Mayor's Bio

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. Combining her business and legal background with her time in state government as Secretary of Commerce and Tourism, Mayor Taylor has infused this City with a new kind of energy. With the partnership of City councilors, Mayor Taylor has tackled the problems of public safety, government efficiency, education and economic development with an eye on making decisions based on measurable data, and using collaboration between normally disconnected groups to work toward goals for moving our region forward.

Bold moves such as consolidating city properties without raising taxes, developing a new Working in Neighborhoods division, installing performance measurements to measure the effective use of tax dollars, collaborating with the U.S. attorney to address the issues of gang violence, working to ensure city and state support of one of our most vibrant industries - the aerospace industry and in fact traveling half-way around the world at her own expense to sell the attributes of Tulsa and its aerospace industry to 600 international business executives in Delhi, India - this Mayor is making things happen.

Taylor was appointed by Governor Brad Henry in February 2003 to serve as Secretary of Commerce and Tourism. Her responsibilities as Secretary included overseeing the state economic development and tourism agencies, in addition to serving as the Executive Director of the Department of Commerce. Taylor was the first Commerce Secretary to be tasked with three state agencies - Commerce, Tourism and Workforce Development/Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. She also served as Governor Henry's Small Business Advocate for the State of Oklahoma.

Taylor comes to the office with a diverse and extensive business background, ranging from more than a decade in the transportation industry as a senior officer in a car rental company, as an owner and a member of the board for an international business, and in the franchise industry representing franchisors expanding in the United States, Europe and Asia. She also served as counsel to numerous small franchises. Consequently, she has the unique mix of experiences necessary to understand not only what motivates business decisions of multinational companies, but also understands the challenges of owning and managing your own business. 

Taylor has been active in numerous education and non-profit entities in Oklahoma. She has served on the board of directors of Sonic Industries, Dollar Car Rental, National Car Rental and the Grand River Dam Authority as well as a trustee for the OU Foundation. 

Taylor has been active with Gilcrease Museum, Resonance Support Center for Women, Domestic Violence Intervention Services, Tulsa Zoo Friends, Philbrook Museum of Art, and Community Service Council of Greater Tulsa. She has served as chair of two major fund-raising events - the Opera Ball and the Philbrook Wine Experience. She has also been appointed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors to the position of vice chair of the Jobs, Education and Workforce Standing Committee and received the Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition award for outstanding service as one of the state's leading public officials involved in promoting activities that reduce childhood obesity. Most recently, the Mayor's program "Operation Power Up" will be codified by FEMA and used as a nationwide model.

Her dedication has been recognized with numerous awards. She received the 2003 Pinnacle Award for Community Service from the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women, the 2003 Mona Lambird Spotlight Award from the Oklahoma Bar Association, and the 2004 Headliners Award from the Tulsa Press Club, she was a finalist for the Journal Record Woman of the Year, and she has also been awarded the 2007 Distinguished Public Official Award from the Oklahoma Fit Kids Coalition for improving the health of Oklahoma children and youth.

By virtue of her office she serves on numerous boards and commissions, including the Tulsa Airport Authority, Tulsa Parks and Recreation Board, Tulsa Authority for the Recovery of Energy, and the Tulsa Metropolitan Utility Authority.

Mayor Taylor can be emailed at: mayor@cityoftulsa.org