Ed Shadid Launches Formal Attack on MAPS 3 Conv Center in tandem with Mayoral Bid

[betts]

Steve: ...I'm not aware of another time in our city's history when a sitting city council member attempted to overturn a previous vote by taxpayers.

That happens when you have no concern for your constituents and can't see any agenda but your own as valid.

[catch22]

My vote is for something like this.



It's probably a longshot though.

Is that a giant bong?

[Dubya61]

Ed Shadid has almost 2,400 likes on his facebook page and has an avid following for how crazy he is.

Don't sweat that number too much, I'm a "like"r on his facebook page. There was a time when I thought he was thoughtful and worth listening to. By now, I follow him because I want to know what he's up to. The comments that show up there, by the way, ARE somewhat alarming.

[mkjeeves]

Don't sweat that number too much, I'm a "like"r on his facebook page. There was a time when I thought he was thoughtful and worth listening to. By now, I follow him because I want to know what he's up to. The comments that show up there, by the way, ARE somewhat alarming.

Some of the comments on this board are alarming.

So....I wonder when someone will take the initiative to set up a poll on OKCTalk about killing the Convention Center while simultaneously rolling back $250 million in maps tax collection? I think it's a pretty safe bet this crowd doesn't support that but we might all be surprised. I am surprised with some of the opinions that have surfaced.

[kevinpate]

On the other hand, it's all a grand bit of political theater. Those who may have been set to focus the hot white lights of reality on Ed the Candidate will now spend a good deal of time, energy and resources trying to persuade folks that staying the course, looking forward, protecting the MAPs brand, avoid falling for red herrings, no commitment to a hotel, so no need to harm the cc, etc., etc., etc.

I seem to remember a Tom Clancy novel like this once. rattle saber here, rattle saber yonder, all the while planning something big on the down low over there where no one is really looking because they are watching or dodging the next saber rattle.

Annoying in its own way, but interesting all the same. There's some serious political gamesmanship under way. Hope OKC is up for it.

[mkjeeves]

On the other hand, it's all a grand bit of political theater. Those who may have been set to focus the hot white lights of reality on Ed the Candidate will now spend a good deal of time, energy and resources trying to persuade folks that staying the course, looking forward, protecting the MAPs brand, avoid falling for red herrings, no commitment to a hotel, so no need to harm the cc, etc., etc., etc.

I seem to remember a Tom Clancy novel like this once. rattle saber here, rattle saber yonder, all the while planning something big on the down low over there where no one is really looking because they are watching or dodging the next saber rattle.

Annoying in its own way, but interesting all the same. There's some serious political gamesmanship under way. Hope OKC is up for it.

and it didn't start just now.

[betts]

Don't sweat that number too much, I'm a "like"r on his facebook page. There was a time when I thought he was thoughtful and worth listening to. By now, I follow him because I want to know what he's up to. The comments that show up there, by the way, ARE somewhat alarming.

I was a supporter of his during his campaign for city council and so I had "liked" his page earlier. What a blunder on my part. I think, though, that he had almost twice that many likes a couple of weeks ago. Mayor Cornett has 6,000+. Mayor Cornett is pretty active on twitter as well. So much for Ed being the king of social media in city politics.

[Midtowner]

Has anyone managed to get a copy of the Petition? I'm guessing this is a Qui Tam? What legal theory is he using here?

[PhiAlpha]

I don't know how this keeps happening, but almost everytime Ed does anything it makes me hate him so much more. After we bury him in the election, I'll be the first person behind Warren88 with a torch and pitch fork chasing him out of town.

Here's to hoping Ed's latest Hail Mary backfires like the rest of them. Anyone still think he had nothing to do with David Slane's maps challenge?

[SoonerDave]

Has anyone managed to get a copy of the Petition? I'm guessing this is a Qui Tam? What legal theory is he using here?

I searched as best I could on the OKC Clerk's portion of the OKC web site, but I found nothing that might let me look up petitions or similar items. Not even sure there's a legal theory at work - sounds like he's using the initiative petition process to do two things; one, get the voters to approve an explicit prohibition of the use of MAPS 3 funds for the convention center; two, get the voters to shorten the lifespan of the MAPS 3 tax by an amount of time that would reduce the projected revenue by an amount equal to the projected cost of the convention center.

I guess the first question I'd have is whether the initiative petition process can be used in this way - to prohibit the city from doing a specific thing it isn't legally bound to do in the first place. I'd think the second petition item might merit more attention - cutting the duration of the tax seems like a plausible attempt to starve the CC project even if the other petition fails.

I've not seen anything to indicate the petitions were actually filed - only that they were "supposed" to be filed 2 January.

The issue of how the CC +/- hotel was or was not presented within the context of the broader MAPS campaign could become a very troubling issue for everyone going forward.

[rcjunkie]

True, let's stop the CC construction and while were at it, tear down the baseball stadium, fill in the canal, rip up the new sidewalks, bulldoze the remodeled schools. Why would we want this City to grow and proper.

[Just the facts]

As Pete pointed out several times in this thread (and I have pointed out probably 100 times over the last few years), once the voters approved the MAPS III money for the convention it also put the City (aka - the citizens) on the hook to pitch in for the hotel - AND - the second phase of the convention center. Remember, the first MAPS III phase is just to replace the Cox Center. Phase II is to lure and accommodate the projected growth. Of course, we know that projected growth is totally made up horse-**** because there is no realistic way it is possible. The Chamber screwed up when they pitched it as an economic activity generator instead of a quality of life project. For the vast majority of people who would visit this facility there is zero (zip, nada, zilch) reason to have an attached hotel because these people already have a home in metro OKC. Until the Chamber stops lying to us about all these ridiculous projections this is the kind of debate they are going to generate.

