Question?

Does the council have to approve a recall election for a vote on the MAPS III convention center if the petition for recall is validated or is this a done deal that the convention center will move forward with future tax collections?

Excerpts from NewsOK:

A citizens’ group led by Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid is hoping voters will scuttle plans for the current $252 million downtown convention center and end collection of the MAPS 3 sales tax early...

They have 90 days to collect signatures of at least 6,035 Oklahoma City voters. If they are successful, the question most likely would go before voters in March 2015...

Shadid, who is running for mayor in the March 4 election, contends voters in 2009 were denied access to information that a hotel likely would have to accompany development of the convention center to make it a success.

Link: Citizens' group led by Ed Shadid calls for votes to strip MAPS 3 convention center, end tax collection early | News OK (http://newsok.com/citizens-group-led-by-ed-shadid-calls-for-votes-to-strip-maps-3-convention-center-end-tax-collection-early/article/3920296)

Shadid also claims that the convention center hotel would require $50 million to $200 million in taxpayer subsidies.

I saw some recent hotels with slightly under 700-rooms that were built for less that $100 million. Why would this require a $50 million to $200 million taxpayer subsidy?



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

Perhaps the best way to stop this nonsense is to replace Shadid in Ward 2. Is the next Ward 2 election in April 2015?

The best thing to happen, whether one supports the cc or not, is to work to leave it in place. Seem odd to work for something you don't care about? It shouldn't.
If one group can set out against the cc, what stops another, or even the same, from setting out against the aquatic centers, or the streetcar, or the X.
Once someone undoes one of the MAPs, even an unpopular component, how do you get the support for a package in the future.

The next best thing to happen is to start recruiting people to run in the next two cycles who are committed to forward progress, and not just assume folks who think like you will step forward on their own. Doesn't truly matter who is mayor if enough seats change to proponents of slash, burn and retreat.

And Pete White and Pat Ryan claim they are retiring. Larry McAtee is up for reelection. Ed is already fielding his own candidates for these positions.

So forgive me if, I'm completely grateful to the voters of this city... but it is not all rainbows and unicorns.

Oh, it never ends, but he has to be in Council for his coalition to work. And they either have to be nutty enough to be drinking the Kool-aid, which will be obvious in an election, or he'll screw up and do something underhanded to them and they'll jump ship. You have to be really good at that to lose the entire Council, save Pete White,as allies like he did. I wouldn't be shocked to see Sean Cummings run, if he lives in the right place, and I don't think he's anybody's lapdog, or can't maintain that attitude for long.

Now that the election is over can there be a new thread started in Politics about OKC politics so that this isn't in the 'Latest Posts' tab all the time?

Meh, I wasn't talking about Ed. He obviously marches to the beat of a different drummer, and is apparently set on maintaining his efforts. Whatever. Doesn't look like he will have much steam. I was talking about the CITIZENRY of OKC, and about the posters on this board. Time to move on, at least as far as this particular election (and this thread) is concerned. If you want to debate the merits of the various subjects that Ed and others will be championing, there are (and will be) threads for that. This one should be tied up and left to rot in the sun.

And nobody has to tell me how divisive this campaign was. I was reading this thread and biting my tongue throughout the entire sordid affair. I know (very well in some cases) people who were directly involved and whose names and reputations were dragged through the mud. I also know well how particularly difficult and abrasive this episode has been for you Jeff, so I will give you a pass on the rainbows and unicorns remark obviously directed at the spirit of my previous post, which nevertheless I do take as a bit insulting. You know that I know better than rainbows and unicorns. You too guru.

Sean would definitely be a good candidate. (And certainly liven things up in a positive way!!)

17% turnout. I couldn't find any history and don't remember how that compares.

That doesn't seem too bad, especially considering the roads in the morning.

I vote this thread rides off into the sunset...

...and dies.

Steve tweeted last night that 28,000 voted in 2010 and 11,000 voted in 2002.

More games will be played. New threads will be born. We will have to remain vigilant.

Meh, I wasn't talking about Ed. He obviously marches to the beat of a different drummer, and is apparently set on maintaining his efforts. Whatever. Doesn't look like he will have much steam. I was talking about the CITIZENRY of OKC, and about the posters on this board. Time to move on, at least as far as this particular election (and this thread) is concerned. If you want to debate the merits of the various subjects that Ed and others will be championing, there are (and will be) threads for that. This one should be tied up and left to rot in the sun.

