Pubdate: Sun, 08 Dec 2002
Source: Shawnee News-Star (OK)
Copyright: 2002 The Shawnee News-Star
Contact:  http://www.onlineshawnee.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/412
Author: Associated Press

KEATING LEAVES HAPPY

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Gov. Frank Keating says he is leaving office a happy 
man, and is keeping the door ajar for a return to politics in future years. 
With just over a month left in office, Keating pointed to passage of right 
to work, record road and capital improvement construction and his 
leadership after the Oklahoma City bombing as his biggest accomplishments.

"I really believe that my greatest legacy will be that 'Keating was 
governor when the sun came up'," he said on his efforts to "lift up the 
state" and give "a new sense of confidence to an Oklahoma that was very 
short on confidence."

Keating said he is looking forward to settling in at his new job as 
president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based American Council of Life 
Insurers.

"I love the industry," he said, while hinting he was not through with 
politics forever.

"Years from now, if the president wanted me to help him, or if the 
opportunity to run for public office presented itself, I might consider 
it," he said.

He said he planned to return to Oklahoma, a state he said was once mainly 
known for winning football teams and not for excellence in such areas as 
education and economic development.

Keating said that began to change under his watch and Oklahoma has become 
well thought of outside its borders.

The GOP governor was often accused by his political foes of excessively 
pointing out Oklahoma's shortcomings and comparing the state unfavorably to 
neighboring Texas.

Keating, who was forced to apologize for some of his off-the-cuff remarks 
at home, said he always tried to put the state in a good light in his 
appearances on national television shows and other forums.

He said the low-point of his time in office was clearly the ethical 
questions that were raised because he accepted $250,000 from retired Wall 
Street financier Jack Dreyfus, who was promoting use of the drug Dilantin 
among violent prison inmates.

Keating, a former federal official, said the gift was intended to be used 
for the education of his children and he cleared it with ethics officials 
in Washington before becoming governor.

"Jack has been a friend of mine for 20 years," Keating said. "His kindness 
to my children was mischaracterized. That was an unhappy time for me."

He said a controversy over his use of a state airplane for campaign 
appearances was "just politics, but it wasn't a blow that I felt was beyond 
the pale."

During the recent gubernatorial campaign, Keating said Gov.-elect Brad 
Henry gave him "an extraordinary compliment" by telling a group that the 
ideas generated the last eight years had "largely come from this office. 
You know, getting rid of the income tax; passing right to work; fixing 
workers comp; privatizing prisons; tort reform; welfare reform; charter 
schools; choice; education reform.

"I think the metaphor for it all certainly is the cleanup of North Lincoln, 
the building of the Great Museum of Oklahoma and restoration of the well 
sites and the finality of the dome, which is the certain trumpet signal of 
optimism and pride.

"I can say with no exaggeration that I've worked as hard as I could to make 
Oklahoma a better place and I hope that it's a better place as a result of 
my service."

Keating was the prime mover behind putting a $21 million dome on the 
Capitol, raising virtually all of the money for the structure from private 
sources. It was dedicated last month.

He mentioned his battles with the Democratic majority in the Legislature, 
calling the atmosphere "horrific" when he took office in 1995.

Democrats contend Keating created the tense political climate by calling 
them such names as "dunderheads" and relentlessly campaigning to defeat 
them and elect a GOP majority in the Legislature, something he was unable 
to accomplish.

Keating pointed with pride to his record 302 vetoes and the fact that he 
was never overridden.

Despite some rough spots, Keating said "some remarkable accomplishments" 
occurred during his two four-year terms, including passage of tough 
environmental laws governing pig and poultry production and compacts with 
Indian tribes on such things as motor fuel and auto tags.

"Out of a conservative administration, for me to be given the Sierra Club 
Award by Bobby Kennedy Jr., no less, that's pretty significant," Keating said.

Regardless of the current state budget dilemma, Keating said the state had 
made strides in its economy by improving its per capita income and 
increasing manufacturing investment.

Keating said he had no regrets for pushing policies that increased the 
state prison budget from $200 million to almost $400 million.

"The proof is in the pudding," he said. "The crime rate is substantially 
down and that is something that was not the case for years."

However, he said he does believe that something needs to be done to empty 
prisons of so many people convicted of drug possession and alcohol-related 
offenses, a condition he blamed on overzealous prosecutors.

He said highways "have never been in better shape" as he leaves office, 
with more than 1,000 highway miles built and additions to the turnpike system.

"Every community of 10,000 or more is connected to the interstate system by 
a four-lane highway," he said.

Looking to the state's future, Keating said he hoped Henry would pursue his 
proposal to eliminate the income tax for retirees and press for cuts in 
school administrations costs, which he says are twice what they should be.

The outgoing governor said he could even back a one-cent sales tax increase 
for education to ease the current budget woes if it were accompanied by 
enough reform.

He said he was disappointed he never got his "four-by-four" education 
program that would have required all students to take four years each of 
math, science, English and social studies. "But we got close," he said, 
pointing to acceptance of the 4-4-3-3 ACT core curriculum.

He said a trip to China recently convinced him that more rigor is needed in 
American schools. "They are going to blow our doors off if we don't have 
tougher education," he said.

During his tenure, Keating said Oklahoma had become a true two-party state 
and that's to Oklahoma's benefit.

He rejected a comparison of his departure to that of former Democratic Gov. 
Johnston Murray, who moved to Texas after leaving office in the 1950s with 
a denunciation of his fellow Democrats and the status of state government.

"There's no comparison to mine and Johnston Murray's experience," Keating 
said. "First of all, he left the state and went to Texas, and secondly, I'm 
coming back."

He said Oklahoma has changed for the better since then, with improvements 
in many areas, including roads.

"In Johnston Murray's day, Republicans were searched out with headlights on 
Saturday night," he continued. "There weren't many Republicans. It was a 
racist state...It was a state where rural and urban interests hated each 
other."

He said Murray left office "defeated by his own party and unhappy. I'm 
leaving office with no animosity, with no hostility to anyone.

"I'm very happy with my service and Cathy and I have never been happier as 
a couple."
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens