Gov. Mary Fallin has named a former state senator from Tulsa as her new general counsel.
Fallin said Thursday that former Sen. James Williamson will start his new duties on Tuesday. He replaces Jennifer Chance, who announced her resignation earlier this month.
Williamson served in both the Oklahoma House and Senate. From 1980 through 1986, he represented the southeast part of Tulsa and Broken Arrow in the House. He was elected in 1996 to the Senate, where he represented part of Tulsa and Jenks until 2008.
He served as assistant Republican floor leader from 1998 to 2002 and as floor leader in 2003 and 2004.
From 2010 to 2012, Williamson served as senior policy analyst and chief legal counsel to then-Senate President Pro Tems Glenn Coffee and Brian Bingman.