Bob Anthony
Member of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission
Class 3
Assumed office
January 9, 1989
GovernorHenry Bellmon
David Walters
Frank Keating
Brad Henry
Mary Fallin
Kevin Stitt
Preceded byNorma Eagleton
Personal details
Born (1948-05-15) May 15, 1948
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseNancy Anthony
Children4 daughters
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BS)
London School of Economics (MS)
Yale University (MA)
Harvard University (MPA)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
RankCaptain
UnitUnited States Army Reserve

Robert Anthony (born May 15, 1948) is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Anthony is serving his fifth consecutive six-year term on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, where he has served since 1989. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the United States Senate in 2004, and unsuccessful candidate for United States Congress running against Glenn English in 1990. Anthony is term-limited in 2024.

With the retirement of Doug La Follette as Wisconsin Secretary of State in 2023, Anthony became the earliest serving statewide elected official in the United States, not counting federal offices, having held the same office since 1989.

Early life and career

Anthony was born at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City on May 15, 1948.[1] Anthony earned a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania, a master's degree in economics from the London School of Economics, a master's degree from Yale University and a master's degree in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.[2]

Anthony was a captain in the United States Army Reserves, worked in his grandfather's retail clothing company C.R. Anthony Co. Worked as a staff economist for the Interior Committee of the United States House of Representatives and as a consultant for the Library of Congress from 1976 to 1979.[2] He was the president of C.R. Anthony Co. (A chain of Oklahoma-based retail stores founded by his grandfather C.R. Anthony in 1922 in Cushing, Oklahoma.) from 1980 to 1987.[2]

Political career

Anthony served as a member of the Oklahoma City Council from 1979–1980. He first won election to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) in 1988 and took office in 1989. He was re-elected in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, and again in 2018.[2] In 2004 he entered the race to succeed Don Nickles in the United States Senate, but finished third in the primary, losing to Tom Coburn.[3]

Anthony revealed in late 1992 that he had been cooperating in a federal bribery probe, secretly taping utility company representatives who broke laws prohibiting donations to regulators. The scandal was averted at the last minute by a company buyout.[4]

In August 2018, Anthony won the Republican nomination for a seat on the OCC.[5] He went on to face Democrat Ashley Nicole McCray and Independent Jackie Short in the November election.[6] Anthony won re-election with 60% of the vote.[6]

In 2023, Anthony filed a 180-page dissent in opposition to Todd Hiett and Kim David's votes to accept a $6 billion fuel cost claimed by Public Service Company of Oklahoma, Oklahoma Natural Gas, and OG&E. He described the price increase as "rotting from a putrid core of greed, public corruption and regulatory capture."[7]

Electoral history

Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Republican Primary Election, 1988
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony 63,947 60.40
Republican Tom Guild 20,187 19.10
Republican Al Stine 14,597 13.80
Republican Jack Leebron 7,104 6.70
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Election, 1988
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony 606,640 53.20
Democratic Charlie Morgan 532,726 46.80
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Election, 1994
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony (inc.) 505,003 51.75
Democratic Charles Nesbitt 470,774 48.25
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Election, 2000
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony (inc.) 771,609 65.76
Democratic Gilbert Bigby 380,108 32.40
Libertarian Roger Bloxham 21,568 1.84
Oklahoma U.S. Senate Republican Primary Election, 2004
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Coburn 145,974 61.23
Republican Kirk Humphreys 59,877 25.12
Republican Bob Anthony 29,596 12.41
Republican Jay Richard Hunt 2,944 1.23
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Election, 2006
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony (inc.) 536,341 58.66
Democratic Cody Graves 378,030 41.34
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Republican Primary Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony (inc.) 108,624 64.84
Republican Brooks Mitchell 58,890 35.16
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony (inc.) n/a 100.00
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Republican Primary Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony (inc.) 155,930 53.6
Republican Brian Bingman 134,926 46.4
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Election, 2018[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bob Anthony (inc.) 700,643 60.0
Democrat Ashley Nicole Mccray 400,185 34.3
Independent Jackie Short 66,204 5.7

References

  1. ↑ Voices of Oklahoma interview with Bob Anthony Archived 2010-07-26 at the Wayback Machine, Voices of Oklahoma oral history project Archived July 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, April 27, 2010 (accessed May 22, 2013)
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bob Anthony, Project Vote Smart (accessed May 22, 2013)
  3. ↑ United States Senator Republican Primary Election – July 27, 2004, Oklahoma State Election Board (accessed May 22, 2013)
  4. ↑ PBS Interview with Bob Anthony (accessed May 23, 2013)
  5. ↑ Buettner, Joe (2018-08-28). "Incumbent Bob Anthony wins GOP nomination for Oklahoma corporation commissioner". KTUL. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  6. 1 2 3 "Anthony wins a sixth term as a Corporation Commissioner". Oklahoman.com. 2018-11-07. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  7. ↑ Krehbiel, Randy (April 23, 2023). "Political notebook: Anthony blasts fellow corporation commissioners -- again". Tulsa World. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
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