And nobody has to tell me how divisive this campaign was. I was reading this thread and biting my tongue throughout the entire sordid affair. I know (very well in some cases) people who were directly involved and whose names and reputations were dragged through the mud. I also know well how particularly difficult and abrasive this episode has been for you Jeff, so I will give you a pass on the rainbows and unicorns remark obviously directed at the spirit of my previous post, which nevertheless I do take as a bit insulting. You know that I know better than rainbows and unicorns. You too guru.

Don't be insulted. I needed some context and you clarified what you meant. I totally agree and appreciate your sentiments. It is time for some healing, regrouping, and for this city to move into it's next phase of greatness.

Let's do it.

Question?

Does the council have to approve a recall election for a vote on the MAPS III convention center if the petition for recall is validated or is this a done deal that the convention center will move forward with future tax collections?



I asked someone who is supposed to know this stuff and got an answer that makes sense to me but, of course, could be wrong.

If it gets validated it will be voted on. The council doesn't get to decide if the measure gets voted on or not. The council does get to decide when the voting will happen. Person did not think they had an unlimited time to put it off but did not know the time limits.

That means the council can play games with the voter base and try to stack it with other measures that may influence who will show up to vote. Or not.

I have been told they will probably go for March 2015 if the petition is legitimate.

Ah - the next "conspiracy" is taking shape.......

Nothing can stop construction of the MAPS Virtucon CC!!

That was from a political science PhD candidate, whose job it is to know how the mechanics work and what games can get played along the way. There may not be any other measures that would have any influence on turnout in OKC like there might be in other elections or other cities. Plus, no one in OKC politics would ever consider such a thing, right?

What did Ed say in his concession speech? Anyone see it?

Haven't found a video of it in its entirety, but the always reliable RDR has the "real" story!!

Losing to Cornett, Shadid says he will continue to fight for transparency and diversity is this 'Big League City' | Red Dirt Report (http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-politics/losing-cornett-shadid-says-he-will-continue-fight-transparency-and-diversity-big)

And for a little more fun.....what would we do without the RDR?

Despite loss, Shadid's star is on the rise | Red Dirt Report (http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-politics/despite-loss-shadids-star-rise)

I guess I am a "shady operative"! Who knew? Hard to be shady waving a sign like a crazy person at a busy intersection when it is below 20F!

Yeah I know giving the RDR clicks is kind of silly, and only encourages them, but I had to look!

What did Ed say in his concession speech? Anyone see it?

Yes! You could sense his disappointment. He harped on the fact that Mick Cornett wouldn't debate him--it was his opinion that he would have exposed the mayor.

Dr. Shadid concedes: OKC Mayor Mick Cornett Wins Re-Election - News9.com - Oklahoma City, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports | (http://www.news9.com/story/24872440/okc-mayor-mick-cornett-wins-re-election)

IMHO, Dr. Ed Shadid had nothing to lose with a debate. Mayor Cornett had more at stake and more to lose with a debate that could have cast more questions and suspicions than a debate time would have allowed him to answer.


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

What's the story here?


And highlighting the obvious control the ruling oligarchy in Oklahoma has on the media. Shadid singled out former Oklahoma Gazette political reporter Tim Farley (now writing for Red Dirt Report), to highlight the unprecedented levels of suppression that the Oklahoma City media has endured under Cornett's autocratic rule.

“Tim lost his job on Friday at the Gazette because, he was told, the questions he asked the candidates were inappropriate even though he had received approval from his editors," Shadid told the stunned audience.

Sitting in the audience was the Gazette’s chief editor, Jennifer Chancellor, who interrupted Shadid and stated that what Shadid was saying was not true but added that she could say no more.

Haven't found a video of it in its entirety, but the always reliable RDR has the "real" story!!

Losing to Cornett, Shadid says he will continue to fight for transparency and diversity is this 'Big League City' | Red Dirt Report (http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-politics/losing-cornett-shadid-says-he-will-continue-fight-transparency-and-diversity-big)

And for a little more fun.....what would we do without the RDR?

Despite loss, Shadid's star is on the rise | Red Dirt Report (http://www.reddirtreport.com/red-dirt-politics/despite-loss-shadids-star-rise)

I guess I am a "shady operative"! Who knew? Hard to be shady waving a sign like a crazy person at a busy intersection when it is below 20F!

Yeah I know giving the RDR clicks is kind of silly, and only encourages them, but I had to look!

Wow. I think the marginalization of the Red Dirt Report is next.

Simply outstanding.


Despite loss, Shadid's star is on the rise

Andrew W. Griffin | March 5, 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY – It may take weeks or even months to fully assess, in the post-mortem, what ultimately happened Tuesday night when incumbent Mayor Mick Cornett was swept back into office with 66-percent of the vote, against the 33-percent that Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid received.

