After his last appointee was removed from office on the final day of the 2025 legislative session, Gov. Kevin Stitt has nominated retired Rear Admiral Gregory Slavonic as interim commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Slavonic takes over a troubled agency facing longstanding financial problems and the implementation of a consent decree for failing to provide pre-trial detainees competency restoration services in a timely manner. In a press release announcing the appointment Tuesday, Stitt emphasized Slavonic’s role in setting the agency back on track.
“It is no secret that the Department of Mental Health has long been in need of reform,” Stitt said. “It is imperative that Admiral Slavonic is allowed to do the hard work needed to remove corruption and conflicts of interest without political interference. There are brighter days ahead for this department and those that rely on its services. I’m grateful to Admiral Slavonic for his willingness to set another Oklahoma agency on the right course.”
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That “other agency” mentioned by Stitt is the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs. Slavonic was named the interim director of that agency in March 2023 as ODVA faced several problems, including its prior director clashing with Stitt and going AWOL from meetings, an over-budget project in Sallisaw and a mass exodus of employees. Slavonic spent 15 months in the role before retried Rear Admiral James Bynum took his place.
Stitt’s press release said ODVA had been “plagued by financial mismanagement and distractions from the department’s core mission” before Slavonic took over, a description that would also aptly fit ODMHSAS.
House Majority Floor Leader Mark Lawson (R-Sapulpa), who chairs a legislative committee established to investigate ODMHSAS’ financial issues, released a statement about Slavonic’s appointment.
“It is imperative that the next director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services work to restore stability, confidence and trust in the agency and its ability to provide critical services to Oklahomans while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars,” he said. “By all accounts, Admiral Slavonic has served his country and state well and I look forward to working with him as he endeavors to right the ship with this agency.”
The Legislature voted to remove previous Commissioner Allie Friesen from her post late last Thursday after nearly two months of investigation into her agency. Legislators speaking in favor of her removal often acknowledged Friesen was not at fault for the poor circumstances she had inherited when she was appointed by Stitt in January 2024. However, they expressed doubt that she was capable of leading the agency back from the brink of dysfunction.
Stitt defended Friesen in the strongest terms up until her dismissal, going so far as to suggest a senator was attempting to remove Friesen to protect his wife, who is a part-time employee at the agency. The insinuation infuriated members of the Legislature, who voted 43-1 in the Senate and 81-5 in the House in favor of Friesen’s removal. As Slavonic works to restore the Legislature’s faith in ODMHSAS, the Legislature’s faith in Stitt is likely at a similarly low point after the governor broke an unspoken rule not to target officials’ families on the same day he called for those overriding his vetoes to be primaried in 2026.
Slavonic is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and has a master’s degree from the University of Central Oklahoma, according to the governor’s press release. He previously served as assistant secretary to the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs from June 2018 to January 2021. He served as acting undersecretary of the U.S. Navy from April 2020 to January 2021.
“I’m grateful that Gov. Stitt is so keenly focused on rooting out corruption and ensuring that government is working first and foremost for the citizens we are tasked with serving,” Slavonic said in the press release. “The Department of Mental Health brings much needed services to many Oklahomans, and I look forward to ensuring that they have the tools needed to provide those services. I thank Gov. Stitt for trusting me with this effort.”
