I'll watch the video. I tell the truth and say what I think, so if I agree with him I have no problem saying it. Thus, I have no idea why you would think I couldn't say the above with a straight face, especially if a bunch of what I said was said. If he has great data about Oklahoma City, understands MAPS and is using facts relative to the current economy, I'm interested.

Cornett would probably charge for refreshments.

This is all you've got? Lame, Edgar, as usual.

I presume you mean a video of the talk held out at the hotel at eastern and reno on Thursday?
Would that be a video of the speaker who in a nutshell thinks any community building a convention centers is off their rocker a tad?
And would that speaker also be an author selling a book on the same topic?

Or might you be referring to some video with information that comes from a neutral source?
Yes, I jest. No one pitches neutral position videos these days.

Will OKC survive without a convention center? Sure, no issue about that from my corner of the prairie.

Did the folks who voted for MAPs 3 know their elected leaders would pitch a convention center in two phases, only one from MAPs 3, if the tax was approved? Sure, no issue about that from my corner of the prairie. If someone claims being confused, it's pretty much on that person. If folks like me with only curiosity in the game could tell it, when no one was trying to court my non-vote one way or the other, members of the voting public can scarcely claim a lack of knowledge.

Did the folks who voted for MAPs 3 know their elected leaders would entertain pitches about a new designated hotel for a new convention center, not to be perhaps subsidized, though if so, not from MAPs 3, but from some other unnamed source? Again, if someone claims being confused, it's pretty much on that person. If folks like me with only curiosity in the game could tell this was something to be decided at a later time, and not from the M3 dollars, when no one was trying to court my non-vote one way or the other, members of the voting public can scarcely claim a lack of knowledge unless they first acknowledge their own lack of interest.

The O M G attitudes of matters being hidden, of being hood winked, of being deceived, it all rings oh so hollow as bad political theater. But yeah, if I were this particular challenger, I'd probably want folks worked up over a false issue than have folks looking too closer at real issues like a lack of vision, a lack of a plan, and multiple questions of character and veracity.

It's all theater. bad theater at that. But theater none the less.

I presume you mean a video of the talk held out at the hotel at eastern and reno on Thursday?
Would that be a video of the speaker who in a nutshell thinks any community building a convention centers is off their rocker a tad?
And would that speaker also be an author selling a book on the same topic?


It is amazing how Shadid can rail against bias consultants and then treat Haywood Sanders like he is the opinion that matters. Sanders is as every bit as biased as all those consultants the Shadid people are screaming about.

Less information is better. Got it. Better still if it only comes from one biased side, the Build Anything and Everything and They Will Come side.

I'll watch the video. I tell the truth and say what I think, so if I agree with him I have no problem saying it. Thus, I have no idea why you would think I couldn't say the above with a straight face, especially if a bunch of what I said was said. If he has great data about Oklahoma City, understands MAPS and is using facts relative to the current economy, I'm interested.

Naw. You'll cherry pick it, assign intent not spoken and try to reframe the conversation into a Mick message. Time will tell.

Are we reading the same posts, mkjeeves? If someone says consultants from both sides are biased, that means that person thinks "less information is better"? I'm not getting that when I read the post. I think it's almost impossible to remove bias, and that applies to you, me, Mr. Sanders and any other consultant. Your summations of other people's posts seem designed to distort what they said, which perhaps represents your bias.

Everyone here has an open mind with just the correct amount of healthy skepticism for the material they haven't seen. That's obvious to a casual observer. No issue.

I presume you mean a video of the talk held out at the hotel at eastern and reno on Thursday?
Would that be a video of the speaker who in a nutshell thinks any community building a convention centers is off their rocker a tad?
And would that speaker also be an author selling a book on the same topic?

Or might you be referring to some video with information that comes from a neutral source?
Yes, I jest. No one pitches neutral position videos these days.

Will OKC survive without a convention center? Sure, no issue about that from my corner of the prairie.