Stats. Data. Numbers. Polls. In the end, it’s the people and the turnout that mattered. And really, it was the people. Clearly, Team Mick and their shady operatives outspent and overwhelmed the Shadista political insurgency – a people-centric movement that offered an alternative to the secretive, exclusive, moneyed, Coolidge-style, business-as-usual approach that was couched with heavy dollops of exasperating artificiality and vomit-inducing insincerity.

And that was only part of what we witnessed. More on that at another time …

Over these past few months of covering the Shadid campaign, I came to know a man who, as he put it last night, was “stripped naked in the front of the city.” Shadid never shied away from questions and he had many.

But Team Mick made sure their corporate wind-up toy avoided any and all discussion of serious matters. And this, with the yellow-bellied Mick Chickens constantly on his tail, asking that question for the ages: “Why won’t Mick debate?”

Shadid, fortunately, goes back to doing what he has been doing all along – serving Ward 2 and the citizens of Oklahoma City. Cornett, while re-elected as mayor, will have a decidedly diminished influence on the council. Sure, most of the council rubber stamps whatever Cornett says or wants, but what Cornett says or wants will now have a far more hollow ring and more people will be watching what he says and does. Every calculated move recorded and reported.

Let’s face it. Cornett is so 2004. Shadid is so 2014 and beyond. The future, man! Corporate lackey Cornett co-opts real ideas, as Shadid noted in his concession speech. Shadid, with added gravitas, pushes for fresh ideas and alternative ways of doing things. Shadid is proactive. Cornett is a reactionary. Shadid will answer any and all questions. Cornett literally runs away from anything harder than the usual softballs lobbed at him from the neutered press (and the ham-fisted, court-jester bloggers) around here.

Shadid is undeniably a rising star. Cornett’s chances to go beyond local politics are rapidly passing him by. He's like a professional athlete whose best days are behind him and he's worn out his welcome in Mudville. I suspect he is now kicking himself in the pants for listening to his Atwater-ish handlers and going through with this truthfully painful campaign where nearly every public appearance featured him grinding his toothpaste-commercial choppers and desperately clasping his sweaty, claw-like hands, while oddly reminding one of a cross between Spock and the Joker.

Sure, Mick Cornett did all right in the 5th Congressional District primary a few years back against his ideological clone Mary Fallin. So, why didn’t he jump in again this time? Perhaps because the pressure to answer real questions would have been far greater than it clearly was in this municipal election where journos lose their jobs for asking tough questions and upsetting the perfumed elites. I sense, after all of this, that Tricky Mick has hit the proverbial political ceiling and that after this Groundhog-Day-esque mayoral gig wraps up, he will go no further in pursuit of higher office.

The Jefferson Smith-esque Ed Shadid, however, will likely pursue higher office in the not-too-distant future. The governor’s office? Congress? Or perhaps a transition into national public service where he becomes a diplomat? For this bright, optimistic and idealistic fortysomething, the sky is the limit. As we have said before, Ed Shadid is where the country (and hopefully Oklahoma) will be in a decade’s time.

And in the meantime, you can count on Ed Shadid and his growing Shadista army to move Oklahoma City towards a more inclusive and brighter day. Viva Oklahoma City!

The Jefferson Smith-esque Ed Shadid, however, will likely pursue higher office in the not-too-distant future. The governor’s office? Congress? Or perhaps a transition into national public service where he becomes a diplomat? For this bright, optimistic and idealistic fortysomething, the sky is the limit.

You heard it here first - President Ed Shadid!

What's the story here?


And highlighting the obvious control the ruling oligarchy in Oklahoma has on the media. Shadid singled out former Oklahoma Gazette political reporter Tim Farley (now writing for Red Dirt Report), to highlight the unprecedented levels of suppression that the Oklahoma City media has endured under Cornett's autocratic rule.

“Tim lost his job on Friday at the Gazette because, he was told, the questions he asked the candidates were inappropriate even though he had received approval from his editors," Shadid told the stunned audience.

Sitting in the audience was the Gazette’s chief editor, Jennifer Chancellor, who interrupted Shadid and stated that what Shadid was saying was not true but added that she could say no more.

I've been told for a long time that Farley was / is in the tank for Shadid, and it's my understanding his "questions" were quite loaded.

That is typical of the entire DRED campaign, yet some act surprised when the Mayor's supporters return fire. It's their problem the return fire was precise when all they could do is "spray and pray" at Hudson & 7th. But no need to bother with them at all now - the only response ever needed is 66-33.

Anyone think Edgar writes for the Red Dirt Report?

