Francis Anthony Keating II[1] (born February 10, 1944, as David Rowland Keating[1]) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003.

Frank Keating
Keating in 2001
25th Governor of Oklahoma
In office
January 9, 1995 – January 13, 2003
LieutenantMary Fallin
Preceded byDavid Walters
Succeeded byBrad Henry
United States Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
In office
1992–1993
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byAlfred A. DelliBovi
Succeeded byTerrence R. Duvernay
United States Associate Attorney General
In office
1988–1990
PresidentRonald Reagan
George H. W. Bush
Preceded byStephen S. Trott
Succeeded byWayne Budd
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma
In office
1981–1983
PresidentRonald Reagan
Preceded byHubert H. Bryant
Succeeded byLayn R. Phillips
Member of the Oklahoma Senate
from the 38th district
In office
1975–1981
Preceded byPeyton A. Breckinridge
Succeeded byWayne Winn
Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives
from the 70th district
In office
1973–1975
Preceded byRichard Hancock
Succeeded byPaul Brunton
Personal details
Born
David Rowland Keating

(1944-02-10) February 10, 1944 (age 80)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
(m. 1972)
Children3, including Chip Keating
Education

As of 2014, Keating is one of only five governors in Oklahoma history, in addition to George Nigh, Brad Henry, Mary Fallin, and Kevin Stitt to hold consecutive terms and the first Republican to accomplish that feat. As governor, he oversaw the state's response to the Oklahoma City bombing. His term was also marked by the enactment of welfare reform and tax cuts.

Keating oversaw the execution of 52 people under his term as governor, a record unmatched as of 2023.[2]

Early life

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Keating was born on February 10, 1944, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Mary Ann (Martin) and Anthony Francis Keating.[3] He was born David Rowland Keating, but his name was changed to Francis Anthony Keating II when he was two.[1] Before he was six months old, his family moved to Oklahoma and settled in Tulsa.[4] A practicing Catholic, Keating attended Cascia Hall Preparatory School in Tulsa, graduating in 1962. Keating attended Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. where he was president of the college student body, an editor of The Hoya, and a member of the Philodemic Debating Society,[5] receiving his Bachelor of Arts in history, in 1966. He obtained a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma College of Law, in 1969, where he also was student body president.

Upon completing law school, Keating began his career in law enforcement. The same year he finished law school, Keating was made a Special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Relocated to the West Coast, Keating was charged with investigating terrorism incidents in the area and other various duties. After years on the coast, Keating returned to Tulsa to become an assistant district attorney.

In 1973, Keating, was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He would serve a single term in the House, until 1975, when he was elected to the Oklahoma Senate. He would serve in the Senate from 1975 until 1981. While in the Senate, Keating became the minority leader.[4]

Federal career

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Keating's law enforcement career and prominence in the Oklahoma Republican Party prompted newly elected President Ronald Reagan to appoint Keating as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma.[6] Keating served from 1981 until 1983, serving for part of that time as chairman of all U.S. Attorneys. During this time, he was one of three US Attorneys in Oklahoma handling the Oklahoma county commissioners scandal, which resulted in conviction of 230 people, including 110 county commissioners, for public corruption.[7] He gave up that post in 1983[8] to run for Congress in Oklahoma's 1st congressional district 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 Keating to serve as an assistant secretary of the Treasury and later elevated him to associate attorney general, the third ranking official within the U.S. Department of Justice. These appointments made Keating the highest ranking Oklahoman during the Reagan administration. In his positions as assistant secretary of the Treasury and associate attorney general, Keating oversaw both the Justice and Treasury's law enforcement agencies. These included the United States Customs Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Secret Service, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, all 94 U.S. Attorneys and the U.S. role in Interpol.

Late in the Reagan Administration, Keating continued to serve in the Justice Department in his role as associate attorney general. In 1990, President Bush elevated Keating to general counsel and acting deputy secretary of Housing and Urban Development, that department's second highest office, under Secretary Jack Kemp. He would serve as deputy secretary until 1993. As was the case in the Reagan administration, Keating became the highest ranking Oklahoman in the federal government, under Bush.

