Tulsa County Assessor John Wright Names Chief Deputy

Provided by Audrey Isabelle, Tulsa County Assessor’s Office

Tulsa County Assessor, John A. Wright, announces his appointment of Mark Liotta to the position of Chief Deputy County Assessor, effective immediately. Chief Deputy Liotta succeeds Leisa Weintraub, who will continue in her role as General Counsel to the Assessor.

Chief Deputies in all Oklahoma counties serve in various workday roles, but their primary, statutory responsibility is to serve in place of the elected official in all capacities if the elected official is temporarily out of the office’s jurisdiction or permanently leaves office for any reason.

Chief Deputy Liotta joined the Tulsa County Assessor’s office in September 2021 and immediately assumed the human resource director responsibilities. Just before joining the Assessor’s Office, Liotta completed a six-year term as Commissioner and Chairman of the Oklahoma State Workers’ Compensation Commission for which he was nominated by House Speaker Jeff Hickman, appointed by Governor Fallin and confirmed by the Oklahoma State Senate.

Additionally, Mark Liotta served in numerous leadership positions in Tulsa County and with the State of Oklahoma, starting with an 18-year career in the private sector with MESA Products of Tulsa, where he worked in construction, manufacturing, and finally as a Human Resources Generalist. Liotta served from 1985 to 1994 as a soldier and officer in Oklahoma’s 45th Infantry Brigade, and earned a B.S. in Human Resource Management from Southern Nazarene University.

He was then elected to five terms in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, where he represented northeast Tulsa from 1996 to 2006 and served as the elected House Republican Caucus Chairman.

During his decade in the Legislature, Liotta served in various leadership roles, including Appropriations Chair for General Government and Transportation, Assistant Floor Leader, Caucus Whip, and Presiding Officer of the House Floor. His legislative accomplishments include participation in negotiations for the creation of the Oklahoma State University (OSU) campus in Tulsa, authorship and passage of the Nation’s most stringent water source protection rules, and in 2006, the largest funding increase in history for both the State and County highway systems - without raising taxes or increasing debt.

Assessor Wright said, “Having served with Mark Liotta in similar positions as Legislators, I am aware of his significant experience in a number of roles in which he directly managed various levels of personnel. I have observed his passion for logical, professional, and respectful management, and his methodical development of people and systems. He comes to us directly from successfully reorganizing and developing the staff of a new State agency. My intent is for him to bring that experience, expertise, and record of success to this office for the citizens of Tulsa County.”

Liotta served five years as a member and Chairman of the Board of Health Choice, the State employee health insurance plan, and six years as a Commissioner on the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning Commission.

His previous experience with Tulsa County includes serving as Highway Superintendent in south Tulsa County, and as Chief Deputy County Commissioner 2009 - 2015. During this service, he stepped up to perform the duties of County Commissioner upon the early retirement of Commissioner Fred Perry, until the special election of Ron Peters to that post in 2013.

Liotta said, “I look forward to learning all aspects of the appraisal and assessment duties of the Assessor’s office, and to bringing cohesive and forward-looking development opportunities to the staff. I am already impressed with the professionalism of his employees, and the rigorous training efforts which Assessor Wright has developed, I hope to build on them. I’m glad to be back in Tulsa County.”

Chief Deputy Liotta will participate in the certification classes offered by OSU which are required of all County Officers and Chief Deputies.

The Tulsa County Assessor’s Office employs 85 staff members whose primary task is to annually appraise all 271,199 business, agricultural and residential parcels in Tulsa County for ad valorem purposes and apply property tax exemptions according to statute. They office in the Tulsa County Headquarters at 6th and Denver in downtown Tulsa, but operate several sub-offices at various times throughout the year. John Wright has served as the elected Assessor since 2018, after having served with the previous Assessor, Ken Yazel, for nearly a decade.

For more information, contact Audrey Isabelle, Tulsa County Assessor’s Office, (918) 596-5169.