That is typical of the entire DRED campaign, yet some act surprised when the Mayor's supporters return fire. Not our problem we could be very precise when all they could do is "spray and pray". But no need to bother with them at all now - the only response ever needed is 66-32.

Oh, but Shadid is a shooting star in politics! No, he didn't get as many votes as Steve Hunt despite spending nearly $1 million, but he is ascending!

Best quote from the news coverage - Cornett when asked if he had a message for the Shadid camp had none but said, "the voters sent them a message"

Oh, but Shadid is a shooting star in politics! No, he didn't get as many votes as Steve Hunt despite spending nearly $1 million, but he is ascending!

Fortunately he reached apogee at 33%......

OMG. That is absolutely hysterical. Hysterically badly written. Oh well. I'm sure he's not being paid for that.

I'm thinking high office is a good idea, so high he's out of state. I wouldn't wish him on San Francisco but he seriously would have a far better chance there than here.

I will say a race for the CD5 seat between Shadid, Lankford/TW, and the (D) nominee would be quite a show! Someone should suggest it! I'll pop the popcorn.

Sorry for contributing to this veering away from the topic of the day......Cornett wins.

Simply outstanding.


Despite loss, Shadid's star is on the rise

Andrew W. Griffin | March 5, 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY – It may take weeks or even months to fully assess, in the post-mortem, what ultimately happened Tuesday night when incumbent Mayor Mick Cornett was swept back into office with 66-percent of the vote, against the 33-percent that Ward 2 Councilman Ed Shadid received.

Stats. Data. Numbers. Polls. In the end, it’s the people and the turnout that mattered. And really, it was the people. Clearly, Team Mick and their shady operatives outspent and overwhelmed the Shadista political insurgency – a people-centric movement that offered an alternative to the secretive, exclusive, moneyed, Coolidge-style, business-as-usual approach that was couched with heavy dollops of exasperating artificiality and vomit-inducing insincerity.

And that was only part of what we witnessed. More on that at another time …

Over these past few months of covering the Shadid campaign, I came to know a man who, as he put it last night, was “stripped naked in the front of the city.” Shadid never shied away from questions and he had many.

But Team Mick made sure their corporate wind-up toy avoided any and all discussion of serious matters. And this, with the yellow-bellied Mick Chickens constantly on his tail, asking that question for the ages: “Why won’t Mick debate?”

Shadid, fortunately, goes back to doing what he has been doing all along – serving Ward 2 and the citizens of Oklahoma City. Cornett, while re-elected as mayor, will have a decidedly diminished influence on the council. Sure, most of the council rubber stamps whatever Cornett says or wants, but what Cornett says or wants will now have a far more hollow ring and more people will be watching what he says and does. Every calculated move recorded and reported.

Let’s face it. Cornett is so 2004. Shadid is so 2014 and beyond. The future, man! Corporate lackey Cornett co-opts real ideas, as Shadid noted in his concession speech. Shadid, with added gravitas, pushes for fresh ideas and alternative ways of doing things. Shadid is proactive. Cornett is a reactionary. Shadid will answer any and all questions. Cornett literally runs away from anything harder than the usual softballs lobbed at him from the neutered press (and the ham-fisted, court-jester bloggers) around here.

Shadid is undeniably a rising star. Cornett’s chances to go beyond local politics are rapidly passing him by. He's like a professional athlete whose best days are behind him and he's worn out his welcome in Mudville. I suspect he is now kicking himself in the pants for listening to his Atwater-ish handlers and going through with this truthfully painful campaign where nearly every public appearance featured him grinding his toothpaste-commercial choppers and desperately clasping his sweaty, claw-like hands, while oddly reminding one of a cross between Spock and the Joker.

Sure, Mick Cornett did all right in the 5th Congressional District primary a few years back against his ideological clone Mary Fallin. So, why didn’t he jump in again this time? Perhaps because the pressure to answer real questions would have been far greater than it clearly was in this municipal election where journos lose their jobs for asking tough questions and upsetting the perfumed elites. I sense, after all of this, that Tricky Mick has hit the proverbial political ceiling and that after this Groundhog-Day-esque mayoral gig wraps up, he will go no further in pursuit of higher office.

The Jefferson Smith-esque Ed Shadid, however, will likely pursue higher office in the not-too-distant future. The governor’s office? Congress? Or perhaps a transition into national public service where he becomes a diplomat? For this bright, optimistic and idealistic fortysomething, the sky is the limit. As we have said before, Ed Shadid is where the country (and hopefully Oklahoma) will be in a decade’s time.