Did the folks who voted for MAPs 3 know their elected leaders would pitch a convention center in two phases, only one from MAPs 3, if the tax was approved? Sure, no issue about that from my corner of the prairie. If someone claims being confused, it's pretty much on that person. If folks like me with only curiosity in the game could tell it, when no one was trying to court my non-vote one way or the other, members of the voting public can scarcely claim a lack of knowledge.

Did the folks who voted for MAPs 3 know their elected leaders would entertain pitches about a new designated hotel for a new convention center, not to be perhaps subsidized, though if so, not from MAPs 3, but from some other unnamed source? Again, if someone claims being confused, it's pretty much on that person. If folks like me with only curiosity in the game could tell this was something to be decided at a later time, and not from the M3 dollars, when no one was trying to court my non-vote one way or the other, members of the voting public can scarcely claim a lack of knowledge unless they first acknowledge their own lack of interest.

The O M G attitudes of matters being hidden, of being hood winked, of being deceived, it all rings oh so hollow as bad political theater. But yeah, if I were this particular challenger, I'd probably want folks worked up over a false issue than have folks looking too closer at real issues like a lack of vision, a lack of a plan, and multiple questions of character and veracity.

It's all theater. bad theater at that. But theater none the less.

The bad theater was all the big windies coming out of the mayor's office. Guess it's the fault of anyone duped by Cornett's bs for being so gullible. You can't spin the stank out of the MAPSIII con.

I'm becoming more convince that Edgar is actually a MC plant, because he says more to benefit the Mayor and hurt Ed, each time he posts...

Edgar,

The problem I have with you is that your nonsense has been dis proven over and over and over again. You come on here and spew crap.... kind of like Steve Hunt used too.

I've decided you're about as jacked up as Ed.......SMH

I admire the effort though....

And we've got another one !

And why would someone want to attend something the good doctor puts on ? You know he is dishonest which gives way to him having very little substance.

Ed's minions remind me of the little creatures off the Island of Doctor Moreau

http://diaboliquemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/rsz_island-of-dr-moreau_610-480x330.jpg

:bow::bow::bow:ALL PRAISE THE GOOD DOCTOR FOR HE GIVES US LIFE :bow::bow::bow:

Ed's minions remind me of the little creatures off the Island of Doctor Moreau

http://diaboliquemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/rsz_island-of-dr-moreau_610-480x330.jpg

:bow::bow::bow:ALL PRAISE THE GOOD DOCTOR FOR HE GIVES US LIFE :bow::bow::bow:

Oompa Loompa, do-ba-dee-doo,
I’ve got a perfect puzzle for you.
Oompa Loompa, do-ba-dee-dee,
If you are wise you’ll listen to me.

So are the projected costs put out by Shadid's campaign.That's what you do in politics. Everyone does it. You exaggerate numbers just a little bit to favor you points without completely lying to people. Mick will do it just as fast as Ed does. The difference is, Mick doesn't purposely try to mislead people and flat out lie hoping it will turn out in his favor. Mick is one the most honest politicians I've ever seen and without him, we would NOT have the Thunder or be where we are today.

All I am going to say is, I would support up to 600million dollars(after all said and done) to spend to build out this convention center. It needs to be built and the Cox Center torn down and divided up with the grid restored.

It is amazing how Shadid can rail against bias consultants and then treat Haywood Sanders like he is the opinion that matters. Sanders is as every bit as biased as all those consultants the Shadid people are screaming about.

Now that I've read his papers I feel like I can definitively say that Sanders is biased. No surprise there. We all tend to ignore facts that don't support our thesis and focus on those that do. He is actually honest enough in what I read to admit that there are successful convention centers and hotels, but he doesn't generally tell you which ones or how many and he doesn't really use that information in his summation. He also suggests that the real reason behind convention centers is property holders downtown wanting to keep their property values high. There's certainly the suggestion in his writing that he thinks focusing on downtown is not good for a city. He didn't use the word plutocrat, but there's definitely a less than subtle anti-business bias. Again, looking at the theme of his work, there's no big surprise there.

