Tom Daxon | |
---|---|
Chair of the Oklahoma Republican Party | |
In office 2006–2008 | |
Preceded by | Gary Jones |
Succeeded by | Gary Jones |
Oklahoma Secretary of Finance and Revenue | |
In office March 17,1995 –January 13,2003 | |
Governor | Frank Keating |
Succeeded by | Scott Meacham |
Oklahoma Director of State Finance | |
In office March 17,1995 –January 13,2003 | |
Governor | Frank Keating |
Succeeded by | Scott Meacham |
Interim County Treasurer for Orange County,California | |
In office December 22,1994 –March 17,1995 | |
Preceded by | Robert Citron |
Succeeded by | John Moorlach |
9th Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector | |
In office January 8,1979 –January 10,1983 | |
Governor | George Nigh |
Preceded by | John M. Rogers |
Succeeded by | Clifton Scott |
Personal details | |
Born | Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,U.S. | December 19,1947
Died | November 2,2022 74) Oklahoma City,Oklahoma,U.S. | (aged
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Linda Wright Daxon |
Alma mater | Oklahoma State University |
Profession | Accountant,politician |
Thomas E. Daxon (December 19,1947 –November 2,2022) was an American businessman and politician from Oklahoma. Daxon had held numerous positions with the Oklahoma state government,including being elected Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector in 1978 and serving as the Oklahoma Secretary of Finance and Revenue under Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating. He was the Republican nominee for governor in the 1982 election,ultimately losing to Democratic incumbent George Nigh.
A native of Oklahoma City,Daxon earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Oklahoma State University (OSU) in 1970 and received his master's degree in geography from OSU in 1977. While in college,Daxon became an activist for the Oklahoma Republican Party. He served as the president of the Oklahoma State University College Republicans.
After graduating from OSU,Daxon served two years on the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ before returning to OSU to obtain a masters degree. In 1975 he moved to Sand Springs,Oklahoma,and joined the Tulsa-based CPA firm of Hurdman and Cranstoun as an auditor.
In 1978,Daxon was elected Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector,unseating 20-year Democratic incumbent John M. Rogers. Within days of filling as a candidate,Rogers challenged Daxon's qualifications to run at the State Election Board saying that Daxon did not meet the constitutional requirements to seek the office. Daxon was 30 years old at the time of the November balloting and the state constitution said one had to be at least 31 years of age to hold the office. The state Election Board ruled against Daxon twice,removing him from the ballot. Daxon appealed the Election Board decision to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The Supreme Court in a unanimous,landmark decision reinstated Daxon to the ballot,defining "election" for the first time as a process that began when a candidate filed with the state for office and concluded the following January when the Oklahoma legislature meet to certify the results. Since Daxon turned 31 on December 19,1978,he met the state requirements by mere days and became the youngest person ever elected to statewide office in Oklahoma. At the time he was also the only Republican to hold statewide office.
When Daxon took over the office of Auditor and Inspector it had fallen into decline and was under scrutiny by the federal government for its poor audits. Daxon raised the number of CPAs on his staff from only 1 to 26 while cutting the total office staff from 126 to 81. He formed an investigative unit that exposed questionable practices in certain license plate agencies and at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. He also introduced modern auditing techniques that included operational reviews of audited agencies financial reporting in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles,leading Oklahoma to become the first state to issue comprehensive GAAP-basis general purpose financial statements,using its own staff.
In 1980,Daxon cooperated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in its probe of many Oklahoma county commissioners. By the end of the investigation in 1984,more than 200 people (mostly county commissioners) from 60 of Oklahoma's 77 counties had been convicted of crimes. Most were convicted of taking kickbacks paid by suppliers on orders for county road-building supplies. More than 70 sitting commissioners had to resign in connection with the probe. 69 counties had commissioners resign in the wake of the probe,and 13 counties lost all three of their commissioners in connection with the scandal.
Daxon filed to become the Republican nominee for Governor of Oklahoma in 1982. He challenged incumbent Democrat George Nigh. Nigh was ultimately successful in seeking reelection,defeating Daxon 62% to 38%.
Following his defeat in the gubernatorial election,in 1983,Daxon moved his family to McLean,Virginia,and joined accounting giant Arthur Andersen where he served as an adviser on government audits and accounting until 1990. In 1993 Daxon became the Manager of Quality Assurance for Arthur Andersen and oversaw major elements of the Resolution Trust Corporation. His team eliminated a nationally publicized backlog of unreconciled accounts and worked with outside auditors to obtain the RTC's first clean audit opinion. He was also responsible for special projects relating to privatization in state and local government for Arthur Andersen.
