Steve Burrage (born July 7, 1952) is an American politician from Oklahoma and the Chairman of the

Oklahoma Tax Commission The Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC) is the Oklahoma state government agency that collects taxes and enforces the taxation and revenue laws of the state. The Commission is composed of three members appointed by the Governor of Oklahoma and confirmed ...

. Burrage served as

Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector The Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector is an elected Constitutional officer for the U.S. State of Oklahoma. The State Auditor and Inspector is responsible for auditing and prescribing bookkeeping standards of all government agencies and count ...

upon his appointment to that post by Governor Brad Henry on July 10, 2008, filling the vacancy created by the resignation of former state auditor Jeff McMahan. Burrage served until his defeat in the 2010 general election by

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Gary Jones.

Early life

Steve Burrage was born in Durant, Oklahoma. A member of the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

, he is the brother of former U.S. District Court judge, Michael Burrage, and the uncle of former Oklahoma state senator, Sean Burrage. In 1975, he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. Following his graduation from college, he attained licensure as a certified public accountant in Oklahoma. He began his professional career as a partner in the C.P.A. firm of Burgess and Burrage from 1977 to 1982. In 1982, he joined FirstBank of

Antlers, Oklahoma Antlers is a city in and the county seat of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,453 at the 2010 census, a 3.9 percent decline from 2,552 in 2000. The town was named for a kind of tree that becomes festooned with antl ...

, serving as president and CEO from then until 1984, when he assumed additional duties as chairman of the board. He served as president until 1990, as CEO until 2005, and as chairman of the board until 2008.

Political career

Upon accepting his appointment as state auditor and inspector, he announced that he would seek a full term in the 2010 election if he felt he had had success.McNutt, Michael
"Antlers banker named state auditor."
NewsOk.com, July 10, 2008. (accessed October 13, 2009). In that election, he was defeated by Republican Gary Jones. Burrage's office audited the

Wagoner, Oklahoma Wagoner is a city in Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Wagoner County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 8,323 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census,CensusViewer: Population of the City of Wagoner, Oklahoma. Retrieved March 16, 201/ref> c ...

school district and identified $270,000 missing from the district's child nutrition program from 2005 to 2009.McMahan, Liz,
Audit: $270K gone from Wagoner schools
" ''Muskogee Phoenix'', May 12, 2010. Following completion of his service as state auditor and inspector in January, 2011, he re-joined FirstBank as chairman of the board, and is a former board member of the Oklahoma Policy Institute. In June, 2012, he was appointed to the Oklahoma Board of Corrections by Governor

Mary Fallin Mary Fallin (; née Copeland; born December 9, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 27th governor of Oklahoma from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, she was elected in 2010 and reelected in 2014. She was the first and s ...

. In January 2015, Governor

named Burrage to serve on the

to succeed Jerry Johnson, who was retiring. Fallin also named Burrage as the Chairman of the Commission in July 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burrage, Steve 1952 births Living people State Auditors of Oklahoma Oklahoma Democrats Native American politicians Candidates in the 2010 United States elections 21st-century American politicians People from Durant, Oklahoma People from Antlers, Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma politicians University of Oklahoma alumni 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans