Rep Mark Lepak Monday announced his re-election bid for the Oklahoma State House of Representatives in District 9, which encompasses Claremore, and parts of central Rogers County. Lepak, a Republican, is completing his second term in office.
“Voters need to assess which candidate will bring thoughtful, best judgement to the job, and whether that person can be trusted to exercise that judgement, independent of the pressures of the day, while considering the best long term interests of the district and the state. I know myself, and I fit the bill.”
Lepak carries a lifetime of varied work experiences to the capitol, including cattle and crops on the family farm, electrical work at a potash mine, and work as both a roustabout and a roughneck for offshore drilling operations in the gulf. After graduating from the University of Oklahoma with a BS in Engineering Physics, he joined Southwestern Bell Telephone Co., and saw the company make history through the Bell System divestiture, the creation of SBC, and the eventual acquisition of AT&T, all while simultaneously transforming itself from telephone monopoly into a competitive, wireless and data centric business. His career was spent in a constantly changing, complex environment where he performed long range planning economic studies, designed data circuits, did national forum work and analysis related to the FCCs open network architecture docket, served as chief of staff for the president of network services, and led teams of operations and project personnel maintaining, improving, and expanding the very infrastructure of the company’s network. At the time of his retirement, he led approximately 800 employees caring for equipment locations in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, as well as the emergency power operation for those states and Texas. Tornados, ice storms, floods, hurricanes, and wild fires “ all presented challenges which required planning, preparation and execution, but also adaptation to rapidly changing circumstances. Today, those qualities are needed at the capitol.”
Lepak believes his business, civic, and life experience make him uniquely qualified to serve a third term. “My local government experience on the Claremore City Council and the Moore School Board, coupled with my 37 years in the telecommunications industry, gives me a balanced perspective on how legislation and regulation impact our jobs, our communities, and our schools.”
Lepak is an Assistant Floor Leader and serves as Vice Chair of the Appropriations and Budget Sub-Committee on Public Safety. He also serves on several policy committees: Government Modernization, County/Municipal Government, and Public Safety.