On November 14, 1991, Bush nominated Keating to a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, but with Democratic control of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Keating's nomination languished and no hearing was held before Bush's presidency ended. President Bill Clinton chose not to renominate Keating, instead nominating former Oklahoma Attorney General Robert Harlan Henry, who was subsequently confirmed.[9]

Gubernatorial campaigns

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1994

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After two years of private life, in 1994, Keating received the Republican nomination for Governor of Oklahoma. In a three-way race against Democratic nominee Jack Mildren and independent Wes Watkins, Keating was elected with just under 47 percent of the vote. He 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. Keating was sworn in as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma on January 9, 1995. He was only the third Republican ever to hold the post.

1998

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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. Keating won in a landslide victory, the second of five Governors in Oklahoma history to win two consecutive terms (after George Nigh) and preceding Democrat Brad Henry. He was the only Republican to do so before Mary Fallin in 2014

Governor of Oklahoma

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The Cabinet of Governor Frank Keating (1995–2003)
Office Name Term
Governor Frank Keating 1995–2003
Lieutenant Governor Mary Fallin 1995–2003
Secretary of State Tom Cole 1995–1999
Michael J. Hunter 1999–2002
Kay Dudley 2002–2003
Attorney General Drew Edmondson 1995–2003
State Auditor and Inspector Clifton Scott 1995–2003
State Treasurer Robert Butkin 1995–2003
Insurance Commissioner John Crawford 1995–1999
Carroll Fisher 1999–2003
Labor Commissioner Brenda Reneau 1995–2003
Superintendent of Public Instruction Sandy Garrett 1995–2003
Secretary of Administration Tom Brennan 1995–1997
Pam Warren 1997–2003
Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Howard 1995–2003
Secretary of Commerce Dean Werries 1995–1997
Ron Rosenfeld 1997–1998
Howard Barnett Jr. 1998–1999
Russell M. Perry 1999–2000
Vacant 2000–2003
Secretary of Education Floyd Coppedge 1995–2003
Secretary of Energy Carl Michael Smith 1995–2002
Robert J. Sullivan Jr. 2002–2003
Secretary of the Environment Gary Sherrer 1995–1997
Brian C. Griffin 1997–2003
Secretary of Finance and Revenue Tom Daxon 1995–2003
Secretary of Health and Human Services Ken Lackey 1995–1997
Jerry Regier 1997–2002
Howard Hendrick 2002–2003
Secretary of Human Resources Oscar B. Jackson Jr. 1995–2003
Secretary of the Military Stephen Cortright 1995–2003
Secretary of Safety and Security Robert Ricks 1995–2003
Secretary of Science and Technology W. Arthur Porter 1999–2003
Secretary of Tourism and Recreation Edward H. Cook 1995–1999
Jane Jayroe 1999–2003
Secretary of Transportation Neal A. McCaleb 1995–2001
Herschal Crow 2001–2003
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Norman Lamb 1995–2003

Oklahoma City bombing

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Within three months of taking office, on April 19, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was destroyed in the Oklahoma City bombing, in which the lives of 168 people were lost and over 800 people were injured. The blast destroyed or damaged more than 300 buildings in the surrounding area, leaving several hundred people homeless and shutting down business.

Governor Keating mobilized relief and rescue teams to handle the crisis. Over 12,000 people participated in relief and rescue operations in the days following the blast. The national and worldwide humanitarian response was immediate and overwhelming. Governor Keating declared a state of emergency, which allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to activate 11 of its Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces to assist in rescue and recovery operations.

The national focus climaxed on April 23, when President Bill Clinton, along with Governor Keating and the Reverend Billy Graham, spoke in Oklahoma City. In the weeks following the bombing, rescue efforts ceased and the building was imploded. Through both his own works and the works of his wife Cathy Keating, Governor Keating gained both national and international attention for his efforts to help the victims and their families. Governor Keating also 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.

First term

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Governor 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 Keating's proposals were policies designed for growth and reform for Oklahoma. These included education reform, environmental protection, tax relief, road building, economic development, public safety, and tougher law enforcement. Keating created a public-private partnership to assure care for the indigent as well as a stronger medical education program.

Keating's first major success was the passage of the first welfare reform law in the nation in 1995.[10][11] The success of the law served as a model for President Clinton's welfare reform act of 1996. Keating managed to improve road and highway conditions throughout the state without raising taxes.

Keating implemented tougher parole policies and introduced a landmark truth-in-sentencing legislation. Keating also provided no amnesty when handling death sentence criminals, allowing all of those sentenced to death to be executed. Keating also raised the salaries of Oklahoma's state troopers from the lowest in the nation to the 24th highest.

