Not all of Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett’s friends really understand his role in state government.
Hiett said they assume he is a county commissioner, putting down gravel and building county roads. However, Hiett sits on a three-person board that regulates a range of industries, including transportation, oil and gas, towing and public utilities.
Unlike other states, Oklahoma’s commissioners are elected and must win the support of the majority of Oklahomans statewide.
Hiett, who has served on the commission since January 2015, said it’s expensive to wage an election campaign for “a statewide office that most of the state doesn’t have a clue what you do.”
That’s part of the reason why he and the other commissioners accept campaign contributions from the industries they regulate, Hiett said.
More: Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett to face independent investigation
An Oklahoma Voice analysis of campaign finance records filed from January 2018 to July 2024 show the state’s three corporation commissioners have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars combined from individuals or industries with direct links to those they’re tasked with regulating.