53 Facts About Frank Keating

Frank Keating's term was marked by the enactment of welfare reform and tax cuts.

Frank Keating oversaw the execution of 52 people under his term as governor, a record unmatched as of 2023.

Frank Keating was born on February 10,1944, in St Louis, Missouri, the son of Mary Ann and Anthony Francis Frank Keating.

Frank Keating was born David Rowland Keating, but his name was changed to Francis Anthony Keating II when he was two.

Frank Keating attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC where he was president of the college student body, an editor of The Hoya, and a member of the Philodemic Debating Society, receiving his Bachelor of Arts in history, in 1966.

Frank Keating obtained a JD from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, in 1969, where he was student body president.

In 1973, Frank Keating, was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Frank Keating would serve a single term in the House, until 1975, when he was elected to the Oklahoma Senate.

Frank Keating would serve in the Senate from 1975 until 1981.

Frank Keating served from 1981 until 1983, serving for part of that time as chairman of all US Attorneys.

Frank Keating gave up that post in 1983 to run for Congress in and ran a competitive race which fell short of defeating Democratic Congressman and House Budget Committee chairman James R Jones, who won re-election with 52 percent of the vote even though Republican President Reagan carried the district.

Shortly after Reagan was sworn in for his second term, he appointed Frank Keating to serve as an assistant secretary of the Treasury and later elevated him to associate attorney general, the third ranking official within the US Department of Justice.

Late in the Reagan Administration, Frank Keating continued to serve in the Justice Department in his role as associate attorney general.

Frank Keating was undoubtedly helped by the presence of Watkins, a former Democratic Congressman, on the ballot; Watkins siphoned off a number of votes that would have likely gone to Mildren in a two-way race with Keating; his 233,300 votes far exceeded Keating's 171,000-vote margin of victory.

Frank Keating was sworn in as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma on January 9,1995.

Frank Keating was only the third Republican ever to hold the post.

Frank Keating faced Democratic nominee Laura Boyd, the first woman to receive a major party's nomination for Oklahoma Governor, in his 1998 re-election campaign.

Frank Keating won in a landslide victory, the second of five Governors in Oklahoma history to win two consecutive terms and preceding Democrat Brad Henry.

Frank Keating was the only Republican to do so before Mary Fallin in 2014.

Governor Frank Keating mobilized relief and rescue teams to handle the crisis.

Governor Frank Keating declared a state of emergency, which allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to activate 11 of its Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces to assist in rescue and recovery operations.

Governor Frank Keating created a $6 million fund to assist victims and provide for college scholarships for children who lost a parent, or both parents, in the attack.

Governor Frank Keating set out with an agenda for the state under his administration, with many of his initiatives passed, despite an often hostile Democratic controlled Legislature.

Many of Frank Keating's proposals were policies designed for growth and reform for Oklahoma.

Frank Keating created a public-private partnership to assure care for the indigent as well as a stronger medical education program.

Frank Keating managed to improve road and highway conditions throughout the state without raising taxes.

Frank Keating implemented tougher parole policies and introduced a landmark truth-in-sentencing legislation.

Frank Keating provided no amnesty when handling death sentence criminals, allowing all of those sentenced to death to be executed.

Frank Keating raised the salaries of Oklahoma's state troopers from the lowest in the nation to the 24th highest.

Frank Keating appointed a special task force that created tougher regulations on Oklahoma's hog and poultry industries.

In 1998, Frank Keating became the first governor in 50 years to achieve a tax cut in the state's income tax.

Frank Keating increased spending for common, vo-tech, and higher education facilities throughout the state and introduced charter schools to Oklahoma for the first time.

Frank Keating even managed to get higher educational facilities attracted to Tulsa for the first time.

Frank Keating struggled to get workers' compensation reform and right to work laws enacted due to the political makeup of the Oklahoma Legislature.

Frank Keating adjusted policies, made new appointments to Oklahoma's Worker's Compensation Court, and took other measures to control Oklahoma's rising worker's compensation costs.

Frank Keating would have to wait two years to see his vision for a right to work fulfilled.

Frank Keating signed a major criminal justice bill that reformed Truth in Sentencing law in Oklahoma.

In other legislative initiatives, Frank Keating signed the repeal of Oklahoma's annual vehicle inspection program.

Frank Keating granted state correctional officers and highway patrol troopers pay raises.

Frank Keating addressed the problems faced in Oklahoma's Tar Creek Superfund site by appointing a task force on the issue.

Governor Frank Keating appointed the following members of the Judiciary of Oklahoma:.

Frank Keating served on the boards of the National Archives, the Jamestown Foundation, the Federal City Council, and Mt.

Frank Keating was president of the Federal City Council and chairman of the Mount Vernon Advisory Board.

In 2001, Cathy Frank Keating was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination to one of Oklahoma's seats in the US House of Representatives being vacated by Steve Largent.

In 2006, Chip Frank Keating was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination to a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

On December 2,2006, columnist Robert Novak suggested Frank Keating might be a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.

On December 20,2006, Frank Keating visited Columbia, South Carolina, where he spoke to a group of GOP supporters about a possible 2008 Presidential bid.

On January 17,2007, Frank Keating was quoted in the Tulsa World as declining a possible run for the US presidency in 2008.

In February 2007 Frank Keating appeared in Spartanburg, South Carolina and endorsed McCain's bid.

On January 1,2011, Frank Keating became president and CEO of the American Bankers Association.

Frank Keating served as a member of the Debt Reduction Task Force and Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Amid the immigration debate of 2013, Frank Keating wrote an op-ed in which he announced support for the bipartisan Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill, arguing among other things that the bill's passage would shore up the future solvency of Social Security and Medicare.

On March 14,2017, Frank Keating was nominated by Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin to serve on the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents.