Less than a month after the resignation of Preston Doerflinger, Gov. Mary Fallin has selected Clark Jolley, current vice chairman of the Oklahoma Tax Commission, as her new cabinet secretary of finance.
Jolley is a former state senator from Edmond who spent the final five years of his legislative career as chairman of the Senate Appropriations and Budget Committee.
“Clark Jolley has a thorough understanding of state government finances and our state’s budget structure,” Fallin said in a press release this afternoon. “Clark works hard to make sure taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. As a member of my Cabinet, Clark will assist in addressing structural deficiencies within the budget-making process and working on common-sense reforms to provide stability and create efficiencies to save taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars.”
Jolley joined the Oklahoma Tax Commission in March 2017. Jolley finished third in a Republican primary for Oklahoma’s Fifth U.S. Congressional district in 2014. He received 16.8 percent of the vote.
From Fallin’s press release, distributed Wednesday afternoon:
Jolley earned two degrees from Oklahoma Baptist University, a law degree from the University of Oklahoma, and a certificate in public treasury management from the National Institute of Public Finance at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif.
“I appreciate the governor’s confidence in me to serve as a member of her Cabinet,” Jolley said. “I consider it an honor to serve the people of Oklahoma, and I look forward to expanding my role in working to improve our great state.”
He and his family make their home in Edmond, where his children attend Edmond Public Schools.
Jolley served in the Oklahoma State Senate from 2004 to 2016 and has also served as an adjunct instructor for Oklahoma Christian University and Mid-America Christian University.
Doerflinger resigned earlier in February after a past domestic violence incident was revealed by The Frontier. He had been simultaneously serving as interim director of the Oklahoma State Department of Health.