He wrote a few articles with some basic data gathering and it has had the gratifying effect of making him the convention center guru. I suspect most of the journalists who quote him haven't read his articles or questioned his data so he's gotten to ride a wave of notoriety for the past 10-15 years. I wonder if Ed read them and applied the same exquisite scrutiny to them that he paid to the convention hotel consultant (who's presentation I still need to read). Most likely, there's hot air on both sides, as I have and will continue to maintain.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTpRd_y35O_8DQlkxSTTGV4ZhsgCU7ZW 9FW7lsolSTxiUG6mKV4
Understand the importance of being afforded a 'say' in how we run our government.

Exercise your right to vote and use it. It's your right to vote; those who don't go to the polls, don't complain...



http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif "Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ... as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif

... those who don't go to the polls, don't complain...
...

Unless of course one decides to run for mayor. Then acting like those who voted in the majority were clueless rubes is apparently considered mere campaign strategy

Unless of course one decides to run for mayor. Then acting like those who voted in the majority were clueless rubes is apparently considered mere campaign strategy

I think you've become my favorite poster on this board.

The mayor did great past night on PBS. I was particularly thrilled that they used a current background nighttime shot for our city.

You gotta watch this. It is Presidential quality.

NewsOK Videos (http://newsok.com/2014-state-of-the-city-mayor-mick-cornett-address/multimedia/video/3123739046001)

Did you go today? I went last year and enjoyed it quite a bit.

You gotta watch this. It is Presidential quality.

NewsOK Videos (http://newsok.com/2014-state-of-the-city-mayor-mick-cornett-address/multimedia/video/3123739046001)

Very impressive. How many times did he mention the importance of our unity? Of working together? Brilliant and compelling, and spoken with true passion. Nice to see that from the Mayor.

You gotta watch this. It is Presidential quality.

NewsOK Videos (http://newsok.com/2014-state-of-the-city-mayor-mick-cornett-address/multimedia/video/3123739046001)

THIS is the calibre of leader Oklahoma City needs to move even farther ahead the next four years.

That speech should be required viewing for anyone who is going to vote in the upcoming election and I would be happy to let Ed put any speech of his choosing next to it for comparison.

No surprises here.

Mick Cornett files for fourth term as Oklahoma City mayor; Ed Shadid files to challenge him | News OK (http://newsok.com/mick-cornett-files-for-fourth-term-as-oklahoma-city-mayor-ed-shadid-files-to-challenge-him/article/3928624)

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTpRd_y35O_8DQlkxSTTGV4ZhsgCU7ZW 9FW7lsolSTxiUG6mKV4
Understand the importance of being afforded a 'say' in how we run our government.

Exercise your right to vote and use it. It's your right to vote; those who don't go to the polls, don't complain...



http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif "Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ... as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif

George Carlin once said that those who DO vote have no right to complain.

"On Election Day, I stay home. I firmly believe that if you vote, you have no right to complain. Now, some people like to twist that around. They say, 'If you don't vote, you have no right to complain,' but where's the logic in that? If you vote, and you elect dishonest, incompetent politicians, and they get into office and screw everything up, you are responsible for what they have done. You voted them in. You caused the problem. You have no right to complain. I, on the other hand, who did not vote -- who did not even leave the house on Election Day -- am in no way responsible for that these politicians have done and have every right to complain about the mess that you created."

Personally, I intend to vote in every election and thoroughly research my choice before casting a ballot. But so long as we live in a political system in which 50.000001% of the vote gets you 100% of the representation, everyone who was part of the 49.999999% minority or who didn't vote has every right to complain. I'm a progressive, but the Democrats do not represent me and neither do the Republicans. Everyone else in my immediate family is a registered Democrat, but I've opted to sacrifice my ability to vote in the primaries to maintain my principles. So, if the Democrats go and nominate some fool like Anthony Weiner for an office, and the Republicans throw in Michelle Bachmann, even though I didn't vote, I have the right to lament the fact that my choice is between Idiot A and Idiot B.

THIS is the calibre of leader Oklahoma City needs to move even farther ahead the next four years.

