Activist to seek Oklahoma City mayoral seat

[kevinpate]

plausible, but improbable. Not my city, but I rather suspect the pro maps candidates in the anti maps wards won't find themselves short of funding or volunteers.



(not commenting on which way it oughta go, just what is ee as likely)

[rcjunkie]

I don't see any errors in Larry's post. Larry is right on - even though only one Councilmember (Walters) actually voted no, two other Wards voted no (Wards 3 and 4 voted against) against their Councilmember's recommendation. Therefore, it is plausible to think that anti-Maps Councilmembers could be voted into office. That would be 3 votes against. Add in an anti-Maps mayor, and it's 4 against. I don't think Larry was saying this will happen, but I think he's right in saying it's plausible.

And, like gmwise noted, NEVER underestimate the competition. That's exactly what happened when Foshee left and Walters slipped in.

Cornett vs Hunt----easy to pick this one (like taking candy from a baby)
Walters is a one term council member, he will be out of office before most MAPS3 projects are sent out for bid. (Foshee is running and will definitely reclaim his seat)

[Steve]

Foshee is gunning back for his old seat? For real?

[Rover]

Anti Maps "let's do nothing" crowd just won't give it up.

[mugofbeer]

Anti Maps "let's do nothing" crowd just won't give it up.

They seem to put plenty of energy into taking positions that would force everyone to "do nothing."

[Mikemarsh51]

Wow, I wish I had a count of how many of you said Maps3 was over and I needed to move on. Politics sure are interesting. Mr. Foshee was at the last Fire union
meeting and said there was no way he would run for Mayor or his old seat. Can't believe y'all would be scared by a little old nobody like Steve Hunt.

[mugofbeer]

Wow, I wish I had a count of how many of you said Maps3 was over and I needed to move on. Politics sure are interesting. Mr. Foshee was at the last Fire union
meeting and said there was no way he would run for Mayor or his old seat. Can't believe y'all would be scared by a little old nobody like Steve Hunt.

discussion does not equal "scared"

[rcjunkie]

[QUOTE=Mikemarsh51;296457]Wow, I wish I had a count of how many of you said Maps3 was over and I needed to move on. Politics sure are interesting. Mr. Foshee was at the last Fire union
meeting and said there was no way he would run for Mayor or his old seat. Can't believe y'all would be scared by a little old nobody like Steve Hunt.[/QUOTE]

Not scared, I have to give it up to him, to run when everyone knows he has 0% percent chance of winning.

As for Foshee running, I'm hearing a different story, was at a luncheon at Willow Creek Golf Club last week and he was definitely singing a different tune.

[bornhere]

I don't think Oklahoma City has voted an incumbent mayor out of office in my lifetime.

[Rover]

You want to see OKC fall back into backwardness, just let one of these do-nothing activists get a foothold.

[gmwise]

Please dont assume incumbency is a automatic vote yes.
As I previously posted Hunt doesnt sound like a winner much less 2nd choice.

The Founding Fathers were activists, dont discount or belittle them.

[Mikemarsh51]

I will say that neither of those candidates makes me the least bit happy. Both of them when you filter the crap and rhetoric have solid messages. As odd as Hunt is at least he was willing to discuss issues when Cornett would not debate the Maps3 issues. Let's wait and see what Cornett does about debating Hunt in the next 5 weeks. The city will not elect a southside mayor. Good thing they both live north. I will vote for whoever is going to address city employees, we are facing 8-9% salary reductions. The way Cornett sold Maps3 you would think it would cure cancer, now here we sit with 3/4 of a billion in projects and we can't pay the employees. I think that is exactly what I was saying last October. Am I still a union thug?

[Hunt4Mayor]

I just don't think the new convention center is an efficient use of our dollars. That is my main concern. Very few people wanted it, and since MAPS 3 passed, I've heard concerns that it will take up more than is expected, and individuals who fought for other projects have told me personally they are concerned that their projects will be left behind, or only partially funded. Legitimate concerns without question, unless you rely on fairy tales from Saxum Communications, Visual Image, CMA Strategies and friends.

My interests are in things that make us unique, not things like convention centers and subsidized Bass Pro shops, which make us similar to other big cities. How do you stand out by being like everyone else? That logic made sense in Jr High, but not so much now.

One of the things I am interested in...as I have stated in a Council Meeting, is how Ponca City received write-ups in national publications for their community wireless project, something we could do quite easily here in OKC. And should. Why throw away money to Atlanta based COX and San Antonio based AT&T? It makes no sense to me. Community wi-fi is the future.

Also, it is shameful that our once proud (and significantly less wealthy) city had locally owned WKY broadcasting from the Skirvin (occupying two floors there) and KWTV with it's “world's tallest man-made structure” tower – now only has a small handful of local radio stations (Perry and Taylor owned...the big ones are Citadel and Clear Channel owned, Nevada and Texas corporations) and amongst the major TV stations just Channel 9. The others have been bought off by wealthy investment firms in Ft Worth or by media conglomerates with no interest in our city whatsoever, other than making a buck.

