Safeguarding Oklahomans

By: J. David Chapman/October 4, 2018

I am writing this week’s column while in St. Louis at the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials’ annual conference.

I will attend ARELLO’s annual Commissioner College. Commissioner College is an educational program designed to prepare new real estate commissioners, like myself, for the unique role as regulatory decision-makers protecting the public interests in real estate matters.

I doubt many reading this column truly understand the role of the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission. The commission is composed of seven members appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, to serve a term of four years. Five members are licensed real estate brokers who have had at least five years’ active experience as a real estate broker prior to their appointment, one member is a lay person not in the real estate business, and one member is a representative of an approved real estate school located within Oklahoma. No more than two members may be appointed from the same congressional district.

The mission of the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission is to safeguard the public interest and provide quality services by assisting and providing resources; encouraging and requiring high standards of knowledge and ethical practices of licensees; investigating and sanctioning licensed activities; and prosecution of any unlicensed person who violates the Oklahoma License Code and Rules.

Douglas Emde is the newly elected chairman of OREC and is a broker member from Stillwater (District 3). Rodger Erker is a broker member from Tulsa (District 1). Erker has had a distinguished career in residential real estate and is currently with McGraw Realtors. Julie Tetsworth is also a broker member and from Tulsa (District 1). Tetsworth is a residential Realtor with Caldwell Banker Select. Steve Burris is a broker member from Yukon (District 3) and is the founder of Kevo Properties. I am the fifth broker member, from Edmond (District 5), the founder of Realty1, and professor at the University of Central Oklahoma. The two outside members are Mack Barnes, a second-generation commissioner with the Charles Barnes School of Real Estate, and Monica Wittrock, attorney and former president of First American Title. Barnes is from Moore (District 4) and Wittrock is from Edmond (District 5). The executive director of OREC is Charla J. Slabotsky.

J. David Chapman is an associate professor of finance and real estate at the University of Central Oklahoma (jchapman7@uco.edu).