(Update: On Oct. 2, Donelle Harder posted on Facebook that she does not meet a 10-year requirement of state voter registration in the Oklahoma Constitution to serve as secretary of state. Instead, Harder announced she would become Gov. Kevin Stitt’s chief of staff. The following article remains in its original form.)
After two of his top brass recently announced their resignations, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced the return today of two former staffers who played prominent roles in the early years of his administration. Communications professional Donelle Harder will serve as secretary of state, while fast-food magnate David Ostrowe will be the state’s next chief operating officer.
In the same announcement, Stitt appointed southwest Oklahoma powerbroker Dustin Hilliary to serve as his senior advisor. Hilliary is co-CEO of Hilliary Communications, a telecommunications firm based in Lawton, and the CEO to his own investment firm. In 2022, Stitt appointed Hilliary to a nine-year term on the State Regents for Higher Education.
“We successfully launched this administration by bringing a fresh set of eyes from Oklahoma’s business community, and we will finish the same way. These three outstanding Oklahomans bring diverse strengths: Dustin’s trusted leadership and negotiation prowess, David’s operational acumen and Donelle’s strategic vision,” Stitt said in a press release. “Together, they elevate the capacity of my administration as we push forward on our agenda, and I am confident we can continue to deliver lasting results for the people of Oklahoma.”
Ostrowe previously served as secretary of digital transformation and administration in Stitt’s Cabinet from 2019 to 2020, while Harder worked in a variety of roles — communications director, deputy secretary of state and senior policy advisory — over the same period.
Harder joined Stitt’s administration after helping him rise from political obscurity as the local leader of his 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Although she left the administration amid a behind-the-scenes power struggle, Harder remained a close friend to Stitt and again navigated his 2022 campaign. During her time away from the administration, Harder has worked as senior vice president of the Pinkston Group, has helped launch a solar energy company and was appointed last year to the board of directors for Gateway, the bank and mortgage firm Stitt founded.
Harder will replace Oklahoma Secretary of State Josh Cockroft, a former state legislator who worked on Stitt’s 2022 campaign and became secretary of state in September 2023. His resignation is effective Oct. 2.
Ostrowe will succeed former Office of Management and Enterprise Services director and state Chief Operating Officer Rick Rose, an attorney with Mahaffey & Gore who served as legal counsel to multiple speakers of the Oklahoma House.
Rose’s slated Sept. 26 registration comes after a lengthy letter that Attorney General Gentner Drummond sent to Stitt that accused Rose of refusing to process lawful vehicle purchases for agents working for the AG’s office.
“[Rose’s] stated reason for doing so is that I have not responded to an unrelated inquiry from his office seeking information he already has,” Drummond wrote Sept. 4.
In a statement provided to Oklahoma Voice, Rose denied that his resignation stemmed from Drummond’s letter, and he said he had informed Stitt of his intention to leave the position to return to private law practice a week before the letter was sent. In a press release, Rose “said his decision was based on conversations with his family and future in mind but noted the attorney general is now using his exit as an opportunity to score political points ahead of an election year.”
“It’s my job to make sure taxpayer money is spent wisely and on services that benefit Oklahomans,” Rose said in the release. “When a request of this size comes through my office, it is my job to question it. The Attorney General’s Office has nearly doubled in both headcount and salaries since 2023. I am still awaiting justification as to why this is and why more taxpayer money is needed to purchase more vehicles.”
In a resignation letter dated Aug. 18, but posted Sept. 8 on Twitter, Cockroft said he will always be grateful for the trust Stitt showed in him.
“Though my time as secretary of state and chief policy advisor is coming to an end, I remain fully committed to the principles you’ve instilled in this administration and to the continued success of your leadership,” Cockroft wrote to the governor.
Cockroft is embarking on a lobbying career and is set to join Jennifer and Shawn Lepard in a firm being rebranded as Civitas Strategies.
Two other Stitt appointees also announced their resignations recently. Deputy Secretary of State Nitasha Rose — Rick Rose’s wife — announced her resignation, along with the director of the Oklahoma Office of Economic Development, Growth and Expansion at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Evan Brown.
