Rep. Mark Lepak
Rep. Mark Lepak announced Monday 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 judgment to the job, and whether that person can be trusted to exercise that judgment, 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.”
Rep. Mark Lepak
Lepak notes business, civic, and life experience make him uniquely qualified to serve, “Local government experience on the Claremore City Council and the Moore School Board, coupled with 37 years in telecommunications, 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 Vice Chair of the Appropriations and Budget Sub-Committee on Public Safety. He serves on several of the more detailed technical policy committees: Government Modernization, County/Municipal Government, and Public Safety.
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 from telephone monopoly into a competitive, wireless and data centric business.
The Oklahoma delegation for the Balanced Budget Amendment Planning Convention includes (Back Row) Sen. Nathan Dahm, Sen. Micheal Bergstrom, Rep. Mark Lepak, former Rep. Gary Banz (Front Row) Attorney Marc Nuttle, Rep. John Bennett and Sen. Julie Daniels.
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 network infrastructure.
At his retirement, he led approximately 800 employees caring for equipment in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, as well as the emergency power operation for those states and Texas.
A group of Republican lawmakers huddle near the desk of Rep. Mark Lepak, seated. Photo: NewsOk.com
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.
For more on Rep. Mark Lepak, click here for his Facebook page.