Governor Mary Fallin Religion Protestantism Preceded by Scott Meacham Name Ken Miller | Preceded by Ray Vaughn Role Educator Succeeded by Randy Grau Political party Republican Party | |
Full Name Jeffrey Hardee Atwater Born October 27, 1966 (age 57)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. ( 1966-10-27 ) Alma mater Lipscomb University
Pepperdine University
University of Oklahoma Education Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, University of Oklahoma, Lipscomb University | ||
Kenneth A. "Ken" Miller (born October 27, 1966) is an American educator and Republican politician from Oklahoma. Miller is the 18th and current Oklahoma State Treasurer, having won that position in the 2010 state election.
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Miller formerly served as a state representative for District 81 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. House District 81 encompasses Edmond, Oklahoma. Miller serves as the chair of the House's Appropriations and Budget Committee, where he oversees the state's fiscal policy and budget.
Early life
Ken Miller earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Lipscomb University in 1989, his Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University in 1993, and a doctoral degree from the University of Oklahoma. He began his professional career in banking at First American National Bank before joining MediFax-EDS as the financial operations manager. He joined Oklahoma Christian University as a professor of Economics in 1998.
Keating Administration
In 1998, Republican incumbent Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating was elected to his second term as governor. During that term, Governor Keating appointed Miller as the chairman of the Oklahoma Board on Legislative Compensation. The board is responsible for establishing the salary received by each member of the legislature. While chairman, he worked to enforce a freeze on legislative salaries and rejected any increase in compensation during his four years leading the Board.
State representative
In 2004, Miller was elected as a Republican to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, representing the 81st House District, during the 2004 elections that resulted in Republican control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1920. Miller was reelected in 2006 and 2008.
Miller's financial background led his Republican colleagues to elect him as vice-chair of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee in 2006. One year later he was elevated to the position of chair, where he served for three years.
State treasurer
Ken Miller won the Republican nomination for state treasurer by defeating former State Sen. Owen Laughlin, earning 63% of the primary votes.
In the general election, Ken Miller gained the endorsement of outgoing Democratic State Treasurer Scott Meacham (who chose not to seek re-election), and thus handily defeated his Democratic opponent Stephen Covert by 2–1 margin, with Miller winning almost 67% of the vote and winning each of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
Miller assumed office as state treasurer on January 10, 2011.