Keating appointed a special task force that created tougher regulations on Oklahoma's hog and poultry industries.[12]

In 1998, Keating became the first governor in 50 years to achieve a tax cut in the state's income tax. This combined with reduction in the sales tax, estate tax, and unemployment tax formed the largest tax break in the state's history until that point.

Second term

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Keating with Oklahoma Adjutant General Stephen Cortright in 2001
 
Keating with FEMA Administrator Joe Allbaugh in 2002

Sworn in on January 11, 1999, Keating's second term began with a progressive agenda, based primarily on education. In his 1999 inaugural address, Keating set four goals for Oklahoma for his second term:

  1. Raising Oklahoma's ACT to the national average by 2005,
  2. Decreasing Oklahoma's divorce rate by 50% before 2010,
  3. Ensure one out of every three Oklahomans has a college degree by 2010, and
  4. Raising Oklahoma's per capita income to reach the national average by 2025

Keating focused largely on education. He increased spending for common, vo-tech, and higher education facilities throughout the state and introduced charter schools to Oklahoma for the first time. His policies and recommendations on education to the Legislature lead to the largest investment, over $100 million, on higher education. Keating, in 2000, also raised teacher pay by over $3000 annually, the largest raise Oklahoma's teacher had ever experienced. Keating even managed to get higher educational facilities attracted to Tulsa for the first time. His legislative agenda required that all Oklahoma students take three years of math and four years of English, History and Science before graduation.

Along with the agenda set forth in his inaugural address, Keating sought to address out-of-wedlock births, substance abuse, and child abuse. Enlisting state government, community groups, and faith organizations, he organized the statewide initiative to strengthen marriage.

Keating struggled to get workers' compensation reform and right to work laws enacted due to the political makeup of the Oklahoma Legislature. 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. He would have to wait two years to see his vision for a right to work fulfilled. The Legislature decided to propose anti-union right to work measures as a 2001 constitutional amendment. Keating's six-year battle came to an end when, on September 21, 2001, Oklahomans approved the measure.

As he had done in first term, Keating sought to grant broad-based tax cuts. To further reduce taxes, Keating won passage of an income tax break and of the creation of Oklahoma's earned income credit system to benefit the poor. Also, under Keating's auspices, both Democratic and Republican leaders in the Legislature launched studies to examine Oklahoma's tax system, with the purpose of overhauling the entire system. During the study, the complete elimination of Oklahoma's income tax was proposed.

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

In other legislative initiatives, Keating signed the repeal of Oklahoma's annual vehicle inspection program. He also granted state correctional officers and highway patrol troopers pay raises. Keating addressed the problems faced in Oklahoma's Tar Creek Superfund site by appointing a task force on the issue.

Among Keating's other accomplishments; overseeing the largest road construction project in Oklahoma history and leading his state through devastating tornadoes in 1999. As a crowning achievement, Keating raised more than $20 million in private money towards completion of the Oklahoma State Capitol with a dome. The capitol was originally designed for a dome, but state funding for it had run dry during World War I.

Term limits prevented him from running for a third term; he was succeeded by Brad Henry as governor.

Judicial appointments

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

Appellate courts

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# Judge Position Court District Former Judge Appointment date End of service Successor Judge
1 Kenneth L. Buettner Judge Civil Appeals 5th January 26, 1996 December 31, 2020 Thomas E. Prince
2 Stephen Lile Judge Criminal Appeals 5th November 6, 1998 March 1, 2005 David B. Lewis
3 Daniel J. Boudreau Justice Supreme Court 6th Robert D. Simms October 12, 1999 September 1, 2004 Tom Colbert
4 James Winchester Justice Supreme Court 5th Alma Wilson January 4, 2000 Incumbent Incumbent
5 Tom Colbert Judge Civil Appeals 1st March 6, 2000 September 1, 2004
6 E. Bay Mitchell Judge Civil Appeals 6th James P. Garrett February 20, 2002 Incumbent Incumbent