We had two guests in from out of town who attended yesterday luncheon, both from two cities larger than OKC, and both were blown away impressed with the Mayor, and OKC in general, on all fronts. One of the guests had done his own light reading and investigation into our recent local politics and he could not believe "that other guy" would even stand a chance here. He asked why was this "other guy" being so divisive at a time when OKC has so such momentum and positive accolades. I thought it was interesting to hear the first impressions of a couple of out of town visitors.

I forgot to mention, both guests also commented that our convention center space was kind of a joke. They chuckled as we were making our way through the parking garage and through the Cox space. They said "you guys" really do need a new CC. If not for one being on the drawing board, it would have been pretty embarrassing.

That speech should be required viewing for anyone who is going to vote in the upcoming election and I would be happy to let Ed put any speech of his choosing next to it for comparison.

Sort of like a debate?

Sort of like a debate?

Would there be a semifinal to determine Mick's opponent featuring Ed debating himself over his own contradictions?

Sort of like a debate?There is really no debate. Ed is a cocaine snorting, porn-watching, wife beating.... yeah I should stop

Mick on the other hand, has brought this city into the eyes of the global population. We have a real shot at truly booming and becoming the next great major city in the midwest thanks to him and the momentum keeps rolling.

Sort of like a debate?

Edgar, what would you like to see in a debate? You are either ignoring or ignorant of OKC's mayoral system. After everyone has explained it to you numerous times, you are embracing nothing short of willful ignorance.

There is really no debate. Ed is a cocaine snorting, porn-watching, wife beating.... yeah I should stop

Mick on the other hand, has brought this city into the eyes of the global population. We have a real shot at truly booming and becoming the next great major city in the midwest thanks to him and the momentum keeps rolling.

When in doubt, go for ad hominem...

Just listed to that State of the City speech, and wow does Mick come across well. I honestly got goosebumps at the bit about the phoenix.

There is really no debate. Ed is a cocaine snorting, porn-watching, wife beating.... yeah I should stop

Mick on the other hand, has brought this city into the eyes of the global population. We have a real shot at truly booming and becoming the next great major city in the midwest thanks to him and the momentum keeps rolling.

There is plenty to debate. One candidate is a chamber lapdog who wants to mortgage the city's finacial future on a bad bet and the other is running to be mayor of OKC.

There is plenty to debate. One candidate is a chamber lapdog who wants to mortgage the city's finacial future on a bad bet and the other is running to be mayor of OKC.

If the alternative is your Cocaine Cowboy, I'll take a chamber lapdog 100 times out of 100. That "chamber lapdog" has done more for the city in that speech than Ed has in his entire career.

Edgar, why do you think the Chamber is so evil? Do you even know what they do or who they are made up of?

Edgar is almost assuredly Steve Hunt and perhaps a couple others who help out. You can't tell him anything and he pops on occasionally, throws out random nonsense and posts links to videos of himself. Waste of time and energy.

If the collective wisdom here is that Edgar is really nothing but a troll, could maybe I solicit a question why he's allowed to continue posting? I thought ongoing trolling or purposely being combative/not constructive was grounds to get 86'd, warned, whatever. And if that's not an appropriate question to ask here, apologies.

I have no problem with people having a different opinion on things, it can foster good discussion, but when it just becomes argument for argument's sake, that's neither constructive nor even enjoyable, but that's just me.

We've told him. Many, many, many times. He doesn't seem to care how many businesses proudly have their Chamber sticker in their window. They don't count. Their dues aren't measured. And they voice isn't heard.

He's trolling, that's all he's doing.

Whatever the chamber omce may have been, it's morphed into an agressive lobbying organization that extorts concessions out of desperate towns because they're the sacred job creators and all, and we should kiss their ring. There seems to be no appreciation to give back to the civivzation that provides the opportunity- 766 as example, and they're going after the franchise tax next. No doubt why their patsy ag changed the title wording on the school shelter petition and is doing everything available to impede the drive. There is zero sense of commonwealth anymore. It's no holds barred every person for themselves.

There is plenty to debate. One candidate is an intelligent, educated, and charismatic leader who has been instrumental to building the city's bright financial future and the other is a wannabe community activist with rage issues who potentially performed medical services under the influence of illegal drugs, and historically has refused to participate in the democratic process of this city and wants to overturn and work against the will of the people, who is running to be mayor of OKC.

