John Fothergill, Brandon Shreffler compete to be the tax collector in Tulsa County treasurer race

Republican voters in Tulsa County will choose experience or a fresh face when selecting the county's next elected taxman in a June primary between incumbent John Fothergill and challenger Brandon Shreffler.

County treasurers are elected positions in Oklahoma, and they are focused on collecting property taxes, investing the county's spare funds and organizing the June property auction. Both Tulsa County candidates agreed to sit down for interviews ahead of the June 16 election to explain why they want to be the person most constituents only think about when they have a problem with their taxes.

"I tell everybody I'm infamous," Fothergill said. "Everybody knows my name, and they're usually cursing after they write the (tax) check. But we did a podcast -- (County Clerk) Mike Willis and I did -- where we talked about this very issue, and the only thing we can provide as elected officials is service."

Fothergill, who has been Tulsa County's treasurer since 2020, cited former Tulsa City Councilor Jeanie Cue as an inspiration.

"When you see somebody give pure service, it changes you, and ever since then it's been a calling," Fothergill said.

Shreffler, who ran unsuccessfully for the Owasso Public Schools Board in 2024 and the Owasso City Council in 2025, put a more positive spin on the question. While tax collectors are unpopular, he argued he would be more of a "watchdog."

"I have always wanted to serve my community, and I've done that running for school board, when I ran for city council, and when I served in the Navy," Shreffler said. "I want to be able to serve the Tulsa County taxpayers and be a watchdog for them."

With only registered Republicans in Tulsa County eligible to vote in the June 16 primary under Oklahoma's closed primary system, both candidates were asked why conservative and more moderate members of the GOP should support their campaign.

Fothergill argued he is a fiscal conservative who would not let politics interfere with his customer service focus in the treasurer's office.

"I've never asked a taxpayer what party they are in, and they've never asked me what party I am in. My decisions on the budget board are definitely -- I'm a very conservative, fiscally conservative person -- so on the budget board it influences my decisions there, but other than that, no. The customer service I provide is not political at all, nor should it ever be," Fothergill said. "I think I've got the experience and the heart to serve. I believe in doing my best to serve Tulsa County."

Shreffler argued that county treasurer offices work best when changes in leadership allow new eyes to focus on county finances.

"I believe the office is something that should be turned over every once in a while," Shreffler said. "A different set of eyes and way of managing. What the current treasurer does and how he manages money [compared to] another treasurer may be totally different."

Early voting is set to run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. June 11 and 12 and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 13, at the Tulsa County Election Board, along with the Tulsa Tech Center at 4600 S. Olive Ave. in Broken Arrow. Registered Republicans in the county will also select the next district attorney and the county commissioner for District 1.

Transparency, savings discussed in Tulsa County treasurer race

Asked the primary issue they are encountering on the campaign trail, Shreffler said he is focused on increasing the office's transparency.

"Transparency is going to be at the top of my list. If you look at counties near us, you can go to their website and see that their treasurers have done a good job of being more transparent," Shreffler said.

Fothergill argued his office is already transparent, noting that the online service county officials call OpenGov allows taxpayers to review the county's entire checkbook.

"We do what's called 'OpenGov' with the clerk's office, and through that OpenGov, we put our checkbook online. And so you can see where every penny is spent in Tulsa County," Fothergill said. "Everything is online, and everything is searchable."

Asked what other issues the county faces, Shreffler said he would like to find alternatives to lower the gross software costs paid by the treasurer's office.

"You don't see a lot of it, but there is a couple of things I would like to work on as far as cost-wise," Shreffler said. "All in, we're about $2.4 million for a cloud software that the treasurer uses, so that's definitely something I want to take a look at and see if we can do something differently there."

Fothergill said voters should remember the county treasurer is also like the "bank for the county," and he said his investments made the county $7 million last year.

"I'm also the bank for the county, so any of the money that we hold, we invest. This last fiscal year, we made almost $7 million in investment income, and so that's $7 million we don't have to ask the taxpayers of Tulsa County for the next year," Fothergill said.

U.S. Navy veteran, former Iraq War contractor facing off

Shreffler, a Muscogee Nation citizen, has spent most of his life in Tulsa County, outside of five years in the U.S. Navy where he was stationed in Georgia on the U.S.S. Wyoming. He graduated from Berryhill High School in 1999 and enlisted in the Navy after Sept. 11. After returning to Tulsa, he attended Tulsa Community College and graduated from Oklahoma State University's Tulsa campus. He also has a master's in business administration from Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

Shreffler worked as an accountant for several companies in Tulsa before being hired by Verizon in 2014, where he has worked since.

Fothergill was born in Enid and raised in Jenks, where he graduated high school. He attended Northeastern State University on a debate scholarship until he dropped out junior year to work at a lumberyard in Sand Springs.

In 2000, he started with KBR, Inc. in Kosovo shortly after the country's independence war, working as an administrator for construction work. After returning to Oklahoma, he again worked at the lumber yard until accepting another contracting job in 2004, ultimately living in Baghdad for a year. Fothergill was a civilian contractor stationed in a combat zone while in Iraq.

After returning to Oklahoma and getting married, Fothergill finished his finance degree from Northeastern State University. After graduation, he worked for the City of Tulsa for 12 years in various positions, such as its legislative liaison and later its director of constituent services.

Fothergill first entered office in 2013, when he was elected to the Sand Springs City Council. He served that office until 2016, when he became the deputy county commissioner for then-Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith. In January 2020, he left Keith's office to work as the chief deputy county treasurer under Republican Dennis Semler.

In October 2020, Semler retired after 25 years in office, and Fothergill became the acting treasurer. He won a February 2021 special election to succeed Semler and was reelected without opposition in 2022.