OKC Mayor Race 2014

[adaniel]

I think until the mayor comes to their neighborhood, on their street, on their block, and says "we are going to do this," there will always be complaints by some of the mayor's office not paying enough attention to their needs.

[bradh]

I think until the mayor comes to their neighborhood, on their street, on their block, as says "we are going to do this," there will always be complaints by some of the mayor's office not paying enough attention to their needs.

That's what I'm thinking.

I don't need Ed Shadid to come to my neighborhood to tell us to make it a better place. We have an active non-overbearing HOA who works tirelessly to make our neighborhood great. I'm proud to say I help in that.

[ljbab728]

Does this count when it comes to paying attention to neighborhood needs?

Oklahoma City mayor's tornado task force issues recommendations | News OK

[betts]

I just saw this article when I was looking for news on the streetcar and Jackson, MS had a similar article about OKC. Again, considering where we were 20 years ago, to be held up as a model for cities to emulate is nothing short of amazing.

Louisville mayor: Oklahoma City a model for transforming Kentucky cities

[dcsooner]

I just saw this article when I was looking for news on the streetcar and Jackson, MS had a similar article about OKC. Again, considering where we were 20 years ago, to be held up as a model for cities to emulate is nothing short of amazing.

Louisville mayor: Oklahoma City a model for transforming Kentucky cities

Don't have a vote, but Mayor Cornett has overall been very good for OKC. I think it foolish to interrupt the great run of proven leaders OKC has had. My two cents

[warreng88]

Happened again last night. I'm in Louisiville to give a talk today and last night was a lounge downtown. Someone there had been to a conference in OKC a couple years ago and said, "I've traveled the world and I think that Oklahoma City is one of the most impressive cities. I had no idea that Oklahoma City was as nice as it was."

He even had pictures on his phone he was showing people at our table. Pretty sweet.

Now part of that could have been the bourbon flight talking, for sure but the fact that he had pictures and was obviously pretty excited about it. Anyway, just passing along what I hear.

I am going to guess what a lot of the pictures were: Devon Tower (lots of photos), Myriad Gardens, Stage Center, The Peake, The canal, the ballpark, the public art in front of Leadership Square and some of DD. Am I right?

[David]

Does this count when it comes to paying attention to neighborhood needs?

Oklahoma City mayor's tornado task force issues recommendations | News OK

It doesn't fit the narrative Ed's supporters are pushing, so probably not.

[OKVision4U]

Happened again last night. I'm in Louisiville to give a talk today and last night was a lounge downtown. Someone there had been to a conference in OKC a couple years ago and said, "I've traveled the world and I think that Oklahoma City is one of the most impressive cities. I had no idea that Oklahoma City was as nice as it was."

He even had pictures on his phone he was showing people at our table. Pretty sweet.

Now part of that could have been the bourbon flight talking, for sure but the fact that he had pictures and was obviously pretty excited about it. Anyway, just passing along what I hear.

This makes my point sooooooo clear. How clear? .....Crystal clear. We Oklahomans have PRIDE again. That boys and girls, is priceless.

Let's not let the incredibly small 3 - 5 % slow the entire state down. This is not a race, just a formality. Mr. Cornett, ...keep going, we are proud of you too.

[warreng88]

What I would like to hear from Ed is what he wants and how he is going to get it done. Not just "I don't like that Mick Cornett is doing (fill in the blank)." All I have heard so far is "We need more public safety officials and more transparency, etc" but no explanation on how to get it done. Krisb, maybe you can shed some light on this?

[warreng88]

This makes my point sooooooo clear. How clear? .....Crystal clear. We Oklahomans have PRIDE again. That boys and girls, is priceless.

Let's not let the incredibly small 3 - 5 % slow the entire state down. This is not a race, just a formality. Mr. Cornett, ...keep going, we are proud of you too.