Fixed it.

Edgar is almost assuredly Steve Hunt and perhaps a couple others who help out. You can't tell him anything and he pops on occasionally, throws out random nonsense and posts links to videos of himself. Waste of time and energy.

No I'm Edgar but i do enjoy the fresco menu at Taco Bell. What random nonsense have I've thrown out?- that a popular franchise was highjacked by special interests to get a pet project built that all voters rejected when polled, all evidence indicates it will wreck the town's finances, unless you live in a magical kingdom Mick inhabits. MAPSII an insult to the previous incarnations.

Whatever the chamber omce may have been, it's morphed into an agressive lobbying organization that extorts concessions out of desperate towns because they're the sacred job creators and all, and we should kiss their ring. There seems to be no appreciation to give back to the civivzation that provides the opportunity- 766 as example, and they're going after the franchise tax next. No doubt why their patsy ag changed the title wording on the school shelter petition and is doing everything available to impede the drive. There is zero sense of commonwealth anymore. It's no holds barred every person for themselves.

House Bill 766 was from the State Senate, not the OKC Chamber. You know that, right?

Whatever the chamber omce may have been, it's morphed into an agressive lobbying organization that extorts concessions out of desperate towns because they're the sacred job creators and all, and we should kiss their ring. There seems to be no appreciation to give back to the civivzation that provides the opportunity- 766 as example, and they're going after the franchise tax next. No doubt why their patsy ag changed the title wording on the school shelter petition and is doing everything available to impede the drive. There is zero sense of commonwealth anymore. It's no holds barred every person for themselves.

I am no fan of the far right and blind adoration of "job creators", but you are so far off base the pitcher could roll the ball to first and pick you off. I've been to a few Chamber events and of course the large corporations in OKC are represented; but there are hundreds of small, locally owned businesses that make up the majority of the members. These people work hard and take enormous risks and are actually the people Ed claims to want to represent. The State Chamber does present ideas and lobbies for laws I disagree with but they are not the OKC Chamber. Just because you have bought some strange narrative that about the OKC Chamber, and keep repeating it, it does not make them evil or some kind of nefarious shadow government. Constantly railing against the OKC Chamber or using the words "chamber cabal" does nothing to enhance your already nonexistent credibility.

House Bill 766 was from the State Senate, not the OKC Chamber. You know that, right?

I doubt he does.

There is plenty to debate. One candidate is a chamber lapdog who wants to mortgage the city's finacial future on a bad bet and the other is running to be mayor of OKC.Says the person who has yet to bring up any reasonable discussion or factual information in this thread. Again, we are asking, what is Ed's platform exactly? We know what he wants to derail. But what does he want to do? Do you even know? And please don't bother with epithets on Mick's political affiliation or connection to the chamber. ANY person who ends up the Mayor's seat would have to work with the Chamber on projects. Economic development and promotion are part of the job.

As for this "bad bet" you are so fond of talking about, I recall with great clarity how Steve Hunt (you?) and David Glover (doubtful you since David would at least have the guts to show up here) were defiantly against the Ford/Chesapeake Center expansion and the financing of an arena. You opposed under no uncertain terms the expansion of the arena and retrofit in order to bring in an NBA team. Said team just crushed the Heat last night and will likely make a pretty deep run in the playoffs - yet again - bringing in tens of millions of economic development and added sales tax revenues - in the process. In the immortal words of Dr. Phil "How's that working out for you?"

Maybe when you start providing relevant remarks about what Ed actually stands for, people may lend you a bit (but only a bit) of credence.

Some people are too easily trolled. Someone said a post or three very positive regarding the mayor, and it's all buried under a bunch of posts wondering why one poster is so off base about something else, in this instance the city chamber of commerce.

Might be time to start leaving attempted all attempted derailments aside and just stay on the mayor race track. And in that light, y'alls current mayor is one of the better known mayors nationally. That bears some thinking on folks. OKC is a ways out of the top ten cities when considered by population, population growth, economic impact, and a passle of other criteria, yet has a mayor who is known, and known by name, as a mayor helping in a city that is doing great things, things that others wish to emulate.

