murphy.
Roth sided with Chesapeake in a key vote last October involving construction of a coal-fired power plant.
"I've never had a contributor ask for anything in return and they must know that they would never get it,'' Roth said.
With five weeks to go before the Nov. 4 election, Roth's fundraising efforts already have set a record for a Corporation Commission race and could reach $1 million before it's over.
A former Oklahoma County commissioner, Roth was appointed to the three-member Corporation Commission by Gov. Brad Henry last year after Denise Bode resigned. Roth and Murphy, an Edmond lawyer and former administrative law judge for the commission, are vying to fill the remaining two years of Bode's term.
Through the Aug. 11 campaign reporting period, Roth had raised $884,143.18 and had $652,805.89 to spend. Murphy had raised $324,307.30 through the same period but only reported a balance of $60,965 after winning a Republican Party primary battle against Rob Johnson of Kingfisher.
Roth's campaign has received maximum $5,000 contributions from a number of prominent Democrats and Republicans, including Tulsa oilman George Kaiser; Clay Bennett, chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise; Enid oilman Harold Hamm; Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor; former University of Oklahoma and Dallas Cowboys coach Barry Switzer; and oilman (T.) Boone Pickens.
Other Tulsans who have given $5,000 contributions to Roth's campaign are David Chernicky, George Krumme, Janet McGehee, Robert Price, Stuart Price, Joe Robson and Stacy Schusterman.
So far, 104 Chesapeake employees have contributed $100,675, including 82 who have given Roth $1,000 each, often on the same day, according to reports filed with the state Ethics Commission.
Aubrey McClendon, chairman and CEO of Chesapeake, gave a maximum contribution of $5,000, as did Energy for Oklahomans, a political action committee for the company.
Headquartered in Oklahoma City, Chesapeake is Oklahoma's largest natural gas producer and the third-largest overall producer of natural gas in the United States.
Last year, McClendon led a campaign against the proposed Red Rock coal-fired power plant. Two of the state's largest utilities, American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma and Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co., wanted to build the plant.
Roth and Commissioner Jeff Cloud voted to deny pre-approval of the plant, which effectively stopped the project.
Roth said the Red Rock debate was not about which fuel should be used to generate electricity. Rather, he said, it was about whether ratepayers should be asked to pay for the costs of the plant before it was put into operation.
"When I stood up to the utilities and said no to their $2 billion plan and advocated using Oklahoma fuel for Oklahomans, I'm sure that it did attract support of employees and businesses here in Oklahoma because they know I'm working for Oklahoma," Roth said.
State and federal law prohibits corporations from contributing to candidates, although individual employees can, as long as they are not coerced into giving and their giving is not carried out by the corporation itself.
Marilyn Hughes, executive director of the Ethics Commission, said that when employers start specifying amounts and to whom, it might appear that an employee's job is dependent on making a contribution.
"I do think that giving the exact amount, giving it on the same day to the same candidate would be facts that would have to be considered to determine whether there was coercion," she said.
Tom Price, Chesapeake's vice president of communications, said Thursday that his corporation is careful to follow the law regarding campaign giving.
"I am extraordinarily proud of the fact that our employees get involved in the political process," he said.
Price said it was the perspective of many Chesapeake employees that Murphy had not been fair in her rulings as an administrative law judge at the Corporation Commission.
In response, Murphy asked: "What do people from the financial department and human relations know about me?"
Price also said Chesapeake employees supported Cloud in his 2002 race against Murphy.
In 2002, Cloud received $37,800 from Chesapeake employees, campaign reports filed with the state Ethics Commission show. Cloud has received $12,500 from Chesapeake employees so far this year.
Price said he finds Roth to be "an analytical and sophisticated decision maker who works as hard as any public official that I have ever had engagement with."
Roth and Murphy are involved in a hard-fought race dominated by contributions from donors associated with the oil and gas industry, which is regulated by the commission along with public utilities, telephone companies and interstate transportation. The regulated industries are traditionally among the largest donors in previous commission races.
