From CapitolBeatOK Staff Report

Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Jeff Cloud last week announced his candidacy for Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District seat. He joins a crowded field that includes both serious contenders and some not expected to perform well in next summer’s Republican primary.

In a statement sent to CapitolBeatOK, Cloud said, “Now more than ever, Americans are demanding common sense solutions to the many problems our country is facing.  Bigger government, higher taxes, and a big brother mentality are not solutions, but instead the reasons behind the problems we face. I and many others like me did not vote for the ‘change’ this new administration is bringing to our nation.”

Cloud continued, “Here in Oklahoma, we do NOT need the federal government to take care of us. We are doing fine on our own. I will go to Washington with a simple, yet strong message: Believe in the American people. We know better how to spend and invest our money than do Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi. Let each community, each family and each person set their own priorities,” Cloud stated.

“Right now, I am hard pressed to find anything Washington is doing right,” Cloud said in his announcement statement. “They are illogically tampering with health care. They are promoting an economically disastrous Cap and Tax policy that would not improve the environment. They are more concerned about rights for terrorists than ensuring victory at war. They are trying to stop the domestic production of energy, and they are spending as if there is no tomorrow,” Cloud concluded.

Cloud is serving his second term as a Corporation Commissioner. He held positions with former Oklahoma office-holders: Governor Henry Bellmon, U.S. Rep. Mickey Edwards, and Corporation Commissioner and U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts. He served as the district director for Watts, and also as Chief-of-Staff for former Oklahoma City Mayor Kirk Humphreys.

Cloud is a member of the Electricity Committee for the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the Advisory Boards for the Center for Public Utilities at New Mexico State University. Cloud is also the Board President of the OKC Metro Alliance, Inc.

Cloud graduated from Heritage Hall High School, earned his undergraduate degree in Petroleum Land Management from the University of Oklahoma and a juris doctor from the Oklahoma City University School of Law. Cloud and his wife Trish are raising their three children. They attend Crossings Community Church and are also involved with Skyline Church, in downtown Oklahoma City.