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November 7, 2012

Cole granted another term

By Joy Hampton The Norman Transcript

NORMAN — Congressman Tom Cole was expected to dominate the three-way race for U.S. House of Representatives District 4 and he did not disappoint. Challenging five-term Republican incumbent Cole were Independent candidate R.J. Harris and Democrat Donna Marie Bebo.

Cole, R-Moore, was elected to Congress in 2002. Cole has served as the State Chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, District Director to former Congressman Mickey Edwards, a member of the State Senate, and Oklahoma’s Secretary of State.

A former college instructor in history and politics, Cole holds a B.A. from Grinnell College, an M.A. from Yale University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma.

He has been a Thomas Watson Fellow and a Fulbright Fellow at the University of London. He currently serves on the national Board of the Fulbright Association and is a member of the Congressional Advisory Board to the Aspen Institute.

Cole is a fifth generation Oklahoman and a member of the Chickasaw Nation.

He was awarded the Congressional Leadership award by the National Congress of American Indians in 2007. Cole and his wife Ellen, have one son, Mason, and live in Moore.

Bebo has worked as a waitress, clerk, utility locating technician and has held managerial positions, as she has trailed her Army husband to various duty posts.

This was Harris’ second bid for the District 4 seat. Harris is a career Army National Guard Officer having served on three combat tours and one peacekeeping tour. Additionally, he has been a small business owner and an Air Traffic Controller in the Federal Aviation Administration.

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