Trial courts

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# Judge Position County District Former Judge Appointment date End of service Successor Judge
1 Jon D. Douthitt Associate District Judge Harper 1st 1996
2 D. W. Boyd District Judge Kay 2nd 1996
3 Roma M. McElwee District Judge Oklahoma 7th 1996
4 John C. Garrett District Judge Adair 15th 1996 2006 Jeff Payton
5 William R. Burkett District Judge Oklahoma 7th 1996 1999
6 P. Thomas Thornbrugh District Judge Tulsa 14th 1997 2011
7 Gregory Kent Frizzell District Judge Tulsa 14th 1997 2007
8 J. Michael Gassett District Judge Tulsa 14th 1997
9 Richard Van Dyck District Judge Caddo 6th 1997
10 Harry M. Wyatt III Associate District Judge Craig 12th 1997 2003
11 Norman Russell Associate District Judge Kiowa 3rd 1998
12 Noma Gurich District Judge Oklahoma 7th 1998 2010
13 David B. Lewis District Judge Comanche 5th 1999 2005
14 Vicki L. Robertson District Judge Oklahoma 7th 1999
15 Deirdre Dexter Associate District Judge Tulsa 14th 2000
16 Ryan Reddick Associate District Judge Texas 1st 2000
17 Mickey Hadwiger Associate District Judge Woods 4th 2001
18 Elizabeth Brown Associate District Judge Adair 15th 2002 Incumbent Incumbent
19 Jack Hammontree Associate District Judge Grant 4th 2002
20 Keith B. Aycock District Judge Comanche 5th 2002
21 David M. Harbour District Judge Oklahoma 7th 2002

Courts of limited jurisdiction

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# Judge Court Seat Former Judge Appointment date End of service Successor Judge
1 Ellen C. Edwards Workers Compensation Court 1st 1996 2002 Reappointed
2 Richard L. Blanchard Workers Compensation Court 2nd 1996 2002 Reappointed
3 Richard G. Mason Workers Compensation Court 3rd 1996 2002 Reappointed
4 Kenton W. Fulton Workers Compensation Court 10th 1996 2002 Reappointed
5 Jimmy D. Filosa Workers Compensation Court 7th 1996 1998 Reappointed
6 D. Craig Johnston Workers Compensation Court 6th 1998
7 Jimmy D. Filosa Workers Compensation Court 7th 1998
8 Carol “Gene” Prigmore Workers Compensation Court 8th 1998 2000 Reappointed
9 Susan W. Conyers Workers Compensation Court 4th 2000
10 Jerry L. Salyer Workers Compensation Court 5th 2000
11 Carol “Gene” Prigmore Workers Compensation Court 8th 2000
12 Cherri Farrar Workers Compensation Court 9th 2000
13 Ellen C. Edwards Workers Compensation Court 1st 2002
14 Richard L. Blanchard Workers Compensation Court 2nd 2002
15 Richard G. Mason Workers Compensation Court 3rd 2002
16 Kenton W. Fulton Workers Compensation Court 10th 2002

2000 presidential election

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During the 2000 presidential election, Keating, while still Governor of Oklahoma, was considered a potential candidate for the Republican nomination of Vice President of the United States under George W. Bush.

Post-governorship

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Keating with Dan Boren in 2006
 
Keating in 2015

In 2002 he authored a children's book about Oklahoma humorist Will Rogers. Another children's book about Theodore Roosevelt followed in 2006. Keating's third children's book about the trial of Standing Bear was published in 2008. His most recent children's book about George Washington was published in 2012. Keating also served on the boards of the National Archives, the Jamestown Foundation, the Federal City Council,[13] and Mt. Vernon. He was president of the Federal City Council and chairman of the Mount Vernon Advisory Board. He currently lives in McLean, Virginia

Keating and his wife Cathy are the parents of three children, Carrie, Kelly, and Chip. In 2001, Cathy Keating was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination to one of Oklahoma's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives being vacated by Steve Largent. In 2006, Chip 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 Keating might be a candidate for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.[14]

On December 20, 2006, Keating visited Columbia, South Carolina, where he spoke to a group of GOP supporters about a possible 2008 Presidential bid.[15] On January 17, 2007, Keating was quoted in the Tulsa World as declining a possible run for the U.S. presidency in 2008.[16] His reasons for not running were associated with the relative head starts in preparations of U.S. Senator John McCain and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. In February 2007 Keating appeared in Spartanburg, South Carolina and endorsed McCain's bid.[17]

Following his two terms as governor, Keating accepted a position as president and chief executive officer of the American Council of Life Insurers, the trade association for the life insurance and retirement security industry. Keating's former Secretary of State, Michael J. Hunter, served alongside his former boss at ACLI where Hunter served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

On January 1, 2011, Keating became president and CEO of the American Bankers Association.[18] Founded in 1875, the American Bankers Association represents banks of all sizes and charters and is the voice for the nation's $14 trillion banking industry and its 2 million employees.