Four years ago, three of my cousins who lived in Columbia, SC and Orlando, FL for their entire life came to visit. We drove down 23rd street (which wasn't as cool then as it is now) to 235, then south, exiting on 6th street taking the Walnut bridge into Bricktown. As I drove over the bridge, two of them said "Wow!" and the other one said, "Dude, Bricktown is f#$king awesome!" We parked by Bass Pro and walked to get on the riverboat. The entire time they were looking around and exclaiming how cool OKC was. I showed them renderings of what the Devon Tower was going to look like and the plans for Project 180. One of them said I must be so proud to live in a cool, fun city with so many things to do... Yeah, yeah, I am...

[betts]

You know what I'm proud of? Oklahoma City has so many free and low cost activities downtown. Go to a Sunday concert on the lawn at the Myriad Gardens, watch Shakespeare on the water stage or take your kids or grandkids to play in the Thunder fountain and children's play area. Take your dog there to the dog park. Go to the free concerts in lower Bricktown. Watch great local basketball at the Cage. Go to a Redhawks game. Tickets to sit on the lawn are cheap and it's a fun atmosphere there. Stand in line to win free tickets to the Thunder games or buy $10 tickets and enjoy Loud City. Go to a meeting or borrow a book at the Public Library. Visit the art museum, walk along the canal in Bricktown, walk or cycle along the river, visit the Memorial. I can't wait until there are more events at our Central Park. I was just thinking about the fact that our downtown just keeps getting better and better and it's available for everyone. Add in the growth of the Plaza District and 23rd St., think about the potential of the Farmer's Market area and Capitol Hill areas. I see good things ahead for Oklahoma City. I too can say I'm proud to live here.

At this time of the year too, I always say a little mental "thank you" to Mayor Cornett for the exhaustive work he did to bring the Thunder here. I will always remember David Stern laughing about "the mayor who wouldn't go away". That is vision of a sort I can appreciate. Positive vision.

[Bellaboo]

You know what I'm proud of? Oklahoma City has so many free and low cost activities downtown. Go to a Sunday concert on the lawn at the Myriad Gardens, watch Shakespeare on the water stage or take your kids or grandkids to play in the Thunder fountain and children's play area. Take your dog there to the dog park. Go to the free concerts in lower Bricktown. Watch great local basketball at the Cage. Go to a Redhawks game. Tickets to sit on the lawn are cheap and it's a fun atmosphere there. Stand in line to win free tickets to the Thunder games or buy $10 tickets and enjoy Loud City. Go to a meeting or borrow a book at the Public Library. Visit the art museum, walk along the canal in Bricktown, walk or cycle along the river, visit the Memorial. I can't wait until there are more events at our Central Park. I was just thinking about the fact that our downtown just keeps getting better and better and it's available for everyone. Add in the growth of the Plaza District and 23rd St., think about the potential of the Farmer's Market area and Capitol Hill areas. I see good things ahead for Oklahoma City. I too can say I'm proud to live here.

At this time of the year too, I always say a little mental "thank you" to Mayor Cornett for the exhaustive work he did to bring the Thunder here. I will always remember David Stern laughing about "the mayor who wouldn't go away". That is vision of a sort I can appreciate. Positive vision.

I will go out on a limb and proclaim that Ed would not have pursued this venue for us if he were the mayor at the time. I just don't think he has the ability to see the value of something progressive, like a MAPS tax to build facilites that made this happen.

[PhiAlpha]

I will go out on a limb and proclaim that Ed would not have pursued this venue for us if he were the mayor at the time. I just don't think he has the ability to see the value of something progressive, like a MAPS tax to build facilites that made this happen.

I agree. I won't go as far to say no Mick Cornett, no Thunder, only because Clay Bennett and the rest of PBC worked tirelessly to "steal" the team from Seattle, but Mick was certainly a very, very integral cog. Of course that completely leaves out getting the Hornets here, so I'm probably not giving him enough credit.

