Michael Willis

What the clerk can decide

Willis directs an office whose FY 2026–2027 budget describes six divisions: real estate services, payroll, budget, financial services, accounting, and administration and support. They preserve deeds and other filed instruments, process county payroll and invoices, prepare financial reports, reconcile accounts, and maintain the records of several county boards. The office’s reach is countywide, beyond Tulsa’s municipal boundary. The clerk is also a voting Budget Board member and its secretary, and a member and secretary of the county retirement board. Those seats add collective fiscal responsibilities to his administrative duties.

From public administration to elected office

Willis grew up in West Tulsa and Sapulpa. His official biography says he earned a BA in Public Affairs and Administration and a Master of Public Administration at the University of Oklahoma. Tulsa Community College’s 2020 alumni feature traces his college study to Liberal Arts classes begun there in 1997 while attending Sapulpa High School. The college describes earlier work as director of government relations in the Tulsa mayor’s office and as county public information officer and chief deputy county commissioner. His clerk biography places the latter county service at nearly seven years before his first election. Exact degree dates and the boundaries of the earlier city appointment are not stated in those accounts.

Career & public service

1. 1997

   College study

   Began Liberal Arts classes at TCC while a Sapulpa High School senior.

   TCC — Michael Willis, M.P.A. ↗
2. Before 2016

   County administration

   Chief deputy county commissioner and public information officer for nearly seven years, according to his biography.

   Michael Willis biography ↗
3. FY 2015–16

   State juvenile-affairs board

   Listed on the agency board and several committees.

   Office of Juvenile Affairs FY2015–16 performance report ↗
4. January 2017

   County Clerk

   Entered elected office after winning inJune 2016.

   Michael Willis biography ↗
5. ByMay 2017

   State board departure

   Governor’s release records his resignation; exact departure date is unstated.

   Governor’s Office — Board of Juvenile Affairs appointments ↗
6. October 2020

   LOCCAT launch

   Reporting documents the three-office property-record tool.

   Tulsa Beacon — Improved access to county records ↗
7. November 2024

   Reelection

   Public Radio Tulsa reports a win over Don Nuam.

   Public Radio Tulsa — November5 election results ↗
8. FY 2026–27

   Current budget responsibilities

   Budget book identifies Willis as clerk and Budget Board secretary.

   Tulsa County FY2026–2027 annual budget ↗

People, institutions and the relationships between them

Following the connections

Each step below represents a documented relationship. Dates and roles belong to the individual links; a path can span different periods.

Documented relationships

11 documented relationships · Historical and current roles remain distinct.

Where the authority stops

The county clerk and court clerk are separate offices. Court cases and district-court proceedings belong to the court clerk. Nor does recording county business give Willis the commissioners’ decision-making powers. OSU Extension explains that the clerk reviews payment claims and prepares warrants, while the commissioners approve claims and the treasurer handles the corresponding treasury functions. Budget authority is distributed among the Budget Board and the county’s statutory fiscal review process. The clerk’s own Budget and Finance page expressly makes its preparation and management of the general-fund budget subject to Budget Board approval. A secretary’s record of another board’s action should not be read as his personal vote on it.

Making property records easier to use

The LOCCAT tool illustrates how the office links separate institutions. Tulsa Beacon reported its launch inOctober 2020 as a free service combining the clerk’s deeds, the assessor’s property valuations and the treasurer’s tax information. The article describes a joint effort by the three offices, funded and offered by the clerk. The clerk’s transparency page also dates the county’s OpenGov partnership to 2017 and credits several elected officials and managers. It provides a way to inspect budgeted and actual revenues and expenditures. These are documented access initiatives; their existence alone does not measure how complete or usable every underlying record is.

A fraud alert with a defined limit

RecordRadar offers free email alerts for documents associated with registered names or parcels. The official FAQ says alerts follow indexing and verification, typically three to five days after recording. It warns that common names can generate unrelated matches and that the service is not foolproof. It explicitly cannot stop documents from being recorded. InNovember 2025, Tulsa Flyer reported on a new fraudulent-conveyance notice process and quoted Willis discussing cooperation with law enforcement. That reporting describes his stated enforcement priorities; it does not establish a number of investigations, prosecutions or successful recoveries. The office’s notification function remains distinct from deciding title disputes or prosecuting fraud.

Regional planning and airport development

INCOG’s April 17,2026 roster identifies Willis as a Tulsa County director. Tulsa Airports separately lists him on the Tulsa International Airport Development Trust, whose stated remit is economic development around the airport through its project plan and tax-increment districts. That is a distinct body from the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust and Tulsa Municipal Airport Trust, which have their own rosters and purposes. The airport-development seat places him in a joint city–county setting; membership establishes participation in that board, not unilateral control over airport operations or all airport financing.

