Gov. Dewey Bartlett

The second Republican governor of Oklahoma was the late Dewey Bartlett, a native of Marietta, Ohio. He was first elected to the state Senate in 1962 and reelected in 1964. He served as governor from Jan. 9, 1967, to Jan. 11, 1971, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972.

Gov. Bartlett was instrumental in the creation of Oklahoma’s vo-tech system. His commitment to improve the quality of life through the creation of jobs was evident in his efforts to link vo-tech education and economic development in the state of Oklahoma. He also supported the creation of a state board for vocational education, independent of the Education Department’s state board.