When one has a candidate that is popular at home and elsewhere, it is probably in his best interest to highlight him repeatedly rather than respond to every off track effort to make him look bad.

Just saying.

No I'm Edgar but i do enjoy the fresco menu at Taco Bell. What random nonsense have I've thrown out?- that a popular franchise was highjacked by special interests to get a pet project built that all voters rejected when polled, all evidence indicates it will wreck the town's finances, unless you live in a magical kingdom Mick inhabits. MAPSII an insult to the previous incarnations.

No, you are a Troll ! In a little over a month, it'll be over for you and el Shadid, The Doctor, the adult in the room and the Good Doctor.

How many times have we gone over this difference in the CoC's??? Geez. Like I said, I'm buying Reynold's Aluminum stock.

House Bill 766 was from the State Senate, not the OKC Chamber. You know that, right?

Oh yeah our ledge asks the chamber what bills they'd like written. The chamber promotes it.http://www.okcchamber.com/clientuploads/PDFs/Point/2012point_october.pdf , on the taxpayers dime. Chamber head even admitted it'd be yet another blow to ed in Ok, but hey not as much as they're saying. People voted themselves a property tax increase to fund schools and whatnot. Now it's obvious they're going after the franchise tax, and judges they don't like. They did provide a good laugh with their candidate in Norman's last mayoral election. The mailers were special.

I can assure you that the CoC does not always get what they want. Just read the transit thread. Life is not black and white.

You know who else has "special" mailers? Ed Shadid...the guy can't even hire a proofreader.

Drumroll ..........

Just for fun, list your preferred candidate and the top three reasons you think your choice should be the next mayor of OKC.
Bonus warm fuzzies if you do so without simply regurgitating your candidate's mailer, stump speech or talking point bullets.
Triple bonus points if you can write about your candidate without taking shots at some other candidate.

Ready. Set. Pitch.

If the collective wisdom here is that Edgar is really nothing but a troll, could maybe I solicit a question why he's allowed to continue posting? I thought ongoing trolling or purposely being combative/not constructive was grounds to get 86'd, warned, whatever. And if that's not an appropriate question to ask here, apologies.

I have no problem with people having a different opinion on things, it can foster good discussion, but when it just becomes argument for argument's sake, that's neither constructive nor even enjoyable, but that's just me.

This site needs the ability to troll rate posters. It would actually improve the quality of discussion -- not by censoring, but by promoting honest conversation. We can have differences of opinion, but when posters simply continue to restate known falsehoods, especially after being called on it multiple times, they are simply driving conversations off topic and littering the board with verbal diarrhea.

One of the best systems out there is DailyKos, a liberal site I visit often. They troll rate people for posting conspiracy theories, or just filibustering like a couple of posters on this board are doing. It's a community policing approach.

That speech should be required viewing for anyone who is going to vote in the upcoming election and I would be happy to let Ed put any speech of his choosing next to it for comparison.

Bumping this.

just listed to that state of the city speech, and wow does mick come across well. I honestly got goosebumps at the bit about the phoenix.

bump!

Drumroll ..........

Just for fun, list your preferred candidate and the top three reasons you think your choice should be the next mayor of OKC.
Bonus warm fuzzies if you do so without simply regurgitating your candidate's mailer, stump speech or talking point bullets.
Triple bonus points if you can write about your candidate without taking shots at some other candidate.

Ready. Set. Pitch.

I'll give it a shot, Kevin. You can be the judge if I hit the triple bonus point bell.

My candidate is the incumbent, Mick Cornett.

There's an old adage that teaches one should "never follow a legend." And, while the analogy may be a bit extreme, that's what Mick Cornett did during his *first* campaign for mayor - following MAPS author Ron Norick and daring to suggest he could, as a political newcomer, take the reins of a city having only taken the first furtive steps toward an uncertain urban renaissance. Perhaps it was the retrospective outlandishness of Cornett, the kind that allowed him to believe he *could* fill that role and convince a cautious, notoriously conservative voting public of the same that made his candidacy compelling. Acting anything like a naive politician during his first term, Cornett seemed almost a natural for the role, leveraging the public goodwill drawn from that prior TV sports career and combining it with an unexpected flair not for the politically dramatic, but the willingness to simply sustain the momentum his predecessor had established while learning exactly what it meant to be "mayor" in the first place.