Keating served as a member of the Debt Reduction Task Force and Housing Commission at the Bipartisan Policy Center.[19][20]

Amid the immigration debate of 2013, 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.[21]

On February 4, 2016, Keating joined the law firm of Holland & Knight as a partner.[22]

On March 14, 2017, Keating was nominated by Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin to serve on the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents.[23]

In April 2017, Keating created a one-minute video regretting his support for wind energy while Oklahoma governor. "We made a mistake...this is a calamity for taxpayers".[24]

Events

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  • April 19, 1995: Three months after he was sworn in as Oklahoma governor, a fertilizer bomb exploded in front of a federal building in the capital killing 168 people.
  • June 2002: Keating, a practicing Roman Catholic, was named chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops National Review Board examining sex abuse by Catholic priests.
    • June 16, 2003: Keating stepped down from the Review Board. The resignation came days after Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony criticized Keating for comparing some church leaders to the Mafia. In his resignation letter, Keating said, "My remarks, which some Bishops found offensive, were deadly accurate. I make no apology.... To resist Grand Jury subpoenas, to suppress the names of offending clerics, to deny, to obfuscate, to explain away; that is the model of a criminal organization, not my church."
  • Supported disbarred Oklahoma attorney William C. Donovan who was disbarred for financial crimes of embezzlement and conversion and openly retaliated against innocent Christian families. https://www.leagle.com/decision/19971259934p2d32511256

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Newest First Family Structured, Diverse". Oklahoman.com. November 13, 1994. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "DPIC- Executions by State and Year". DPIC- Executions by State and Year.
  3. ^ http://voicesofoklahoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Keating_Transcript.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  4. ^ a b Everett, Diana. Keating, Frank Anthony (1944– ) Archived July 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture (accessed April 4, 2013).
  5. ^ Streeter, Bill (January 2011). "New Man at the Helm". ABA Banking Journal. Archived from the original on June 13, 2015. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  6. ^ Oklahoma Governor Frank Keating Archived October 14, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (accessed April 6, 2013).
  7. ^ "Toll 230 as book closes on county commissioner scandal". The Oklahoman. February 3, 1984.
  8. ^ Keating resigns as U.S. Attorney, Newsok.com, December 2, 1983 (accessed April 6, 2013).
  9. ^ Google Search[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ Welfare Reform in Oklahoma Archived December 18, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Oksenate.gov Issue Papers (accessed April 6, 2013).
  11. ^ History of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services Archived June 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine (accessed April 6, 2013).
  12. ^ Biographical Note on Frank Keating Archived April 14, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Oklahoma Department of Libraries (accessed April 6, 2013).
  13. ^ "Local Briefing". The Washington Post. October 31, 2005. p. D2.
  14. ^ Novak, Robert. Hamstringing Bush Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (accessed April 5, 2013).
  15. ^ Keating visits South Carolina while mulling presidential run Archived June 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, WISTV.com (accessed April 6, 2013).
  16. ^ Tulsaworld.com
  17. ^ Novak, Robert. Bill's Displeasure: McCain's New Backer Archived February 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Townhall.com (accessed April 5, 2013).
  18. ^ Phil Mattingly, Former Oklahoma Governor Keating to Head Banking Trade Group, Bloomberg, November 23, 2010.
  19. ^ "Debt Reduction Task Force Members". Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2011.
  20. ^ "Housing Commission Members - Bipartisan Policy Center". bipartisanpolicy.org. Archived from the original on April 28, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  21. ^ Frank Keating, What would Reagan do?, Los Angeles Times (November 11, 2013).
  22. ^ Wilson, Megan R. (February 4, 2016). "Former head of Bankers Association to Holland & Knight". TheHill. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  23. ^ "Former Gov. Keating named to University of Oklahoma Board of Regents". Oklahoman.com. March 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  24. ^ "Frank Keating "Big Mistake" 60 Sec. Ad".
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Legal offices
Preceded by United States Associate Attorney General
1988–1990
Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by
Bill Price
Republican nominee for Governor of Oklahoma
1994, 1998
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the Republican Governors Association
1998–1999
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Oklahoma
1995–2003
Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded byas Former Governor Order of precedence of the United States Succeeded byas Former Governor