After three decades in which Oklahoma’s Treasurer’s Office was known for quiet stewardship and responsible financial management, a contentious Republican primary is forcing voters to think about the office in a way they haven’t in decades.
By Tim Allen,
Managing Editor
For years, we practically begged people to pay attention to the Treasurer’s Office.
Now they are, but that’s not necessarily a good thing.
I know because I spent much of my career helping explain the office’s work to reporters and the public while serving under four state treasurers from both political parties.
The attention has shifted away from investment performance, the state’s college savings plan, unclaimed property and the state’s financial standing. It’s now focused on contracts, campaign donations, litigation threats, travel records and questions about management.
That distinction matters.
The Treasurer’s Office was supposed to be boring.
Not unimportant. Just boring in the way taxpayers generally want the people managing public money to be boring.
The controversies of the 1980s and 1990s surrounding Leo Winters, Ellis Edwards and Claudette Henry left lasting marks on an office responsible for safeguarding public funds.
Beginning with Robert Butkin in 1995 and continuing through Scott Meacham, Ken Miller and Randy McDaniel, the office took a different path. Two were Democrats. Two were Republicans. Yet all four largely embraced the same mission: stewardship first, politics second if at all.
The office became known for managing state investments, returning unclaimed property, operating the state’s college savings program and promoting responsible fiscal management.
Success was measured by stability, competence and the absence of drama.
As deputy treasurer for communications and program administration during those years, one of my biggest challenges was convincing reporters and the public to care about bond ratings, cash management and investment performance.
Those things matter enormously. They just don’t generate many headlines.
And that was usually a sign the office was doing exactly what taxpayers expected.
This year’s Republican primary for state treasurer is different.
Over the past several weeks, Oklahoma voters have been presented with stories involving a disputed state investment contract, intervention by Attorney General Gentner Drummond, questions surrounding campaign contributions connected to that contract, procurement concerns, state vehicle records and travel practices within the Treasurer’s Office.
Voters will decide whether any of those issues ultimately affect Tuesday’s outcome.
But taken together, they reveal something larger than the fate of any one candidate.
For the first time in a generation, Oklahoma voters are being asked to think about the Treasurer’s Office itself.
The office’s greatest asset over the past three decades has been public confidence. Most Oklahomans never paid much attention because they never felt a need to do so.
To be fair, there is little evidence that the office’s core responsibilities have stopped functioning under Treasurer Todd Russ. The college savings plan continues to operate. Unclaimed property continues to be returned to Oklahomans. The routine work of managing state finances continues.
What has changed is the conversation.
Another sign can be found in the endorsement list.
Former Treasurer Scott Meacham, a Democrat, and former Treasurer Ken Miller, a Republican, have endorsed challenger Cindy Byrd.
That is not a routine development.
Former treasurers rarely insert themselves into contested primaries involving the office they once held. I cannot recall another instance during the modern era of the Treasurer’s Office.
The significance isn’t necessarily whom they support. It’s that they felt compelled to weigh in at all.
Both have argued that the office has drifted from what they view as its central responsibility: managing the people’s money according to the traditional principles of safety, liquidity and return on investment.
Russ, for his part, would likely argue the office has remained focused on those responsibilities while pursuing additional initiatives and priorities he believes are important to Oklahoma taxpayers.
Reasonable people can disagree with those competing visions.
But the fact that former treasurers from opposite political parties are making the same argument is noteworthy in itself.
That does not mean Oklahoma is returning to an earlier era of scandal.
But it does mean the Treasurer’s Office is no longer escaping the public spotlight.
In some ways, that may be healthy. Public officials should expect scrutiny, especially when billions of taxpayer dollars are involved.
Still, the shift is notable.
For roughly 30 years, Oklahoma’s treasurers largely operated outside the political spotlight. This year, that spotlight returned.
Beneath the campaign and the controversy lies a larger question.
Oklahoma Republicans are deciding what they expect the Treasurer’s Office to be.
For a generation, the answer was remarkably consistent regardless of party: stewardship first, politics second if at all.
The Treasurer’s Office was supposed to be boring.
Tuesday’s election may reveal whether Oklahoma voters still want it that way.
Disclosure: OKPoliticsToday Managing Editor Tim Allen served as deputy treasurer for communications and program administration under state treasurers Robert Butkin, Scott Meacham, Ken Miller and Randy McDaniel and left the Treasurer’s Office in 2022 before Todd Russ was elected treasurer.
