The City of Tulsa has a mayor-council form of government

Mayor-council government

The mayor–council government system, sometimes called the mayor–commission government system, is one of the two most common forms of local government for municipalities...

. This form of government has been in place since 1989, at which time Tulsa converted from a city commission

City commission government

City commission government is a form of municipal government which once was common in the United States, but many cities which were formerly governed by commission have since switched to the council-manager form of government...

 form of government. The mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 is elected by the entire population and each of the 9 Councilors are elected from districts based on population.

Tulsa is the county seat

County seat

A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....

 for Tulsa County. Within the boundaries of the city and surrounding county are tribal lands belonging to and governed by various Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 nations.

Mayor

The present mayor of Tulsa is Mayor Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr.

Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr.

Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr. is the mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma. An oil industry executive and political figure in Tulsa, Bartlett was the Republican nominee for mayor of Tulsa in the 2009 election, and was elected as Tulsa's 39th Mayor on November 10, 2009.Bartlett's father, Dewey F...

, a Republican. He was first sworn in as mayor in 2010. Prior to Mayor Bartlett, the office was occupied by Mayor Kathy Taylor

Kathy Taylor

Kathryn L. Taylor was elected the 38th Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 4, 2006, in the city's largest voter turnout for a mayoral election. She defeated Republican incumbent Mayor Bill Lafortune to become Tulsa's second female mayor, after Susan Savage first filled the post in 1992...

, who had previously served as Secretary of Commerce and Tourism for the state of Oklahoma

Oklahoma

Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

. Taylor, a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

, unseated Bill LaFortune

Bill LaFortune

William "Bill" LaFortune served as the 34th mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma from 2002 until 2006.Bill LaFortune's grandfather, Joseph LaFortune, was an oil executive and a noted philanthropist in Tulsa; his uncle, Robert J. LaFortune, was mayor of Tulsa from 1970 to 1978...

, a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

, in April 2006. The mayor serves a term of four years. The mayor is responsible for the day to day operations of the city and preparing a budget. The mayor names the police and fire chiefs.

Another former Tulsa mayor, Jim Inhofe

Jim Inhofe

James Mountain "Jim" Inhofe is the senior Senator from Oklahoma and a member of the Republican Party. First elected to the Senate in 1994, he is the ranking member of the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and was its chairman from 2003 to 2007. Inhofe served eight...

, now represents Oklahoma in the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

.

City Auditor

The current auditor of Tulsa is Preston Doerflinger

Preston Doerflinger

Preston Doerflinger is an American businessman and politician who currently serves as the Oklahoma Secretary of Finance and Revenue. Doerflinger was appointed by Governor of Oklahoma Mary Fallin on January 19, 2011...

. The auditor is elected independently of the City Council and Mayor to insure the auditor can act in an objective manner. Doerflinger, a Republican, was recently elected in 2009. The city auditor serves a term of two years.

Councilors

The current Chairman of the Tulsa City Council is Maria Barnes (District 4), and the Vice Chairman is Jim Mautino (District 6). This position rotates between parties and members.

Name	District	Party
Jack Henderson	District 1	D
Rick Westcott	District 2	R
Roscoe Turner	District 3	D
Maria Barnes	District 4	D
Chris Trail	District 5	R
Jim Mautino	District 6	R
John Eagleton	District 7	R
Bill Christiansen	District 8	R
G.T. Bynum	District 9	R

City Hall

Until 2007, City Hall was located in the civic center, a sector of downtown that included most governmental services, including the Federal Courthouse, Tulsa County Courthouse, Tulsa City-County Library, and The Convention Center. In 2007 Mayor Kathy Taylor proposed to move City Hall from its civic center location to One Technology Center, on the northwest corner of Second Street and Cincinnati. Taylor argued that a recent study showed the move would save $15.2 million over a 10-year period. Most of the savings would come from the new energy efficient building. The move would then allow the City Hall property to be redeveloped into possibly a new hotel to support the new BOK Center

BOK Center

The BOK Center, or Bank of Oklahoma Center, is a 19,100-seat multi-purpose arena and a primary indoor sports and event venue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States. Designed to accommodate arena football, hockey, basketball, concerts, and similar events, the facility was built at a cost of $178 million...

.

On July 12, 2007 the Tulsa City Council voted 8-1 to move the City Hall to One Technology Center.

Tulsa's first city office building was a two-story brick building constructed in 1906 at 211 West Second Street. Primarily intended as a fire station, it included administrative offices and a police station. The city jail was in the basement. The city quickly outgrew that facility and began renting office space in the privately-owned Reeder Building.

In 1917, Tulsa government offices moved into a much larger facility at Fourth and Cincinnati, formally called the Municipal Building to house city services. This served the city until the 1960's, when the Civic Center building was opened. The Municipal Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion C on July 18, 1975. Its NRIS number is 75001574.

External links

• City of Tulsa
• Tulsa City Council