While employed by Arthur Anderson in 1994,Daxon was appointed as head of a delegation from the firm tasked with providing financial advice to Orange County,California,following an investment fund melt-down which resulted in the loss of at least $1.5 billion through high-risk investments in derivatives,the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history filed under Chapter 9 in December 1994,and the resignation and subsequent criminal prosecution of Orange County Treasurer Robert Citron. Upon arriving in Orange County later that month,he was appointed to a four-month term as interim county treasurer and oversaw the county's efforts to emerge from bankruptcy in June 1995. [1]
However,shortly after Republican Frank Keating was elected Governor of Oklahoma in November 1994,Keating had asked Daxon to be his budget director. For Daxon to be able to accept the California assignment,then Governor of California Pete Wilson called Keating and asked if California could borrow Daxon to help sort out the Orange County mess. Keating agreed to a 4-month loan of Daxon's services. Daxon returned to Oklahoma full-time in April 1995 to serve as Keating's budget director. In that position,Daxon was responsible for overseeing the developing and implementation of the Keating's annual state budget. [2]
Concurrent with his service as State Finance Director,Keating appointed Daxon as Oklahoma Secretary of Finance and Revenue. As Finance Secretary,Daxon was responsible for developing Keating's economic and tax policies as well as providing oversight to the State's finance agencies,including the Oklahoma Tax Commission,the Oklahoma State Banking Department,the Oklahoma Department of Consumer Credit,the Oklahoma Department of Securities,and the Oklahoma Department of Insurance. [3]
Daxon remained as Finance Secretary for Keating's entire eight years as governor.
When Democrat Brad Henry was elected governor,Daxon was appointed interim general administrator for the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Daxon served in that position from January to June 2003. [4]
Daxon resigned from the Corporation Commission to become the Executive Director of Opportunity Oklahoma,an Oklahoma City business organization designed to help state officials create an environment conducive for economic growth. He remained in that position until 2005. [5]
In the 2004 Oklahoma general election,Republicans gained a majority in the Oklahoma House of Representatives for the first time since 1921. Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives-elect Todd Hiett (R-Kellyville) appointed Daxon Director of the House Office of Budget and Performance Review. As Director,he provided fiscal analysis to the House speaker and Appropriation and Budget committee chairmen and oversaw all performance reviews of state agency operations. [6]
Daxon was elected Chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party in 2006 and served for one year,during which time the Republican Party picked up additional legislative seats in the 2006 fall elections. Daxon was succeeded as chairman by Gary Jones in April 2007.
Unable to support GOP nominee Donald Trump,Daxon chose to back Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson in the 2016 presidential election. [7]
Daxon was married to the former Linda Wright of Emporia,Kansas,from 1972 until his death in 2022. They had two sons:Ben and Johnny. Ben is an anesthesiologist who heads the Critical Care Fellowship program at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester,Minnesota. Johnny is a 2022 graduate of the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center with a degree in nuclear medicine and now works at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City,Oklahoma.
Francis Anthony Keating II is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th governor of Oklahoma from 1995 to 2003.
George Patterson Nigh is an American politician and civic leader from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Nigh served as the 17th and the 22nd governor of Oklahoma and as the eighth and tenth lieutenant governor of Oklahoma. He was the first Oklahoma governor to be re-elected and the first to win all 77 counties in the state. Additionally,short term vacancies in the governor's office twice resulted in Nigh assuming gubernatorial duties while serving as lieutenant governor.
The state auditor of Minnesota is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Nineteen individuals have held the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Julie Blaha,a DFLer.
The government of the U.S. State of Oklahoma,established by the Oklahoma Constitution,is a republican democracy modeled after the federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches:the executive,legislative,and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers or "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own,some authority to regulate the other two branches,and has some of its own authority,in turn,regulated by the other branches.
The state treasurer of Minnesota was a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Minnesota. Twenty-six individuals occupied the office of state treasurer from 1858 until the office's abolition in 2003. The final state treasurer was Carol C. Johnson,a DFLer.
Terry L. Cline is an American psychologist and public health policy specialist from Oklahoma. Cline resigned on October 30,2017 from the Oklahoma State Department of Health. He has served in various positions under Governors of Oklahoma Frank Keating (R),Brad Henry (D),and Mary Fallin (R). Cline resigned his position after financial mismanagement was discovered within the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
Colonel Norman A. Lamb,USA (ret.),was an American soldier and politician from Enid in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Lamb served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Veterans Affairs from 1995 to 2011,having been originally appointed by Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating and retained under Governor Brad Henry.
The Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector is an elected Constitutional officer for the U.S. State of Oklahoma. The State Auditor and Inspector is responsible for auditing and prescribing bookkeeping standards of all government agencies and county treasurers within Oklahoma. The office in its current form is a consolidation of the office of State Auditor with that of the office of State Examiner and Inspector,both of which dated back to statehood in 1907. The two positions were combined in 1979 after passage of State Question 510 in 1975. Tom Daxon was the first person to hold the combined office and the first Republican as all previous occupants of either position were Democrats.
