Mark McCullough (born August 7, 1967) is an American businessman, lawyer, and Republican politician from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. McCullough represented the 30th district in the

Oklahoma House of Representatives The Oklahoma House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Its members introduce and vote on bills and resolutions, provide legislative oversight for state agencies, and help to craft the state's ...

from 2006 until 2017. House District 30 encompasses

Sapulpa Sapulpa is a city in and the county seat of Creek County, extending partly into Tulsa County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 21,929 at the time of the 2020 census, compared with 20,544 at the 2010 census. History Early hi ...

Mounds A mound is an artificial heap or pile, especially of earth, rocks, or sand. Mound and Mounds may also refer to: Places * Mound, Louisiana, United States * Mound, Minnesota, United States * Mound, Texas, United States * Mound, West Virginia * Moun ...

, Kiefer, Glenpool, Bixby, and outlying areas. McCullough has been appointed chairman of the Appropriations and Budget Judiciary for the First Regular Session of the 54th Oklahoma Legislature.

Early life

Mark McCullough was born in

Sapulpa, Oklahoma Sapulpa is a city in and the county seat of Creek County, Oklahoma, Creek County, extending partly into Tulsa County, Oklahoma, Tulsa County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 21,929 at the time of the 2020 United States census, ...

on August 7, 1967. McCullough graduated from

Sapulpa High School Sapulpa High School is a public high school in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, United States serving 1,020 students in grades 10–12. 66% of the students are white, while 5% are black, 5% are Hispanic and 24% are American Indian. Athletics Sapulpa High Sch ...

in 1985 and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in agriculture from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

(OSU) in 1989. After receiving a master's degree in

technology education Technology education is the study of technology, in which students "learn about the processes and knowledge related to technology". As a field of study, it covers the human's ability to shape and change the physical world to meet needs, by mani ...

from OSU in 1992, McCullough joined the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...

.Campaign Website
McCullough was stationed in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

, as a high school teacher.

Law career

Mark McCullough earned a JD in 1998 from the

University of Tulsa College of Law The University of Tulsa College of Law is the law school of the private University of Tulsa in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For 2023, ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked the University of Tulsa College of Law at No. 111 among all law schools in the United S ...

and served as an Assistant

Attorney General of Illinois The Illinois attorney general is the highest legal officer of the state of Illinois in the United States. Originally an appointed office, it is now an office filled by statewide election. Based in Chicago and Springfield, the attorney general ...

. In 2001, McCullough began work as deputy

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

in the

Special Victims Unit A Special Victims Unit (SVU), also known as a Special Victims Division, is a specialized branch within some law enforcement agencies, typically police departments. These units focus on cases involving vulnerable or high-risk victims. Detectiv ...

of the

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana Prosecutor's Office. Upon being elected to the legislature in 2006, McCullough opened up a solo law practice in Sapulpa concentrating in

estate planning Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging for the management and disposal of a person's Estate (law), estate during the person's life in preparation for future incapacity or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to ...

State representative

In July 2006, Mark McCullough faced a three-way Republican primary. McCullough won the primary and advanced to the general election where he defeated Democratic Party candidate Melinda Johnson Ryan. McCullough became only the second Republican in the history of House District 30 to be elected to the legislature. In 2008, McCullough sought re-election and faced-off against former Sapulpa Public Schools

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

, Joe Crowder. McCullough won re-election, defeating the Democratic Party challenger 63 to 37 percent. In 2010 general election, McCullough received the largest percentage of vote for a Republican in the history of the district, defeating Donna Marie Vogelpohl 76 to 24 percent. In 2012, Rep. McCullough ran unopposed.

Committee memberships

As of the 54th Oklahoma Legislature, Mark McCullough is a member of the following committees: * A&B Judiciary, Chair

Legislation

McCullough has actively pushed for legislation to streamline state services directed at preserving Oklahoma's families and lowering the cost of family fragmentation to the state. In addition, McCullough has authored several measures targeted towards reforming Oklahoma's

Workers' Compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

System. In an effort to reduce legal costs and provide greater

government transparency Open government is the governing doctrine which maintains that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. In its broadest construction, it opposes reason of state a ...

, the Sapulpa attorney has also put forth numerous proposals aimed at reforming the way the state handles legal services, particularly the hiring of outside attorneys. McCullough has also authored several bills focused on recycling and waste management. In 2010, the Republican introduced 22 bills and resolutions, but none became law. McCullough said, "We set this up to be intentionally difficult."Representative says passing bills is supposed to be difficult , Tulsa World
/ref> In 2012, Rep. McCullough proposed filing legislation that would allow CLEET-certified teachers and principals to carry firearms.

Personal life

McCullough has a wife named Charlotte, and they have two children: Everett and Clayton. The McCulloughs are active members of Sapulpa First

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Church. McCullough is also a member of the Oklahoma

Bar Association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

, Sapulpa

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

, Creek County Bar Association, and the Sapulpa Parenting Education Program.

Election history

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCullough, Mark 1967 births People from Sapulpa, Oklahoma Government of Oklahoma Republican Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives 21st-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature Oklahoma State University alumni University of Tulsa College of Law alumni Living people Baptists from Oklahoma