Steve Lewis is former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma. He graduated from Oklahoma Baptist University then received his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma. While at OU Mr. Lewis was a member of Phi Delta Phi Legal Fraternity and won the practice court award for best presentation of a jury trial.
Mr. Lewis served in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. For three years he was Station Legal Officer for the U.S. Naval Station, Sangley Point, Luzon, Republic of the Philippines. He returned to Shawnee after serving in the Navy and was an Assistant District Attorney and the elected District Attorney in Pottawatomie and Lincoln Counties between 1971 and 1979 where he tried numerous jury trials.
Mr. Lewis was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in the fall of 1980 and was immediately appointed Vice-Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee. He was appointed Chairman of the Criminal Justice Committee in 1982. In 1983, after only three years in the House, he was appointed Chairman of the House Appropriations and Budget Committee where he served for five years. He, along with his Senate counterpart, was primarily responsible for crafting a state budget during the mid and late 1980’s, one of the rockiest periods in Oklahoma’s history. In 1989, Mr. Lewis was elected Speaker, and served in that office in 1989 and 1990.
Mr. Lewis’ legislative career is probably best noted for HB 1017, the education reform and revenue act which he authored and helped push through the legislative process in 1989 and 1990. The law was retained after an effort to repeal it was defeated by a vote of the people in 1991. Mr. Lewis also authored and gained passage of a measure reforming the state’s ad valorem tax system which had been riddled with inequities since statehood. He also authored and gained passage of measures reforming the investment practices and oversight of the state’s retirement systems and of the state’s cash management practices. These measures have produced millions of dollars in non-tax revenue to both the state’s retirement systems and general fund. He also authored and supported numerous other legislative measures in the areas of economic development, education, heath care and criminal and juvenile justice.
In 1993 Mr. Lewis was appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma where, for over seven years, he supervised the trial of numerous federal criminal and civil cases on behalf of the government. Mr. Lewis tried a number of complex white collar criminal trials and argued cases before the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. While U.S. Attorney, he served two years on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, a group which meets monthly with the U.S. Attorney General on various matters involving criminal and civil policy issues in the federal judicial system.
Mr. Lewis has served in numerous civic capacities. He was president of the Pottawatomie County Bar Association and is currently a member of the Oklahoma and Tulsa County Bar Associations. He was president of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Association and chair of the Oklahoma District Attorneys Council. In 2001 he served as Chair of the City of Tulsa Redistricting Commission which redrew the district boundaries for Tulsa City Councilors after the 2000 federal census. Mr. Lewis is an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church currently assigned to St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church. He served as chair of the board for the Crossroads Academy, an after school program for at risk children and as a member of the boards of Greenwood Cultural Center, Youth Services of Tulsa and Tulsa CASA, Inc. He also chaired the OSU College of Osteopathic Medicine Advisory Committee for Graduate Programs in Forensic Sciences. He is currently on the board of ACTION Tulsa.
Mr. Lewis’ lobbying practice includes business, social service, mental health, medical and legal professional entities and associations.