Rep. Amanda Swope (D-Tulsa) will join the administration of new Mayor Monroe Nichols as Tulsa’s first director of tribal policy and partnerships, the city announced today. A citizen of the Muscogee Nation who is also of Osage descent, Swope will assume the position Jan. 29. Owing to prohibitions on dual officeholding, Swope will have to resign her state House seat.
First elected to represent House District 71 in 2022, Swope ran for reelection unopposed in 2024. Before entering the Legislature, she worked for the Muscogee Nation and was the first tribal citizen to chair the Tulsa County Democratic Party from 2019 to 2022. She has been active in Oklahoma politics since 2011 and is the daughter of former City Councilor Connie Dodson.
“Public service runs in my family, and I’m honored to be asked by Mayor Nichols to serve Tulsa in this new way,” Swope said in a press release. “Together, we will work to strengthen the relationships we have with our tribal nations, co-govern in a way that works for all of our citizens, and lead with respect for those who came before us and continue to have a profound impact on our way of life.”
Elected in November, Nichols campaigned on co-governing with the Cherokee and Muscogee Nations, whose reservations overlap with Tulsa. (A northwest portion of Tulsa also exists within the Osage Nation, although that tribe’s reservation status has only been affirmed for the purpose of mineral rights.) During his campaign, Nichols pledged to create the position for which Swope is being hired.
“Amanda brings so much to this new role at a critical time for our city and the relationship with our tribal nations. She (…) has worked within tribal government and brings both lived experience and technical expertise to the work ahead,” Nichols said. “The policy of the City of Tulsa is standing on the side of tribal sovereignty, and I’m proud that Chief (David) Hill, Chief (Chuck) Hoskin, Chief (Geoffrey) Standing Bear and I all agree that Amanda is the best person to lead as the director of tribal policy and partnerships here at city hall.”
While Nichols has been vocal in his support of tribal sovereignty, a controversial decision from the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals recently held that Tulsa’s municipal court has criminal jurisdiction over non-member tribal citizens within the city, and a federal lawsuit over the city’s prosecution of tribal citizens is still pending. When Swope takes office, she will have a leading role in helping the Nichols administration navigate complex jurisdictional issues and relationships with tribal governments, which have spurred political tension and litigation in the years since the U.S. Supreme Court decided McGirt v. Oklahoma.
Amanda Swope departure to trigger special election
When Swope resigns from her HD 71 seat covering south central Tulsa along the eastern bank of the Arkansas River, Gov. Kevin Stitt will be required to set a special election date. HD 71 would become the second special legislative election in 2025. The vacant Senate District 8 seat — covering the Okmulgee, Okemah and Checotah area — is scheduled for formal candidate filing Jan. 6 through Jan. 8. A special primary in SD 8 is set for March 4, with a runoff (if necessary) scheduled April 1 and a general election May 13, two weeks prior to the adjournment deadline for the 2025 Oklahoma legislative session.
So far, three people have formed campaign committees with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission for SD 8. Republicans Bryan Keith Logan and David Nelson formed their committees months ago, while Edward Jolly became the third Republican to form a campaign committee Monday. SD 8 was vacated by former Senate Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Roger Thompson, who resigned earlier this year after being removed from that chairmanship.
