"As far as tax reduction issues, that remains to be seen," he said. "But, honestly, I don't know where we've got a couple of billion dollars in wasted spending."

State Sen. John Sparks agreed.

Sparks, a Norman Democrat completing his first term, said the power shift gives Republicans "the chance to set the agenda."

"I don't think we'll be in complete agreement on every issue," he said. "But the agenda now belongs to the GOP."

Sparks said he expected Republican leaders to "push many of the issues they brought up during the last couple of years."

"I think we'll see a lot of that," he said. "But everyone should be on the lookout to separate the rhetoric from the substance."

And while Sparks said he wasn't surprised by the announced changes in the Senate's professional staff, he said he didn't expect Senate leaders to behave like former House Speaker Todd Hiett.

"The word from the Republicans, so far, is that they were going to do 'wholesale firings right now,'" he said. "I would suspect that they learned a lot from former Speaker Todd Heitt, when he fired all the professional staff and there wasn't anyone there to take care of business."

But some staff members are already leaving.

Recently, State Election Board Secretary Mike Clingman announced he's moving to the Office of State Finance -- an agency controlled by the executive branch.

Clingman -- who serves a dual role as secretary of the state Senate and secretary of the Election Board -- is the first high profile staff member to leave since Republicans assumed control of the state Senate.

According to an Associated Press story, Clingman will provide budget and policy support to Gov. Brad Henry.

And while Sparks said he's sure Democrats and Republicans can work together, he said he's disappointed by some of the GOP's early rhetoric.

"Unfortunately it looks like their first move is complete spin," he said. "They sent out this big release about how they're saving money by cutting leadership staff, then secretaries salaries.' I guess what really disappointed me was they made a big deal about it, about how much they are saving the state by doing it on the backs of the staff. It's an attempt to make some political gain off of people who have done nothing but show up and worked hard every day."

Sparks isn't alone in his concern.