Robert Anthony (born May 15, 1948) is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. Anthony is serving his fifth consecutive six-year term on the

Oklahoma Corporation Commission The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is the public utilities commission of the U.S state of Oklahoma run by three statewide elected commissioners. Authorized to employ more than 400 employees, it regulates oil and gas drilling, utilities and teleph ...

, where he has served since 1989. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 2004, and unsuccessful candidate for

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

running against

Glenn English Glenn Lee English Jr. (born November 30, 1940) is a U.S. Democratic politician who represented Oklahoma's 6th congressional district for 10 successive terms. English is formerly the chief executive officer of the National Rural Electric Coopera ...

in 1990. Anthony is term-limited in 2024.

Early life and career

Anthony was born at St. Anthony Hospital in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

on May 15, 1948.Voices of Oklahoma interview with Bob Anthony

, April 27, 2010 (accessed May 22, 2013) Anthony earned a bachelor's degree from the Wharton School of Finance at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, 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 Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

.Bob Anthony
Project Vote Smart (accessed May 22, 2013) 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 The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

and as a consultant for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

from 1976 to 1979. 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.

Political career

Anthony served as a member of the Oklahoma City Council from 1979–1980. He first won election to the

(OCC) in 1988 and took office in 1989. He was re-elected in 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012, and again in 2018. In 2004 he entered the race to succeed

Don Nickles Donald Lee Nickles (born December 6, 1948) is an American politician and lobbyist who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 to 2005. He was considered both a fiscal and social conservative. After retiring from the Senat ...

in the

, but finished third in the primary, losing to

Tom Coburn Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...

. 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. In August 2018, Anthony won the Republican nomination for a seat on the OCC. He went on to face Democrat

Ashley Nicole McCray Ashley is a place name derived from the Old English words '' æsc'' (“ash”) and '' lēah'' (“meadow”). It may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ashley (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

and Independent Jackie Short in the November election. Anthony won re-election with 60% of the vote.

Electoral history

References

External links

* *
Voices of Oklahoma interview with Bob Anthony.
First person interview conducted on April 27, 2010, with Bob Anthony. {{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Bob 1948 births 21st-century American politicians Alumni of the London School of Economics American United Methodists Corporation Commissioners of Oklahoma Harvard Kennedy School alumni Living people Oklahoma city council members Oklahoma Republicans Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Yale University alumni