BY ANDREW W. GRIFFIN

Oklahoma Watchdog, editor

andrew@oklahomawatchdog.org

OKLAHOMA CITY — This past week, gubernatorial candidate and current attorney general, Drew Edmondson, a Democrat, was campaigning in Cimarron County, in the far west of the Oklahoma Panhandle, and pretty much echoed the comments he made to Oklahoma Watchdog when interviewed by C.F. David of The Boise City News.

Were he to win the candidacy, Edmondson said “jobs” and stimulating the economy would be top priorities, while acknowledging that 2011 will be “a difficult year” for whomever is elected to lead the state.

Bearing in mind that wind energy is important in rural western Oklahoma, Edmondson noted that building “our renewable energy portfolio” is a top priority and that “problems with oil and gas production would need to be solved.”

He added that wind turbines are not built in Oklahoma and that the state is missing out on those jobs. Still, he pushed for increased development of  natural gas, a bi-partisan issue, considering U.S. Rep. John Sullivan’s comments to Oklahoma Watchdog in January during a visit to his Washington office.

He expressed reservations about “Cap and Trade” legislation, particularly considering its potential effect on the state’s agricultural and energy sectors.