Cornett then realized that any urban renaissance that failed to address the long-term problems of Oklahoma City schools would face a tough, uphill battle. He then reached out to create his own MAPS sequel - MAPS for Kids - that created a unique bridge from the city to the public schools, across which a funding path would be plowed that would permit the district to reconstruct long-exhausted buildings and obtain long-needed resource and facility upgrades. It was no panacea - the kinds of problems faced by OKC schools were and are too big and too numerous for any one mayor or one tax proposal to solve - but the effort demonstrated Cornett's willingness to try something - anything - to avoid letting the status quo persist even a day longer than absolutely necessary. Once again, the audacity to try led to the audacity of success.

For Cornett, it could be argued that political audacity was its own reward. Following the devastation that Hurricane wreaked on New Orleans, leaving the NBA's strugglng Hornets without a home, Cornett saw an opportunity - one to take the unoccupied MAPS Arena and offer it to Hornets' owner George Shinn as a temporary home to his team while New Orleans rebuilt. It would, to almost any outsider from any other city aspiring to transform itself from one level to another, be seen as an outrageous effort at cherry picking a city; yet, somehow, Cornett managed to make the compelling case to Shinn, and with absolutely no promise of anything beyond a single season, suddenly, that audacity that led Cornett to run for mayor had turned Oklahoma City from a city known primarily for its disasters and as an anchor tenant in a football-hungry state into one now hosting an NBA franchise - albeit temporarily. And once Oklahoma City had a taste of pro basketball in the form of Chris Paul and the Hornets, they were hooked. And, truth be told, the NBA was hooked on Oklahoma City. And that mutual admiration was born by no one other than that audacious Mick Cornett.

Now, years following that first flirtation with the NBA, Cornett finds himself at the helm of a city now thoroughly obsessed with its own basketballling Thunder, admiring of the ongoing rebuild and re-invigoration of its downtown, and now going forward with a third MAPS iteration. This round is arguably more audacious, arguably more controversial, yet somehow Cornett has managed to marshal broad support for a suite of projects that touch the inner and outer city, projects that have already started, and some yet to come.

There's no suggestion that Cornett is some sort of paragon, yet somehow he has managed to pull the handle on a political slot machine multiple times in his brief political career and perpetually find himself fetching buckets to collect the repeated payouts. He has somehow crafted for himself a role not as some grand politician, but as a citizen leader who wants very much to put a nationally recognized, affable, 21st century face on a city barely anyone outside her limits knew much about prior to the ignominy of April 1995. For a guy whose biggest claim to journalistic fame was nearly spoiling a game-winning homerun by the old Oklahoma City 89ers during the playoffs by running onto the field before the hitter crossed home plate, Cornett has transformed himself into an unobtrusive yet formidable city leader, one with nationwide recognition, and a track record for the audacious. That transformation, that track record, and that affable confidence that simply seems to refuse to take "no" for an answer to a good idea, all belong to Mick Cornett, the man who has brought favor and honor to our city as Mayor, and richly deserves another term in precisely that role.

Just two quick comments...

- Mayor Cornett's State of the City was a brilliant speech.
- Mayor Cornett's appearance on PBS after the SOTU was also very, very good. If you haven't seen that, it's at this link (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/2014-state-of-the-union-special-with-analysis-from-mark-shields-and-david-brooks/) and he begins at about the 1:44:45 mark.

I don't agree with Cornett on everything, but he's also hard to pigeonhole, he's a pragmatic man who has much to offer in public service.

Needless to say, in my opinion, Mayor Cornett deserves a landslide re-election.

I'll give it a shot, Kevin. You can be the judge if I hit the triple bonus point bell.

My candidate is the incumbent, Mick Cornett.