I would like to think the current Cox site could be sold off to off-set some of the cost for phase II and the hotel but the reality is that the City will probably give away the land to a developer (i.e. Lower Bricktown), or will spend millions on surrounding infrastructure at the request of the developer (i.e. OKC Outlet Mall and Devon Tower). Remember, when you lose money on every transaction you can't make it up in volume.

[soonerguru]

I've never been happy with the way this whole convention center thing has transpired; to not being open about the study prior to the vote, to it being moved up in the timeline, to using a selection process that promised the best site for the CC and not what was best for OKC overall. And there are still a bunch of unanswered questions about what could be a very expensive hotel that will likely need substantial public support.

It's really too bad that Shadid has alienated himself to the point that he can't effectively address these issues -- because they do need addressing.

He could have also carried the torch for addressing the issues with the planning department, the Project 180 planning and budget and several other key areas that need to be put under a bright light.

Unfortunately, he's turned into a bit of a pariah and even when he is right and/or people may agree with his message, there is little trust.

Calculated understatement? This is just naked politics. He has found the issue with which he can make the greatest impact for his mayoral campaign but he couldn't care less if his destructive efforts harm MAPS 3 and the city.

He is an anarchist, and I'm beginning to believe his supporters are both clueless about how economics work and / or don't understand how important it is for our city to invest in its amenities and infrastructure to continue to grow.

Shadid's mailing says he will work hard for jobs, but so far everything I've seen him propose involves killing jobs and economic development initiatives. I'm so ready for this guy to go back to his medical practice and stop screwing up our city.

As for the convention center, I was never a huge fan, but I have always believed -- and still do -- that a large, growing city like OKC needs a nice convention center. And if we have a convention center, we need a convention hotel -- and hopefully a top-flight hotel brand. And I don't mind if we subsidize it because I think it's something we need.

Now, i don't see how it's positive for OKC to turn this into a prosecutorial effort about what should or should not have been said to citizens, because in the end, that's academic vis a vis completing the convention center.

[bradh]

Until the Chamber stops lying to us about all these ridiculous projections this is the kind of debate they are going to generate.

Do you think the projections are made up, or just unrealistic? There is a difference.

Hint...they aren't made up

[Steve]

Has anyone managed to get a copy of the Petition? I'm guessing this is a Qui Tam? What legal theory is he using here?

Petitions are posted at NewsOK: Oklahoma City News, Sports, Weather, Business & Entertainment OKC

[bradh]

Stuff like this leads me to believe, does Ed really care about bus routes, or does he just see bus riders as an easy voter bloc to obtain so he can get his dream of being mayor?

[Just the facts]

Do you think the projections are made up, or just unrealistic? There is a difference.

Hint...they aren't made up

The projections are made up and aren't founded in reality. Someone took a guess based on the most rosy assumptions and sold it to the Chamber, who bought it because it told the lie they wanted told. Either the Chamber is stupid or they think we the public are stupid. I'm betting it is the latter.

How about this - after 5 years the company that did the projections pay the difference between reality and their projection. Do you think they would go for that?

If they just sold it as a quality of life project they wouldn't have needed fake projections at all and the people would have still bought it. Honesty works.

[kevinpate]

and it didn't start just now.

Nor did I suggest it did. I am thinking however that Tulsa style discord is going to reach full bloom long before the local flora does.

[Urban Pioneer]

Having experienced Ed's personality traits on a personal level, I suspect that this is just as much about revenge against "the establishment" as it is about any kind of meaningful political strategy.

[bradh]

Having experienced Ed's personality traits on a personal level, I suspect that this is just as much about revenge against "the establishment" as it is about any kind of meaningful political strategy.

Exactly, this guy is mad he's not part of said "establishment" and will go to any length to create his own.

[Urban Pioneer]

Not exactly. In some ways yes. Definitely ego and addiction for greater political power at play imhop. The Convention Center was probably always going to come up. But one wonders if it simply would have heen a major debate issue or if "they" (being Ed, David Glover, and their friends) really anticipated going as far as attempting formally repealing a major part of MAPS 3.


It seems more like blood letting to me.

[soonerguru]

Exactly, this guy is mad he's not part of said "establishment" and will go to any length to create his own.

"Establishment?" Ed would belong to no club that would have him as a member.

[soonerguru]

Not exactly. In some ways yes. Definitely ego and addiction for greater political power at play imhop. The Convention Center was probably always going to come up. But one wonders if it simply would have heen a major debate issue or if "they" (being Ed, David Glover, and their friends) really anticipated going as far as attempting formally repealing a major part of MAPS 3.


It seems more like blood letting to me.

Scorched earth strategy. They know they're not going to win the race, so they're going to exact as much damage as they can on the way down. They want to leave a trail of wreckage (much how Shadid described his personal life prior to his recovery) cloaked as honest citizen inquiry.

[SoonerDave]

Petitions are posted at NewsOK: Oklahoma City News, Sports, Weather, Business & Entertainment OKC

That first petition is dense - couldn't the council circumvent that by creating a building with the same purpose and just not call it a "convention center?"

* sigh *

[betts]

Ed's certainly not winning friends on the Council. He would have great difficulty opposing anything the Council chose to do.