[OKVision4U]

You know what I'm proud of? Oklahoma City has so many free and low cost activities downtown. Go to a Sunday concert on the lawn at the Myriad Gardens, watch Shakespeare on the water stage or take your kids or grandkids to play in the Thunder fountain and children's play area. Take your dog there to the dog park. Go to the free concerts in lower Bricktown. Watch great local basketball at the Cage. Go to a Redhawks game. Tickets to sit on the lawn are cheap and it's a fun atmosphere there. Stand in line to win free tickets to the Thunder games or buy $10 tickets and enjoy Loud City. Go to a meeting or borrow a book at the Public Library. Visit the art museum, walk along the canal in Bricktown, walk or cycle along the river, visit the Memorial. I can't wait until there are more events at our Central Park. I was just thinking about the fact that our downtown just keeps getting better and better and it's available for everyone. Add in the growth of the Plaza District and 23rd St., think about the potential of the Farmer's Market area and Capitol Hill areas. I see good things ahead for Oklahoma City. I too can say I'm proud to live here.

At this time of the year too, I always say a little mental "thank you" to Mayor Cornett for the exhaustive work he did to bring the Thunder here. I will always remember David Stern laughing about "the mayor who wouldn't go away". That is vision of a sort I can appreciate. Positive vision.

This is what it is about.... Vision. Mr. Norick has it. Mr. Cornett has it. ( The mayor that wouldn't go away... I love it.! )

[OKVision4U]

I agree. I won't go as far to say no Mick Cornett, no Thunder, only because Clay Bennett and the rest of PBC worked tirelessly to "steal" the team from Seattle, but Mick was certainly a very, very integral cog. Of course that completely leaves out getting the Hornets here, so I'm probably not giving him enough credit.

If you go back to 92' and see the line we have taken, you couldn't take-out "any" of the efforts ( Individual or Cumulative ). It all was & is a vital part to the success we have Today...Thank you again!

[Midtowner]

I agree. I won't go as far to say no Mick Cornett, no Thunder, only because Clay Bennett and the rest of PBC worked tirelessly to "steal" the team from Seattle, but Mick was certainly a very, very integral cog. Of course that completely leaves out getting the Hornets here, so I'm probably not giving him enough credit.

This is one of the key differences with Cornett vs. Shadid. Cornett plays well with others. Shadid would read a book about the NBA and instantly reject everyone else's advice and experience even if he came into the picture at the end of the discussion. Shadid would have found a way to tank the Thunder deal and possibly not pursued it in the first place.

[adaniel]

Actually he would have read the book, invited the author to a symposium to lecture on the horrors of NBA, then declared himself a genius on sports ownership. He then would have droned on and on in a meeting with David Stern for about 2 hours, claiming a conspiracy by Clay Bennett and other rich "chamber of commerce" types, boring Stern to tears before he finally stands up and says "screw it, we're moving the Sonics to Virginia Beach."

[Midtowner]

I'm pretty sure it'd play out exactly like that.

[Larry OKC]

Right. But Maps can't build restaurants, entertainment venues, stores, etc and neither can GO Bonds. They can, however, build the transportation infrastructure with which to get there.

Do you not consider Fairgrounds facility improvements, the Ballpark, the Arena, maybe even the Whitewater facility and the other River sports spectator related improvements, Civic Center improvements to be entertainment venues built/improved with MAPS? What about the restaurants that are within those facilities? While not directly funded by a MAPS, the Bass Pro deal was funded by the associated MAPS 4 Kids Use Tax.

Interesting fact - GO Bonds for sidewalks only are not considered a public utility by the state (namely an amenity) and thereby require a super majority (above 60% - not 66%, actually) in an election. Streets, bridges, drainage, public buildings, and parks only require simple majority (above 50%). Staff looked into that issue when preparing the 2007 GOB. That's definitely something that I personally think needs to be changed before the next GOB so that we can construct more sidewalks.

is that why sidewalks were included in the Roads proposition, where road widening projects happen, sidewalks are to be included (rather than a stand alone proposition)?

[Urban Pioneer]

I posted in the streetcar thread I intend to post some stuff that I know about that is going on. I will do so once I figure out how to explain everything. Some of it I can back up and is easily collated. Other stuff is deduction through observation.

Seeing that school bus and being asked "if I was Nick with Dr. Shadid's campaign." Really threw me for a loop. It was interesting as to who was in attendance at that meeting who did not speak.