And in the meantime, you can count on Ed Shadid and his growing Shadista army to move Oklahoma City towards a more inclusive and brighter day. Viva Oklahoma City!

Was stolen from Fox News or were they being serious?

It sort of reminds me of this...

We Are The Victors | Robot Chicken | Adult Swim - YouTube (http://youtu.be/5iZl5LGornI)

Wow. I think the marginalization of the Red Dirt Report is next.

To marginalize it means it was respected and considered worthy in the first place...

LOLing right now about DRED calling out the Oklahoma Gazette from the podium of his concession speech -- and arguing with the paper's editor, who happened to be in the audience.

I'm sure that's going to really help him with coverage going forward.

Seriously, though, have you ever heard of such a thing?

Was stolen from Fox News or were they being serious?
It was like I was reading a story from The Onion.

To marginalize it means it was respected and considered worthy in the first place...

Seems like half the posters in this thread read it religiously, quote and link to it frequently. I guess as long as you put food on the man's table he will keep it up.

Seems like half the posters in this thread read it religiously, quote and link to it frequently. I guess as long as you put food on the man's table he will keep it up.

I highly doubt the Red Dirt Report is a money making venture.

I highly doubt the Red Dirt Report is a money making venture.

Keeping him in beer money? Stroking his ego? Google ranks his page as 3 out of 10. Same as OKCtalk.

Not me. I've read it three times I think. But I doubt he makes much on it. Although, perhaps it's the (dare I even call it left?) alternate version of the McCarville Report, which might make money and has a better editor.

I never heard of the RDR until I saw it linked here. There's probably more links to it and posts about the content in this thread than to the DOK.

Congratulations to Andy Griffin and his fine attempt at creative writing. I'm sure Aunt Bea and all of Mayberry are proud of him.

I highly doubt the Red Dirt Report is a money making venture.

I honestly just assumed the Shadid campaign was keeping them afloat.

I also know that the new owners of Beatnix are sponsors, which honestly made me not want to go to Beatnix anymore. But then I try to stop from being vindictive. They seem like nice folks and they make a good Sonoran hot dog.

I have some friends who have "liked" the RDR on facebook. I suspect he's a friend of one of their kids and they were asked to like it. Or I hope so.

It was like I was reading a story from The Onion.

Sounds fun.

Ed Shadid, who was recently was obliterated in a mayoral election, to run for a higher office.

City councilman and failed mayoral candidate Ed Shadid has decided to run for governor or US Senate. Shadid who just yesterday lost an election by 30+ points has decided his ceiling is higher then mayor despite the fact he achieved little to no support for the smaller office.
"The people of OKC are just generally ignorant rednecks. They simply can't see why better bus shelters are a fantastic idea. So I'm off to Tulsa and rural Oklahoma to start laying the groundwork for my grassroots campaign. The state for far too long has relied on farming, ranching and oil. I'm going to show them that with a comprehensive bus system throughout rural Oklahoma and Tulsa, we can start to wean ourselves off of it. People in OKC can go f themselves, they won't be getting a single bus"

Shadid had many troubles throughout his mayoral campaign. There were incidents from sending out ridiculous flyers accusing Mick Cornett of hating/loving gays to being unable to clearly state what the hell he hated about Cornett's policies. Shadid offered this,

"For starters were just against the stuff Cornett does. You know like all the stuff he does."

The Onion asked like MAPS 3 maybe? Shadid responded with,

"Exactly, look at MAPS 3, we're gonna spend all this money on a convention center however, I don't think we should. Sure it was passed in an election by a majority, and it's funded with taxpayer money not mine, but we all know okc voters are idiots and I'm the mayor. So let's scrap that and build bus shelters."

When asked what he would have done differently Shadid responded by saying,

"I would have kidnapped Cornett and made him debate me. That would have shown the voters who the real genius is here."

The Onion asked Cornett why he wouldn't debate Shadid he responded by saying,

"He's a lunatic and we're enjoying watching him meltdown."

Shadid said he would flip a coin to decide whether to run for Senate or Governor. Shadid states,

"We all know I don't support all those things Mary Fallin supports, so we could easily win that race. We just have to make sure the media doesn't nuke my campaign. They'll bring up things like my past with hookers, so what I've killed a few hookers, who hasn't? It has no effect on my ability to get bus shelters into this state. As far as US senate goes I think that could be a great option too. Frank Underwood has really opened a lot of doors for guys like me. Just work up a good scheme, kill if need be, and boom big things can happen."

I'm Doyle Redland reporting.