Johannes Meindert Willem Moorlach is an American politician who served as a member of the California State Senate representing 37th Senate district,which includes portions of Orange County,from 2015 to 2020. He was narrowly defeated for reelection by Dave Min in 2020;he lost a 2021 special election to return to the Orange County Board of Supervisors;he withdrew from the 2022 election for Orange County Auditor-Controller;and he lost the 2022 election for Mayor of Costa Mesa. A Republican,he previously served on the Orange County Board of Supervisors from December 5,2006 to January 5,2015 and as Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector from March 17,1995 to December 5,2006.
The following tables indicate the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Oklahoma:
J.D. Strong is a civil servant from the U.S. state of Oklahoma and the current executive director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB). As executive director of the OWRB,Strong is responsible for carrying out the agency's mission to protect and enhance the quality of life for Oklahomans by managing and improving the state's water resources to ensure clean and reliable water supplies,a strong economy,and a safe and healthy environment. Under Strong's leadership,the OWRB updated the Oklahoma Comprehensive Water Plan,a 50-year water supply assessment and policy strategy to meet Oklahoma's future water needs. Strong also oversees administration of Oklahoma's AAA-rated $3 billion Financial Assistance Program,which assists more than two-thirds of Oklahoma communities and rural water districts in financing water infrastructure projects. Other significant programs under Strong's direction include the administration of almost 13,000 water rights permits allocating some 6 million acre-feet of stream and groundwater,hydrologic studies,licensure of water well drillers,floodplain management,dam safety,and a water quality management program that includes establishment of standards and statewide monitoring of lakes and streams. Strong represents Oklahoma on the Western States Water Council and Chairs its Water Quality Committee,and also serves as Oklahoma's Commissioner on four congressionally approved interstate water Compact Commissions.
Brian C. Griffin is an American businessman from Oklahoma who currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Clean Energy Systems,a private Rancho Cordova,California-based energy technology innovations firm.
Michael J. Hunter is an American politician from the state of Oklahoma. Hunter served as the Secretary of State of Oklahoma from 1999 to 2002,having been appointed by Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating. On November 1,2016,he was appointed to the same post by Governor Mary Fallin. He also served as Special Counsel to the Governor. On February 20,2017,Hunter was appointed Attorney General of Oklahoma to replace Scott Pruitt who resigned to become the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. On November 8,2018,Hunter won election as Attorney General.
Pamela M. Warren is an American civil servant who served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Administration under Governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating. Warren served as secretary from January 1,1997,until her retirement from state service in January 2004. In addition to her service as secretary,Warren served as the director of the Oklahoma Department of Central Services during that same time period.
Gary Sherrer is an American Democratic politician from Oklahoma. Sherrer served two terms as Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment under Republican Governors Frank Keating (1995-1997) and Mary Fallin (2011-2013). Sherrer also served as Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture under Democratic Governor David Walters from 1989 to 1995.
Ronald Allan "Ron" Rosenfeld is an American politician and housing expert. Rosenfeld has previously served in numerous U.S. federal and Oklahoma state government positions relating to housing. He served as chair of the Federal Housing Finance Board and president of the Government National Mortgage Association under president of the United States George W. Bush and as Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce under governor of Oklahoma Frank Keating.
The 2010 Oklahoma elections were held on November 2,2010. The primary election was held on July 27. The runoff primary election was held August 24.
Preston Doerflinger is an American businessman and politician who was the Oklahoma Secretary of Finance and Revenue. Doerflinger was appointed by then Governor of Oklahoma Mary Fallin on January 19,2011. Prior to his appointment,Doerflinger served as the city auditor for Tulsa,Oklahoma from 2009 until this appointment as secretary. Shortly thereafter he was also named the Director of the newly created Office of Management and Enterprise Systems. In his role as Secretary of Finance he was the Governor's lead budget executive and negotiator. He was appointed by the governor as the Interim Commissioner of Health in October,2017 while maintaining his roles as Cabinet Secretary and Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Systems. He resigned from all of his roles in Oklahoma State government in February 2018.
Elna 'Jan' Collins was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Collins served as a legislator in the Oklahoma State House of Representatives from 1984 to 1986,representing District 93. During her one term in office,Collins focused strongly on legislation concerning education. After her term in the House,Collins was elected as a county commissioner for Cleveland County,OK,serving from 1991 to 1995.
The 1982 Oklahoma gubernatorial election was held on November 2,1982,and was a race for Governor of Oklahoma. Democrat George Nigh won re-election by a substantial majority over the Republican,former State Auditor and Inspector Tom Daxon. This is the last gubernatorial election in which the Democratic candidate carried every county in the state.