Energy and Oklahoma are synonymous.
That’s right. We feel like energy is a significant part of our workforce. It’s a significant market sector that we need to continue to grow. And we’re not tied just to fossil fuel-type energy. Our goal is for Oklahoma City to be one of the energy capitals of the United States and the world, and we need to be viable in all of those categories, especially wind.

As the Pickens Plan points out, this part of the country is rich in wind resources, and we need to be taking advantage of that in Oklahoma.

Which is exactly one of the key points of the Pickens Plan.
Boone’s plan hits on several cylinders. It’s especially beneficial to Oklahoma City and the state of Oklahoma but America as well. Let me give you an example.

This morning I had a long conversation with a company that is involved in providing support and services for the wind industry. I don’t want to disclose who we’re talking to, but their business is definitely expanding. We feel like the manufacturing, the assembly, and the corporate headquarters that these growing companies are going to need could be served here in Oklahoma City right alongside the traditional fossil fuel industries that are also based here.

You also mentioned an environmental component.
That’s very important to us. One of the things we’re doing right now is that we’re in the planning stages to take our fleet and convert it to run on cleaner CNG [compressed natural gas].

As far as green technology goes, we have three fire stations in our bond issue that we’re getting ready to build. We intend for them to be models for the rest of the country far as ways of adapting efficient uses of energy into municipal government. So we’re headed down that road.

Overall, what’s the take on the Pickens Plan in Oklahoma City?
We are proud that Boone is an Oklahoman and want to do everything we can to try and help promote the Pickens Plan. We believe in the Plan, and we think it’s the direction that America needs to turn.

INTERVIEW CONDUCTED, CONDENSED, AND EDITED BY ERIC O’KEEFE