OKC Mayor Race 2014

[OSUFan]

I think Ed has 2 things going for him in retaining his council seat. He will spend money and he works hard during the campaign. Someone is going to have to do the same to knock Ed off.

[catcherinthewry]

It reminds me of a great Mitch Hedberg quote, "I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it..."

That dude was funny.

[warreng88]

My question from Steve's chat that shined a little light on why there were holdups on development announcements until after the elections:

10:49 Comment From Gary T
What was your understanding of the fear of ES getting elected? Were they afraid TIF funds would no longer be available?

10:50 Steve Lackmeyer:
That's one factor. But there are many more.

[catcherinthewry]

My question from Steve's chat that shined a little light on why there were holdups on development announcements until after the elections:

10:49 Comment From Gary T
What was your understanding of the fear of ES getting elected? Were they afraid TIF funds would no longer be available?

10:50 Steve Lackmeyer:
That's one factor. But there are many more.

I wish he would've expounded upon that.

[warreng88]

I wish he would've expounded upon that.

I asked a follow up and will repost if he responds. Not sure if there is enough time.

As soon as I posted that, he logged off. Maybe next week.

[maytal]

Ward results of Tuesday’s election:

Ward 1 - Cornett 72, Shadid 26
Ward 2 - Cornett 58, Shadid 41
Ward 3 - Cornett 66, Shadid 32
Ward 4 - Cornett 64, Shadid 34
Ward 5 - Cornett 72, Shadid 27
Ward 6 - Cornett 53, Shadid 45
Ward 7 - Cornett ~49, Shadid ~49 (too close to call, due to split precincts)
Ward 8 - Cornett 79, Shadid 20

Percentage of all total votes (47,934) cast by ward:

Ward 1 - 15.4 percent
Ward 2 - 15.6 percent
Ward 3 - 8.1 percent
Ward 4 - 8.0 percent
Ward 5 - 12.1 percent
Ward 6 - 8.2 percent
Ward 7 - 13.1 percent
Ward 8 - 19.6 percent

[Dennis Heaton]

maytal...is there anything out there as to a break down of how many dem, rep, ind voted for each candidate? Just curious.

[DavidD_NorthOKC]

Ward results of Tuesday’s election:

Ward 1 - Cornett 72, Shadid 26
Ward 2 - Cornett 58, Shadid 41
Ward 3 - Cornett 66, Shadid 32
Ward 4 - Cornett 64, Shadid 34
Ward 5 - Cornett 72, Shadid 27
Ward 6 - Cornett 53, Shadid 45
Ward 7 - Cornett ~49, Shadid ~49 (too close to call, due to split precincts)
Ward 8 - Cornett 79, Shadid 20

Percentage of all total votes (47,934) cast by ward:

Ward 1 - 15.4 percent
Ward 2 - 15.6 percent
Ward 3 - 8.1 percent
Ward 4 - 8.0 percent
Ward 5 - 12.1 percent
Ward 6 - 8.2 percent
Ward 7 - 13.1 percent
Ward 8 - 19.6 percent

Very cool to see my ward ( 8 ) had the highest percentage of the turnout. Maybe my sign waving helped and freezing my rear end off was worth it!!

[Jim Kyle]

maytal...is there anything out there as to a break down of how many dem, rep, ind voted for each candidate? Just curious.

Couldn't be, since there's nothing on the ballot to indicate the voter's affiliation. In this election, we were ALL "independent" voters.

[Dennis Heaton]

Couldn't be, since there's nothing on the ballot to indicate the voter's affiliation. In this election, we were ALL "independent" voters.

Jim...I thought there might be something at the County Election Board. Ya know...the "list" that "they" can bring up to show whom voted for which candidate...that certain list that doesn't exist (officially that is).

[Laramie]

I can't argue that. I am just flabbergasted that sooooooooooo many folks don't give an effin crap about the city they live in.

Don't let what others do affect you. Exercise that right to vote regardless of the outcome. My people (Blacks & Hispanics) fought for those rights that so many of us now take for granted.

Take advantage of the early voting at the Oklahoma County Election Board (4717 North Lincoln Boulevard) and get the voting behind you. Early voting is usually conducted on a Thursday & Friday before the upcoming Tuesday election.

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[soonerguru]

So Ed lost his own Council ward by 17 points! That is not a good harbinger for his reelection. And that ward had the second highest turnout.

Another interesting thing to note: the percentages for Ward 3 perfectly mirrored the final vote spread, 66-32. Sounds like Ward 3 is a bellwether for the city.

[AP]

So Ed lost his own Council ward by 17 points! That is not a good harbinger for his reelection. And that ward had the second highest turnout.