Banking, education and earlier state service

Willis’s official biography reports membership on American Bank & Trust’s board and executive committee. The bank traces its Oklahoma charter to1971 and its adoption of trust powers and current name to1983. The biography also identifies service with the Tulsa Sports Commission and the OU public-administration advisory board, and reserve service with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office. These reported affiliations establish connections; they do not establish bank ownership, compensation or a county banking contract. CODA independently lists him as a board member of its statewide association of county officers and deputies. A state agency performance report places him on the Office of Juvenile Affairs board inFY 2015–16, including its finance and education committees and as Rates and Standards chair. A May 10,2017 governor’s release says he had resigned. That state role is historical.

Civic and educational ties

TCC’s 2020 feature describes Willis as a guest speaker in its management and leadership classes, a Leadership Tulsa Class34 graduate and the recipient of its 2018 public-service Paragon Award. It also records his Rotary Club of Tulsa involvement and Cherokee Nation citizenship. These dated institutional descriptions explain part of his educational and civic setting. They do not establish a tribal-government office or authority to speak for the Nation.

Elections, endorsements and criticism

First elected inJune 2016, Willis entered office inJanuary 2017. Public Radio Tulsa’s November 5,2024 results coverage records his reelection as a Republican against Democrat Don Nuam; this profile does not substitute its election-night figures for a certified tally. In an October 2024 opinion column endorsing Willis, Michael Bates also reported that Willis supported Karen Keith in the Tulsa mayoral runoff. Bates praised expanded online access but criticized the availability of supporting documents for county agenda items. That is a named commentator’s assessment, not an adjudicated finding. Tulsa Realtors’ undated RPAC-supported-candidates page lists Willis for County Clerk; the page alone establishes neither a contribution amount nor its payment date.

Check the record

Sources & corrections

Research checked 2026-10-06. Roles and financial figures retain their source dates. Sections appear only when supported material is available; an omitted section is not a finding that no such relationship exists.

1. Michael Willis biography ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-06

   Biography

2. About the County Clerk’s Office ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-06

   Functions of the County Clerk

3. RecordRadar frequently asked questions ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-06

   Limits, timing and matching rules

4. Budget and Finance Division ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-06

   Division responsibilities

5. Tulsa County Transparency Initiative ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-06

   OpenGov and 2017 project

6. Tulsa County FY2026–2027 annual budget ↗

   primary · Source date 2026-06-08 · Checked 2026-10-06

   Printed pp1–2,9,54–55; PDF pp3–4,11,56–57

7. TCC — Michael Willis, M.P.A. ↗

   primary · Source date 2020-05-05 · Checked 2026-10-06

   Notable alumni feature

8. OSU Extension — duties of elected county officials ↗

   primary · Source date 2020-05 · Checked 2026-10-06

   County Clerk; Board of County Commissioners; Court Clerk

9. Tulsa Airports — board meetings and rosters ↗

   primary · Checked 2026-10-06

   Tulsa International Airport Development Trust; do not confuse with TAIT/TMAT

10. INCOG board of directors ↗

    primary · Source date 2026-04-17 · Checked 2026-10-06

    Tulsa County: Michael Willis, County Clerk; roster dated4/17/2026

11. County Officers and Deputies Association — organization ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-06

    Our Officers: Michael Willis, board member

12. Office of Juvenile Affairs FY2015–16 performance report ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-06

    p1 board and committees

13. Governor’s Office — Board of Juvenile Affairs appointments ↗

    primary · Source date 2017-05-10 · Checked 2026-10-06

    Jason Nelson replacing Michael Willis, who resigned

14. Phillip Jackson — Title theft victims now have more protections ↗

    reporting · Source date 2025-11-13 · Checked 2026-10-06

    Willis interview and notice/referral process

15. Tulsa Beacon — Improved access to county records ↗

    reporting · Source date 2020-10-08 · Checked 2026-10-06

    LOCCAT launch and three-office cooperation

16. Public Radio Tulsa — November5 election results ↗

    reporting · Source date 2024-11-05 · Checked 2026-10-06

    County Clerk; election-night results, not final certified tally

17. Michael Bates — Willis for County Clerk ↗

    reporting · Source date 2024-10-18 · Checked 2026-10-06

    Opinion endorsement; reported Keith endorsement; agenda-backup criticism

18. Tulsa Realtors — RPAC-supported candidates ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-06

    Michael Willis for Tulsa County Clerk; page undated

19. American Bank & Trust — About Us ↗

    primary · Checked 2026-10-06

    1971 charter; 1983 trust powers and name change