David Ostrowe: ‘Never envisioned coming back’
Ostrowe previously served in Stitt’s Cabinet as secretary of digital transformation and administration, a role focused on helping bring state government into the digital age and making it easier for Oklahomans to access services. In the governor’s press release, Ostrowe said he was “honored” to return to the administration.
“In Gov. Stitt’s first administration, we worked with passion to deliver digital transformation and make government more efficient and transparent,” he said. “I am honored to return as COO to help finish that mission and continue advancing good government for all Oklahomans.”
Ostrowe told The Oklahoman after his initial appointment in 2019 that he was committed to serving two years in an unpaid capacity, which he ultimately did, but not without controversy. As he proposed changes to the Oklahoma Tax Commission and questioned collections from delinquent taxpayers, Ostrowe was indicted in December 2020 by a multi-county grand jury for attempted bribery related to interactions involving then-Senate Appropriations and Budget Committee Chairman Roger Thompson (R-Okemah) and two tax commissioners.
But amid questions about its legitimacy — grand jurors only heard testimony from one witness, an investigator in Attorney General Mike Hunter’s office with no first-hand knowledge of the situation — the indictment never moved forward. Hunter dismissed the charge as he tendered his own resignation in May 2021 amid swirling ethical questions. The presiding judge of that grand jury, Tim Henderson, also resigned in shame after being accused of sexual and ethical misconduct.
Ostrowe resigned four months later in September 2021 and filed — but did not serve — a lawsuit one year later against Hunter, the Oklahoma Tax Commission and its members. He dismissed his claims in early 2023 after Drummond wrote an apology that said Hunter’s handling of the indictment “compromised the integrity of the Office of Attorney General.”
“Hopefully we’re beyond those days,” Ostrowe told NonDoc on Thursday. “I never envisioned coming back. I can tell you my family never envisioned me coming back. But when the governor asks for assistance, it’s hard to say no.”
Ostrowe said Stitt approached him “a couple of weeks ago” about rejoining his administration with an undefined role for his last 18 months in office. Ostrowe said his new role with the Stitt administration is to help stabilize the administration and to get “great people in place and do what I do best.”
“We have one more session, and then frankly we have to go ahead and look at transition to a new administration,” Ostrowe said. “I want to make sure we turn the keys over to a new governor with people who are focused on making us a top-10 state.”
Ostrowe, who serves as president of Oklahoma City-based O&M Restaurant Group and operates Taco Bell franchises throughout the state, said he will begin making calls today to other secretaries to determine their needs so he can “support the person who is doing work for the taxpayer.”
Unlike his first stint in state government, Ostrowe said his new role will be a paid position.
“I can promise you the money they’re paying me still doesn’t make me net-positive on my legal fees,” Ostrowe said.
Donelle Harder returns as secretary of state
Harder is Stitt’s former adviser and deputy campaign manager and was appointed in 2018 to serve as deputy secretary of state.
Before joining Stitt’s team, she served as a vice president at the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association and worked as communications director for former U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe.
After leaving Stitt’s administration in February 2020, she founded Pliris Strategies and signed contracts with the Oklahoma State Department to provide communication support during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company signed another contract with the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to consult on CARES Act funding and communications needs.
Pliris Strategies was acquired in December 2021 by Pinkston, a D.C.-based strategy and communications consultancy, with Harder accepting a vice president role with the company.
While at Pinkston, Harder provided crisis communication support for the Oklahoma State University Board of Regents following the February 2025 resignation of then-president Dr. Kayse Shrum.
Stitt’s press release credited Harder as a “trusted leader in navigating complex public dialogue and high-stakes initiatives” through a “track record of translating vision into execution.”
“I’m honored to serve as secretary of state and support Governor Stitt’s administration again,” Harder said. “I look forward to sharpening our strategic approach and ensuring this administration remains effective and focused on delivering good government for the people of Oklahoma.”
