Labor commissioner say she'll run for lieutenant governor

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau Wynn says she's running for lieutenant governor, making it possible Oklahoma's top two political offices could be held by women in two

Tuesday, December 12th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ State Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau Wynn says she's running for lieutenant governor, making it possible Oklahoma's top two political offices could be held by women in two years.

Reneau Wynn, a Republican, said she has accomplished her goals as labor commissioner and it is time to move on.

``I'm running for lieutenant governor because I want to play a larger role in shaping public policy in Oklahoma,'' she said Tuesday.

There is speculation that GOP Gov. Frank Keating will join a George W. Bush administration. If that happens, Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin, also a Republican, would succeed him and be in position to seek election to a full term. Reneau Wynn said she expects Fallin to run for governor in any event.

As far as her own decision, Fallin said it is not based on what any other office holder does.

She said she thinks Fallin, as governor, could appoint a new lieutenant governor.

But a 1965 attorney general's opinion said a lieutenant governor who ascends to the governorship because of resignation, death or impeachment does not vacate his or her original office.

A spokesman for Attorney General Drew Edmondson said the Oklahoma Supreme Court had not ruled on the subject.

Another woman, Democrat Laura Boyd of Norman, also has announced she will run for lieutenant governor. Boyd is a former state legislator and unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor.

Reneau Wynn said that as lieutenant governor, she would be an activist, presiding over the Senate and voting to break tie votes.

In the past, the role of the lieutenant governor in the Senate has been almost exclusively ceremonial. Reneau Wynn said she did not plan to ``play games'' but would fulfill the duties enumerated in the Constitution for the lieutenant governor.

She said a Democrat-controlled Legislature that tried to diminish her role by parliamentary maneuvering could run afoul of public sentiment.

She said Oklahomans are ``hungry for straight talk'' and honest public policy.

In addition to her long-standing support of a right-to-work law and workers' compensation reform, Reneau Wynn said she wants to help senior citizens in areas such as health care.

Republican Chris Brown of Norman, who lost to Reneau Wynn in the 1998 primary, has announced he will run for labor commissioner again in 2002.