[LuccaBrasi]

It is hard to imagine how Ed would handle the national stage. The same way he has handled the local stage?

Second that. I personally don't think he could handle the national stage too well.

Maybe I missed this on another thread, but I heard from a city employee today that Ed really ticked off councilman Pettis after Ed slithered around the black community by going to some black pastors and pointing out to them there was some racism involved by not having any African Americans on I think the transit committee? The details were sketchy at best, so take this with a grain of salt, I was just curious if anyone was at the city council meeting where I think some things were said about it. My contact's point in telling me the story was that Ed did not have the decency speak with Pettis about this matter beforehand, he just slithered around his ward instigating controversy. My initial reaction was I found this hard to believe???

[CaptDave]

I've heard something very similar to that also. The racial composition of the streetcar subcommittee was brought up by Councilman Shadid and received the desired response from some in attendance. But any insinuation of wrongdoing or purposeful exclusion of individuals based on race was quickly and effectively refuted. As was mentioned previously, everything including the kitchen sink was thrown out in his misguidEd attempt to derail progress on this project. Thankfully for OKC, it failed and the true nature of a couple individuals was revealed. Watch the meeting on okc.gov if you have time. I think most people would arrive at a similar conclusion.

[adaniel]

Second that. I personally don't think he could handle the national stage too well.

Maybe I missed this on another thread, but I heard from a city employee today that Ed really ticked off councilman Pettis after Ed slithered around the black community by going to some black pastors and pointing out to them there was some racism involved by not having any African Americans on I think the transit committee? The details were sketchy at best, so take this with a grain of salt, I was just curious if anyone was at the city council meeting where I think some things were said about it. My contact's point in telling me the story was that Ed did not have the decency speak with Pettis about this matter beforehand, he just slithered around his ward instigating controversy. My initial reaction was I found this hard to believe???

Hmm, that is VERY interesting.

There was a little blurb in the Journal Record regarding a real estate and club owner requesting a liquor license

The real estate company was owned by none other than Ed Shadid's uncle, and Ed actually recused himself from the meeting. Pettis supposedly ripped into both, at one point calling Shadid's uncle a "crappy" property owner for essentially being a slumlord for the shopping center off of NE 36th and Springlake. Their license was unanimously denied 8-0, which I honestly cannot remember that happening before. Now that I know what you have added, I can't help but to think these two things might be related. For the record, I am very familiar with both the club and shopping center in question, and both are terrible.

But yeah, Shadid is really pushing this whole Title VI of the Civil Rights act. As someone who is both African American and has deep ties to the northeast side, I was a bit taken aback at the suggestion that this process has racial undertones. At that point, I just kinda figured Shadid and his allies were throwing poop at the wall and seeing what would stick.

[Teo9969]

Well, we know for sure that if indeed some of the NE residents were mobilized (rather than coming on their own initiative which is, though highly improbable from what we know at this point, still very much possible) that it wasn't by the efforts of Pettis, because he voted "Yea" in spite of the fact that every person from his ward who spoke, spoke against the streetcar/proposed route.

I couldn't see Pettis, but is there any chance he looked visually perturbed at the meeting? I noticed his chair was not always turned facing straight, which I thought to be interesting "body language". If we were to assume that Pettis deduced the proposed scenario over the course of the meeting, and if we assumed that he was upset in someway by that fact over the course of the meeting, then I hope that Pettis voted "Yea" because he genuinely thought that was the right thing to do and not to "stick it to Ed" for antics that he pulled (perceived or real).

I hope we can keep sh*t-head politics out of OKC as we move forward.

[betts]

Pettis has been the standup guy throughout this whole process. If I were to pick a junior councilman to support for mayor, it would be him, not Shadid. He's an honorable gentleman, has bent over backwards for his ward during his short tenure, and I suspect the story of what happened won't come from him. I wish him a long and distinguished political career. I think he has bigger transit plans for his ward than a route to the Health Sciences Center and his constituents need to be patient and trust that he has their interests at heart.