*The Shadid campiagn insists that he does not think the people of OKC are idiots and that a rogue campaigner put this out there. He also says he hasn't ever killed a hooker who didn't already have it coming. So it's pretty much ok. He also stated that he knows Frank Underwood is a fictional character, but that he is based on a real person or persons.

My day-after dissection of the Shadid defeat, with hand-wringing.

Doctor Taco's Rocks and Tacos: The Day After the Election (http://rocksandtacos.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-day-after.html)

Just wonder how many bus shelters Shadid could have built with the money he wasted on the election ? He could have been a hero.

That RDR article is just bat**** crazy. Your opponent just demolished you, humiliatED you and you're somehow a "rising star"? Shadid needs to work on his message. He needed to state a clear vision. What he brought to the table was conspiracy theories and harsh rhetoric. Here's a free lesson to him: If the product of a backroom cabal of millionaires is wildly popular, most people aren't going to care very much about the process. All of this bluster about transparency... if Clay Bennett had been "transparent," the Sonics would still be playing in Seattle or KC or someplace not OKC.

And why, God, why would he target the same people (disaffected voters, TPers, public employee unions and liberals) who would have voted for him anyhow? Steve Hunt did that and got 42% of the vote vs. Shadid's 33%. Since MAPS was brought into this world, it has been a machine. It has simply rolled over anyone who gets in its way. Shadid was smart enough not to get in the way the 1st time when he ran for Ward 2, but now? He needs to step back and maybe, if he's smart, sell us his vision for MAPS IV or his plans to expand public transit or his plans to work with PlanOKC to build this city more sustainably. His plans to fully implement UN Agenda 21. His plans to Let MAPS III be a done deal.

His campaign had enough money to win. It was his message which lost people. Any Shadid supporter I have ever spoken with, I have shown them how he has done a 180 on MAPS, who he's working with, his lack of consistency, that he's against MAPS and can't actually deliver on a single thing he promises. I have a 100% conversion rate.

Here is my analysis, and it contacts a few of your points, Dr. Taco.

Shadid could have won. There is a strong urban movement to capitalize on. There is a growing liberal base in the core.

But, his tone turned so negative, and his rhetoric turned so ill willed, that he gave the voters two choices yesterday:

1. Status Quo. Keep the trajectory we are on. It's not broken, don't fix it. Keep the current mayor.

2. Tear it down. We aren't going the right direction. It's broken, and we need to start over.

Most people don't agree with Option 2. If option 2 would have been "I am very proud of what we have done, I think we need to keep moving this same direction. I do have a few ideas to make us even better. I can get us more buses, and stronger police and fire support, without affecting the other great projects we are working on", he would have made it a much closer race. (Just talking in a vacuum where he has a record of keeping promises (which he doesn't))

So, his option 2 plus his horrendous record of keeping promises made this a very clear and easy choice for the voters. We don't need to burn the city down and start from scratch. 65% are happy with where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.

This is really good analysis ^^^ wish I had written it.

I've been told for a long time that Farley was / is in the tank for Shadid, and it's my understanding his "questions" were quite loaded.

This is 2nd publication that Tim Farley has been fired in a year

Shadid's problems, from an outsider perspective:

Started out negative, and went sharply downhill to downright nastyville at a rapid clip. Even when campaigns go negative, the candidate is often on his or her own upbeat message while others handle the deficiencies the campaign wants to highlight in an opponent. Candidate Shadid went with a nearly 180 degree approach, leaving to (too few) others to say he had a plan and a vision, while he was his own self appointed attack dawg from day one. Folk don't mind a rough and tumble leader, but few want to line up behind a junkyard dawg, even if his coat is shiny and he's well bathed.

Romney syndrome - Believing that wanting it, and feeling deserving of it, is enough. Discounting any message that is not positive as mere proof of the problem with the other guy, not as a sign there may be something amiss closer to home.

And speaking of something amiss, in OK, own your past, demonstrate it is the past, but good gravy, don't try to lie about it and pretend it is not there. This is not the 40's. Most everyone is jacked in and when the truth comes out over your denials, that genie is not going to go back in the bottle.

Own your word. No one can be everything to everyone. But if you do not own your own word, too few are going to see you as someone who can be anyone to them.
More than anything else, not owning his own word was, in my opinion, why a man with charisma, educated, decently financed or better, with a strong following of folks who truly want to believe, could not fare better than Mr. Hunt did, despite Hunt having run on a shoe string and who was never taken seriously except by the aginners who will accept any leader brave enough to do what they will not, stand in front of the crowd.

And with that, good luck OKC. I'm out.