With all this money we have set to come in, why not use it to buy back some of our stations? We need to be telling OUR stories, not these myopic “economies of scale” hoodlums, most of which are about to go bankrupt and trying to squeeze every penny out of every advertiser...thus pricing most local OKC businesses out of ever mentioning their goods and services, it's always some fancy national entity or a tax payer funded Ad Council spot! Whether it be municipally-owned radio (as Dallas has done so well with WRR) or local groups subsidized by MAPS funds, we need to take our media back.

Michael Carrier, President of the CVB told me one of the reasons for building the new Center, was that we need “..higher ceilings for the types of events some people are putting on these days.” Hello? How about using your vast resources and knowledge to court conferences that don't use big displays! With this Convention Center, we are talking about the same amount of money it will cost to build the new jail. Might be good to just gift those funds to the County. That would prevent a dreaded 9.375% sales tax (shopping deterrent of epic proportions) or big new property tax. If they try and sign a contract with Benham or some other fancy outfit, fine let them. What will they do, sue the City for canceling? There is a nice cap on what you can sue for. Take the money and go have an elegant dinner party with it at Red Prime while the good people of Oklahoma City have a bigger party, doing more important things...

These are the kind of actions we can take, amongst many others I have planned, that would put us on the map. I will discuss other things later if anyone is interested.

++ Oh, and Kevin..regarding "...Will Hunt sponsor a take an activist to work day if he is elected?" I will certainly support one for the types of activists you are referring to. Hippie types that sit around and sing songs about how another world is possible, all the while yelling at their girlfriends why they didn't bring home more french fries or whatever...not really my cup of tea. I work my butt off at my job and with my other stuff I do...so you can imagine my disdain for these types.

[betts]

I would consider an intelligent, rational opponent who has a plan. Steve Hunt falls outside of all three parameters of that description, which makes consideration of him as a candidate completely untenable.

And, I know Jerry Foshee, and the last time I talked to him he was considering running. I don't know if he's made a firm decision yet or not.

[MrBigglesworth]

Holy crap I worked with this guy in the past. If I was able to vote on the OKC Mayor race he wouldnt get my vote. That is all Im going to say about it.

[Kerry]

I didn't think Steve Hunt lived inside the OKC city limits. Did he move recently?

[andy157]

I haven't seen the list of who filed for the Office of Mayor, did Joe "Sarge" Nelson go ahead and file as he said he intended to?

[Kerry]

Did Hunt4Mayor actually propose the City of Oklahoma City own local radio stations and be the cities internet service provider?

One of the things I am interested in...as I have stated in a Council Meeting, is how Ponca City received write-ups in national publications for their community wireless project, something we could do quite easily here in OKC. And should. Why throw away money to Atlanta based COX and San Antonio based AT&T? It makes no sense to me. Community wi-fi is the future.

You do realize that even if the city puts in a city-wide wi-fi they still need to outsource it to a service provider don't you.

[venture]

Did Hunt4Mayor actually propose the City of Oklahoma City own local radio stations and be the cities internet service provider?



You do realize that even if the city puts in a city-wide wi-fi they still need to outsource it to a service provider don't you.

Not to mention city-owned hot zones for public internet access are extreme money losers. The costs to get the projects rolled out are too extreme that you'll never compete with AT&T or COX with their budget rates. Not to mention the issues that come with the reliability of wifi. You'll never get the stability of DSL or Cable - so people will eventually just get annoyed and switch back.

A widespread hot zone is a nice thought, but how to compete with the cell companies who have it across the majority of their networks now?

[rcjunkie]

I haven't seen the list of who filed for the Office of Mayor, did Joe "Sarge" Nelson go ahead and file as he said he intended to?

Only two filed, Cornett and Hunt

[gmwise]

This is why we need "none of the above".

[Kerry]

This is why we need "none of the above".

Feel free to write that in.

[andy157]

Only two filed, Cornett and Hunt

Thanks for the info. BTW and FWIW, I talked to Foshee last Thursday. When I mentioned the talk going around and ask him if he was running again for his Council seat again, he said no. Of course he could change his mind if he had a mind to, anythings possible.

[Mikemarsh51]

Wow, Betts, Hunt4mayor rambled on like a madman. How did we let him on the ballot? Him being willing to discuss things goes a long way.

The city already has a wi-fi system set up for police and fire vehicles. Not sure if there is an outside provider.

[Kerry]

Wow, Betts, Hunt4mayor rambled on like a madman. How did we let him on the ballot? Him being willing to discuss things goes a long way.

The city already has a wi-fi system set up for police and fire vehicles. Not sure if there is an outside provider.

Of course there is an outside provider.