OKPOLICY.ORG
Steve Lewis served as Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1989-1991. He currently practices law in Tulsa and represents clients at the Capitol.
As the legislature continued last week to organize itself for the next session, Speaker-elect Charles McCall announced his senior leadership team in the House. The leadership positions that exercise the most control over the direction of state policy shift from time to time according to the formal and informal duties of an office and the personalities of the legislators who have been appointed.
For most of the time I served, the top four spots on the leadership team under the Speaker were the Majority Floor Leader, the Chairman and vice-chairman of the Appropriations and Budget Committee and the First Assistant Majority Floor Leader. The Speaker Pro Tempore would float in and out depending on who was elected and his relationship with the Speaker. Generally, the top leaders were those regularly invited to negotiation sessions with the senate and the governor on major policies, including the state budget.
Speaker McCall announced the appointment of the Majority Floor Leader, the Chairman of Appropriations and Budget, the Majority Whip, the Majority Leader. We’ll know if these are the senior leaders as the session progresses and the group dynamics develop. If this is it, it looks like a strong team. Jon Echols, the Majority Floor leader, is a work horse with a wide range of interests that has already been a strong voice in his first two terms. He’s an attorney practicing primarily in family law and owns an interest in some health care businesses in his private life.
Appropriations Chair Leslie Osborn is also a tireless worker. No shrinking violet, she has learned how to get things done, and given this leadership opportunity, she’ll hone those skills exponentially. She should work well with Sen. Kim David, the first Republican woman to be Appropriations Chair in the Senate. Terry O’Donnell is a successful practicing lawyer in Tulsa who will bring those skills to his new job as Majority Whip. He’s by nature a consensus builder who can do the job of vote counter and vote getter to help pass the leadership’s policies. The Majority Floor Leader position is relatively new, having been created several years ago when the duties of the Majority Floor leader were split. It’s a policy and strategy leadership spot. Mike Sanders as Majority Leader has a strong political background and the energy to help the team work through what will be a tough session.
