Lee W. Paden is an attorney located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He spent 10 years as an advisor and aide to United States Senator Henry Bellmon where he provided analysis of energy, environment,  and Native American legislative issues.For the past 20 years, he has engaged in the private practice of law with an emphasis on electric energy and environmental consulting.

 

He was appointed by Governor Henry Bellmon as a member of the Oklahoma State Board of Health, the agency overseeing environmental issues, and served on that Board from 1987 to 1992. Upon the creation of the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Governor David Walters appointed him to serve on that new Board. He was reappointed by Governor Frank Keating. He was a member from 1992-2004, serving as Chairman from 1999-2001.

 

His prior utility experience, spanned the period from 1978 to 1998, serving as Director of Government Relations, Public Service Company of Oklahoma, a subsidiary of Central and Southwest, an electric utility providing electricity to approximately 550,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers.

 

Following his retirement from PSO in 1998, he formed a private law practice and from 1998 through 2003 he provided the Oklahoma State Legislature consultant services on electric issues and managed the Electric Utility Task Force working group and the Electric Transmission Task Force working group process to compile an electric utility report to guide the Legislature as it considered how to deal with complex utility issues. He also appeared regularly at the Oklahoma Corporation representing customers and customer groups who are interested in service quality and rate issues.

 

He resides in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is married to his wife of 40 years, with two children and four grandchildren.