There's an old adage that teaches one should "never follow a legend." And, while the analogy may be a bit extreme, that's what Mick Cornett did during his *first* campaign for mayor - following MAPS author Ron Norick and daring to suggest he could, as a political newcomer, take the reins of a city having only taken the first furtive steps toward an uncertain urban renaissance. Perhaps it was the retrospective outlandishness of Cornett, the kind that allowed him to believe he *could* fill that role and convince a cautious, notoriously conservative voting public of the same that made his candidacy compelling. Acting anything like a naive politician during his first term, Cornett seemed almost a natural for the role, leveraging the public goodwill drawn from that prior TV sports career and combining it with an unexpected flair not for the politically dramatic, but the willingness to simply sustain the momentum his predecessor had established while learning exactly what it meant to be "mayor" in the first place.

Cornett then realized that any urban renaissance that failed to address the long-term problems of Oklahoma City schools would face a tough, uphill battle. He then reached out to create his own MAPS sequel - MAPS for Kids - that created a unique bridge from the city to the public schools, across which a funding path would be plowed that would permit the district to reconstruct long-exhausted buildings and obtain long-needed resource and facility upgrades. It was no panacea - the kinds of problems faced by OKC schools were and are too big and too numerous for any one mayor or one tax proposal to solve - but the effort demonstrated Cornett's willingness to try something - anything - to avoid letting the status quo persist even a day longer than absolutely necessary. Once again, the audacity to try led to the audacity of success.

For Cornett, it could be argued that political audacity was its own reward. Following the devastation that Hurricane wreaked on New Orleans, leaving the NBA's strugglng Hornets without a home, Cornett saw an opportunity - one to take the unoccupied MAPS Arena and offer it to Hornets' owner George Shinn as a temporary home to his team while New Orleans rebuilt. It would, to almost any outsider from any other city aspiring to transform itself from one level to another, be seen as an outrageous effort at cherry picking a city; yet, somehow, Cornett managed to make the compelling case to Shinn, and with absolutely no promise of anything beyond a single season, suddenly, that audacity that led Cornett to run for mayor had turned Oklahoma City from a city known primarily for its disasters and as an anchor tenant in a football-hungry state into one now hosting an NBA franchise - albeit temporarily. And once Oklahoma City had a taste of pro basketball in the form of Chris Paul and the Hornets, they were hooked. And, truth be told, the NBA was hooked on Oklahoma City. And that mutual admiration was born by no one other than that audacious Mick Cornett.

Now, years following that first flirtation with the NBA, Cornett finds himself at the helm of a city now thoroughly obsessed with its own basketballling Thunder, admiring of the ongoing rebuild and re-invigoration of its downtown, and now going forward with a third MAPS iteration. This round is arguably more audacious, arguably more controversial, yet somehow Cornett has managed to marshal broad support for a suite of projects that touch the inner and outer city, projects that have already started, and some yet to come.

There's no suggestion that Cornett is some sort of paragon, yet somehow he has managed to pull the handle on a political slot machine multiple times in his brief political career and perpetually find himself fetching buckets to collect the repeated payouts. He has somehow crafted for himself a role not as some grand politician, but as a citizen leader who wants very much to put a nationally recognized, affable, 21st century face on a city barely anyone outside her limits knew much about prior to the ignominy of April 1995. For a guy whose biggest claim to journalistic fame was nearly spoiling a game-winning homerun by the old Oklahoma City 89ers during the playoffs by running onto the field before the hitter crossed home plate, Cornett has transformed himself into an unobtrusive yet formidable city leader, one with nationwide recognition, and a track record for the audacious. That transformation, that track record, and that affable confidence that simply seems to refuse to take "no" for an answer to a good idea, all belong to Mick Cornett, the man who has brought favor and honor to our city as Mayor, and richly deserves another term in precisely that role.

Not sure if it could be said better. In fact, I would love permission to repost this to my facebook friends who might be on the edge...

Not sure if it could be said better. In fact, I would love permission to repost this to my facebook friends who might be on the edge...

Go for it! Flattered you think its worthy to be reposted!