As someone who has watched Shadid pretty closely over the past couple of years he, as I've said before, has a very low political IQ and a bit of a messianic complex. I don't know this for sure, but I truly believe that 20 years of being the god in the operating room and in the office has lost him years of opportunity to learn how to work with people, how to compromise, how to be pragmatic. In those two settings, your word is law and your every whim catered to. During this campaign, and after the last, he simply did whatever he wanted, with no thought for consequences. Because there had never been any. Perhaps due the desperation induced by the unthought of possibility of losing (saviors aren't supposed to) or because he's innately unethical, he became completely Machiavellian during this campaign. I agree with Midtowner though, he had no plan for expanding his base. It was supposed to happen. I suspect people like Glover, Griffen and Hunt, all deluded themselves, were feeding his ego throughout.

Ed's message, when it is coherent, is one that will find more and more people who will respond to it. But people who want something different from what Cornett offers need to look elsewhere. Because that man isn't right and maybe hasn't been for a long time. The end never justifies the means because the means show who you are.

As someone who has watched Shadid pretty closely over the past couple of years he, as I've said before, has a very low political IQ and a bit of a messianic complex. I don't know this for sure, but I truly believe that 20 years of being the god in the operating room and in the office has lost him years of opportunity to learn how to work with people, how to compromise, how to be pragmatic. During this campaign, and after the last, he simply did whatever he wanted, with no thought for consequences. Because there had never been any. Perhaps due the desperation induced by the unthought of possibility of losing (saviors aren't supposed to) or because he's innately unethical, he became completely Machiavellian during this campaign. I agree with Midtowner though, he had no plan for expanding his base. It was supposed to happen. I suspect people like Glover, Griffen and Hunt, all deluded themselves, were feeding his ego throughout.

Ed's message, when it is coherent, is one that will find more and more people who will respond to it. But people who want something different from what Cornett offers need to look elsewhere. Because that man isn't right and maybe hasn't been for a long time. The end never justifies the means because the means show who you are.

And with that, I'm done with this thread. Time to move on.

For those of us who are following this race closely, it can be easy for us to get caught up in the details--the give and take of good days and bad days for each candidate (we are already at 60+ pages of discussion and will no doubt hit 100+ before the election). Doing so could cause us to miss the obvious and very predictable outcome that is before us. Mick Cornett will win re-election. Handily. Here's why...

Consider what Mayor Cornett has going for him:

1) The local economy is doing fantastically, in spite of occasional uncertainty and lay-offs from individually unstable companies. Look at Mick's lead graphic on his campaign website; by any account, that list of #1 national rankings for Oklahoma City is astounding. We have gotten so used to such rankings that we may forget how special of a time this is in Oklahoma City's history. While Mayor Cornett cannot claim total responsibility for these distinctions, they have happened during his watch as mayor. He has every right to claim at least some ownership of these results, as we all know a mayor's ineptitude could certainly keep such prosperity from happening.
2) Mick enjoys broad appeal and support from people across the political spectrum. In a politically conservative place like Oklahoma, and even Oklahoma City, Mick's appeal is an impressive and venerable accomplishment. If you look at the names of the people who have already signed up to support Mick's campaign, it reads like a who's who list of Oklahoma City influence. And we're not just talking about right-wing tea party-types; many progressives, liberals, and democrats seem to appreciate the good that Mick has done for our city. Even those who may disagree with his personal social stands recognize that he has been an even-handed and civic-minded leader for all residents and has been a good friend to many common-sense progressive causes.
3) In his time as mayor, Mick has racked up some significant accomplishments. Some people on this forum question whether these accomplishments rightly belong to Mick. Fine. Let's say we give you that ground. Let's just call these controversial accomplishments his "perceived accomplishments." That's good enough in the political world. But whether we are talking about the presence of the NBA's best franchise or positive coverage on national news networks and publications, Mayor Cornett must, if even begrudgingly, be given some credit for a successful career as Oklahoma City's cheerleader-in-chief. He has been an able communicator of a fresh and bold civic vision.
4) MAPS 3 is beginning to produce visible results in communities all over the metro (with sidewalks and trails), and, contrary to its detractors' hopes otherwise, has broad support in both the overall MAPS brand, as well as the individual projects. Despite occasional concerns, Mick has navigated the passage and implementation of MAPS 3 in a way that has been simultaneously active and yet prudent. Without some capable leadership, the MAPS brand, and some of Oklahoma City's current accomplishments, would have been stillborn. Not everybody has to agree with all of how we have arrived here. The collectively accomplished results include something that everyone should find reason to celebrate.

