OKLAHOMA CITY - Without providing an explanation, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission fired Brandy Wreath as the agency’s director of administration, a position he held for the last two years.
The major question of “why?” was left unanswered and the three commissioners gave no hint or reason for Wreath’s termination on Dec. 30.
The commission took the formal action in a public meeting after a 3.5-hour executive session.
Commission Chair Kim David made the motion to “proceed with termination” of the director but did not state Wreath’s name. The commission vote was 3-0 as Commissioners Todd Hiett and Brian Bingman joined her in the move.
David stated publicly the commission held a discussion of “several options” during its executive session and she moved in support of “confidential severance options.” The vote to support was 3-0.
Then David said the commission also discussed the hiring of an interim director at a “commensurate salary” of the director’s position. Commissioners voted 3-0 for the hiring but did not indicate who might take the position.
After the commission adjourned the meeting, Bingman and Hiett quickly departed while David was the last to leave the public session.
Wreath indicated that when he met briefly with the Corporation Commission before he was fired, the three commissioners offered no explanation.
“They didn’t say anything,” he told the news outlet NonDoc. “They just said that I could resign or they would terminate me, and either way, there was the severance package that they’d do on the separation.”
Oklahoma is an “at will” state. An employer can terminate employment for any reason, at any time, provided that it is not illegal.
Wreath joined the commission in 2006, serving as a Public Utility Division senior auditor and expert witness in multiple public utility cases. As PUD’s chief of energy, Wreath was appointed to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ (NARUC) subcommittee on natural gas. He has represented NARUC as an international delegate to India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Resource Board.
Wreath was appointed director of administration and appointing authority for the OCC in June 2022 after 10 years as the PUD director. As Director, Wreath was responsible for the agency’s day-today operations, including its four core divisions, overseeing an annual budget of $68 million, and redefining the agency’s workplace culture for its more than 550 employees, regulated companies, and Oklahoma’s four million-plus consumers.
Prior to joining the commission, Wreath worked in the banking industry, serving in sales, service, and management capacities. He graduated magna cum laude from Mid America University in 1998 with a B.S. in business management and ethics.
In October, Wreath went before an Oklahoma House of Representatives interim study that examined the Corporation Commission’s regulation of the state’s oil and gas industry, including workforce challenges, orphan well plugging and seismic activity. Rep. Nick Archer, R-Elk City, led the study that he said was designed to give legislators and stakeholders a clear look at the OCC’s current operations, regulatory responsibilities and funding concerns.
A press release issued after the hearing stated, “One of the study’s central topics was delays to the protest docket, which is OCC’s process for hearing contested oil and gas cases. OCC Director of Administration Brandy Wreath said frequent continuances, attorney scheduling conflicts and a shortage of court reporters and judges have slowed the docket significantly. Since these cases can involve major projects and millions in production, delays on the protest docket can have a significant economic impact.”
Wreath added that court reporters and judges who work on the protest docket are “grossly underpaid” and he planned to ask for a legislative carveout to pay competitive salaries.
The committee also reviewed induced seismicity and regulatory strategies. Wreath said that the OCC, industry leaders and legislators need to work together to determine policies moving forward.
A spokesman for the Corporation Commission said after Wreath’s firing that his remarks “were not about challenges agency-wide or pertaining to the Public Utility Division. The interim study was focused on the Oil and Gas Conservation Division, which is mostly funded through state appropriations.” OCC experienced a 2%
cut in annual appropriations for FY 2026.
In September, Wreath told House members that recent challenges stemmed from staffing shortages.