Roth said he has strong support from people all across Oklahoma in every type of job because he "has been working very hard for a year and a half to serve Oklahoma."
He said he is building a large campaign fund because "the work is important and a positive message always costs more in a tough political environment."
Murphy said her grassroots campaign features contributors chiefly from independent oil and gas producers who often have five or fewer employees.
"I think it is fascinating that my opponent says he is a consumer advocate when it appears the majority of his money comes from the wealthy," she said.
In the other commission race, Cloud, a Republican who was born in Tulsa and now lives in Oklahoma City, is competing against former state representative Charles Gray, a Democrat from Oklahoma City, in a race for a six-year term. Cloud raised $313,055.90 through Aug. 11, compared with $17,728 for Gray.
From VoteLaw ~ The group Public Citizen has filed complaints with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that a political operative and his controversial group identified by TMRO as key players in the 2006 television attacks on Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland violated federal election law and the group's tax status.
The complaints name the nonprofit group Americans for Job Security (AJS). The complaints, which were also sent to congressional committee leadership as part of a request for an investigation into the issue, ask the IRS to revoke the group’s tax status and the FEC to fine the group for election law violations.
It's the same group implicated in placing robo calls against Mary Fallin and Denise Bode in the 2006 Republican congressional primary.
Americans for Job Security is registered under Section 501(c)(6) of the tax code, the category reserved for business leagues and trade associations. Groups that are registered under this section are prohibited from engaging in efforts to influence elections as their primary purpose. But AJS, which maintains no Web site and appears to have only one paid employee, spends millions of dollars on advertisements to influence elections without appearing to engage in any other substantive efforts, according to the complaint. While many groups registered under 501(c) of the tax code participate in some level of electioneering activity and others may have violated the law, Public Citizen has identified AJS as one of the most egregious offenders. In response, Public Citizen is asking that the IRS revoke AJS’s 501(c) status, collect back taxes for its undeclared electioneering activities and require it to pay penalties for violating its tax-exempt status.
In 2006, TMRO reported, "The president of the controversial Americans For Job Security, Mike Dubke, has been indentified by The McCarville Report Online as the man leading the $250,000 attack on State Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland.
"TMRO learned that the television commercials attacking Holland were placed by Dubke, a conservative Republican power broker who routinely launches attacks on Democrats, and sometimes moderate Republicans, in election years from his suburban Washington office in Olde Town Alexandria, Virginia.
"The commercials were placed through Crossroads Media, located at the same address as AJS. Dubke, over the last five years operating as an advertising agency, has placed attack radio and television commercials in races all over the country. He has been investigated, threatened and described as a 'political jackal' because he represents groups that don't disclose the sources of their money. He says that is deliberate, because keeping the sources secret means the debate is on his targets rather than his donors.
"AJS is located in Suite 555 at 66 Canal Center Plaza in Alexandria, VA. Crossroads Media, listed in Oklahoma television station documents as the agency on the anti-Holland commercials, is located in Suite 555 at 66 Canal Center Plaza in Alexandria, VA. A Federal Election Commission document located by TMRO lists Dubke as 'Crossroads Media/Partner.'"
In 2006, Attorney General Drew Edmondson said he'd reached a settlement with Americans For Job Security about robo calls placed against Mary Fallin and Denise Bode in the 5th District Republican primary and has found no evidence that any of their opponents was involved in the calls. Edmondson said AJS and vendor Advantage Inc. agreed to pay $3,000 each to cover investigative costs into the violation Edmondson alleged, that the calls did not contain the name of the entity sponsoring them in the proper place and did not contain a call-back telephone number. Edmondson said the investigation by his Consumer Protection Division concluded that "no other candidates were found to be associated with the calls."Hat Tip to Mike @ TMRO'
The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today announced the appointment of Denise Bode as its new CEO, effective January 2, 2009.