Consider what Ed Shadid has going against him:

1) Ed Shadid suffers from a lack of name recognition and/or significant previous accomplishments. Being a one-term city council member and a local physician does not give the city at-large the opportunity to be acquainted with an individual they would consider as mayor. To mount a successful campaign against a well-liked mayor, Shadid will have to overcome systemic restrictions to becoming well-known. Money alone won't do it; TV ads and glossy mailers will not make up for lack of stable, consistent, accomplishment in the public sphere. Besides functioning as a capable dissident to other's plans (which is welcome and needed in its place), what has Ed Shadid done, exactly? Some politicians are able to overcome these odds by their unique setting, timing, and charisma--not this politician, not this time.
2) In an environment that is typically and socially conservative, Shadid's positions on social issues will prove toxic to a successful civic campaign--at least this time around. That would not have to be true of every candidate in every situation, but the previously referenced Okie article points out that this problem is closely linked to Shadid's next problem...
3) A fractured and fragmented constituency/support base. The very people Shadid wishes to reach with his unique blend of fiscal priorities are the very people that will find his social positions unacceptable. And the very people who will appreciate Shadid's social progressiveness will shudder at his fiscal priorities. What coalition would Shadid build that will somehow constitute a majority of Oklahoma City citizens? Extreme social progressives and the law enforcement unions? It's simply not plausible.
4) As people have given Councilman Shadid an opportunity to make his case, he has consistently let them down through tactical missteps, miscalculations, and mishandling of issues. Some have complained that Shadid has been downright duplicitous and under-handed, but let's give Shadid the same benefit of the doubt we can assign to Cornett. Let's say Shadid's campaign and overall message have not been deceitful. If they have not been deceitful, then they have certainly been confusing, disjointed, and disorganized--not good qualities for the mayor of a major metropolitan city.

So, apart from a totally unforeseen occurrence (dark horse candidate, financial meltdown, damaging allegations, etc.) here's how this thing plays out:
1) Shadid blusters loud and long and spends significant amounts of money trying to create an anti-incumbency fervor that does not exist (it's the only way he can build a coalition). In the process, he may be able to pick up a few disenchanted residents, until...
2) Cornett gently but noticeably "kneecaps" Shadid on his social positions, lack of accomplishments, and other odd statements (or allows others to do it for him) and continues to present a positive vision for Oklahoma City's future (backed up by corroborating evidence and heavy-hitting endorsements).
3) Mick wins.

With all that being said, this outcome is exactly what should happen. Why? Stated in total fairmindedness... Mick has done a sufficient job to have earned his re-election with no major errors to warrant his removal. Ed has prematurely run for mayor before collecting stable accomplishments (that could otherwise have earned him election) and has voiced suspicious reversals, as well as committed unforced spoken and leadership errors, that should justifiably deny him the opportunity to be mayor at such an important time.

Since others have re-posted their pre-election predictions, I will do the same. I wrote this back in November. I'm n

Sorry for the disjointed/incomplete post. My thumbs are bigger than my phone keypad letters and sometimes post early. As I was saying... In re-posting my prediction, I'm not bragging at all. In fact, I wrote this before the Oklahoman's exposé on Shadid; I didn't see that one coming in that form. Really, I just want to reinforce my original point in my original post. This was all fairly predictable. Those who make it their business and interest to follow these things - those who care - can get all concerned about what COULD happen. But what happened last night was already fairly set by factors that were clear months ago. And again, things turned out exactly as they SHOULD have. As someone said earlier - thank God and the good people of Oklahoma City.

I'm thinking high office is a good idea, so high he's out of state. I wouldn't wish him on San Francisco but he seriously would have a far better chance there than here.

"high" office indeed. He might have a shot in CO, CA, or WA.

A good interview with Mick that show what a good perspective he has on the issues.

Oklahoma City mayoral election results validate city's course, Cornett says | News OK (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-mayoral-election-results-validate-citys-course-cornett-says/article/3940154)

From the article accompanying that interview, I'm a tad confused.


Cornett swept suburban precincts in Cleveland and Canadian counties, failing to win just one where nobody voted.

Shadid won 35 precincts.

Cornett and Shadid tied in four precincts, including a 128-128 tie in Precinct 193, which flanks NW 23 Street near Shepherd Mall. No votes were recorded for either candidate in 14 precincts.

OKC has precincts where nobody votes? I know voter turnout percentages can be bad, but that just seems terrible. I have to wonder what the population is in those areas.

And what the heck is wrong with that first commenter?


Not one mention by Cornett of "neighborhoods", I'm sure it was just an oversight.

Yeah, expect the part of the interview where he explicitly talked about neighborhoods. Gah, what the hell, people.