I'm not sure that it means anything. If Cornett ran against him for the council seat he probably would have lost. Because they voted for him for a council seat doesn't mean they think he should be mayor. I don't think it's a slight against Ed as much as it is a praise for Cornett.

[Dennis Heaton]

I was glad to see my Ward had the highest turn out...and most of the Voters going through at the same time I was were all Seniors.

[soonerguru]

I'm not sure that it means anything. If Cornett ran against him for the council seat he probably would have lost. Because they voted for him for a council seat doesn't mean they think he should be mayor. I don't think it's a slight against Ed as much as it is a praise for Cornett.

It's probably both. But you would expect Ed to do better on his home turf.

[Jim Kyle]

Jim...I thought there might be something at the County Election Board. Ya know...the "list" that "they" can bring up to show whom voted for which candidate...that certain list that doesn't exist (officially that is).

In this specific case, I believe the official line, since there's no practical way to tie a signature in that book to individual ballots. While the ballots could be pre-numbered in an invisible ink, similar to the way copy machines imprint their identity onto each copy they make, they're distributed as pads and the topmost torn off to hand to the voter. No way at all to correlate that to the book, especially when the line gets long and the workers get rushed.

I wouldn't put it past our government, especially at the national level, but I see no way it can be done with the present setup...

[Jim Kyle]

I was glad to see my Ward had the highest turn out...and most of the Voters going through at the same time I was were all Seniors.

To be expected, with the number of retirement centers and nursing homes we have around here. Aren't you in precinct 150, same as me, and usually voting at the Presbyterian church on Coiuncil?

[SoonerDave]

It's probably both. But you would expect Ed to do better on his home turf.

Agree completely. If you can't win at home, where can you win?

I would agree with the idea that it was a Cornett endorsement had he only won by a few points, but a double-digit difference in his own home ward? Takes a lot of spin to pull that the other direction in my book.

[SoonerDave]

In this specific case, I believe the official line, since there's no practical way to tie a signature in that book to individual ballots. While the ballots could be pre-numbered in an invisible ink, similar to the way copy machines imprint their identity onto each copy they make, they're distributed as pads and the topmost torn off to hand to the voter. No way at all to correlate that to the book, especially when the line gets long and the workers get rushed.

I wouldn't put it past our government, especially at the national level, but I see no way it can be done with the present setup...

You beat me to it, Jim. I have a fair amount of skepticism about the relative (lack of) trustworthiness of our government, but given the way they process the ballots, there's just no way you could do it.

I walk in, sign an alphabetically ordered voter registration list (with no indication of the order in which the voters arrived, nor ballot number issued), I'm given the next ballot on the pad...someone else walks in, same process...and I stick my ballot into the machine and it makes its happy-gloopy noise, and its done. I just don't see how in that process that ballot is positively linked to me.

Under the most propeller-headed scenario I can think of, someone would have to maintain a separate registration list on the QT and secretly mark the number of my ballot after they handed it to me, and then manually associate that ballot back to me after the polls closed - unless, in even a more propeller-headed paranoid scenario, they uploaded that "secret" list into the ballot box and the firmware therein did the mapping and produced a list separately. I mean, at some point, c'mon, folks....

[soonerguru]

Agree completely. If you can't win at home, where can you win?

I would agree with the idea that it was a Cornett endorsement had he only won by a few points, but a double-digit difference in his own home ward? Takes a lot of spin to pull that the other direction in my book.

Yes, it was definitely an affirmation of the direction OKC is going in. Additionally, it was a repudiation of Shadid, 1) as mayor. Few believed he would be good in that role, and 2) Shadid's directionless angst against the things that are moving OKC forward -- MAPS, bond issue, etc.

The irony of Shadid's plaint is that he may have had some basis for it: too many good ol' boy decisions. But he is absolutely the wrong messenger to deliver the message. At this point, he is seriously politically weakened, whether or not he has reckoned with that. He has cried wolf too many times and has shown himself to be a hypocrite. The "I'm a fresh faced outsider riding in to save the people" argument rings hollow now that he has been revealed to be a conniving, flip-flopping power grabber.

To see how total the repudiation of Shadid was, just look at the map: he didn't carry a single city council ward. And he lost his own ward by 17 points, despite higher turnout in that ward compared to the others.

[Dennis Heaton]

To be expected, with the number of retirement centers and nursing homes we have around here. Aren't you in precinct 150, same as me, and usually voting at the Presbyterian church on Coiuncil?

Jim...I am in precinct 550150 and vote at New Hope. The Presbyterian church had to move over to New Hope (for some reason?) on election day.

[catcherinthewry]

The Presbyterian church had to move over to New Hope (for some reason?) on election day.

Aha! This was the reason DRED lost! Backroom dealing among the good ol' boys made it harder for DRED's supporters to vote! The Junta buys the election! Someone get the RDR on this!

[Jim Kyle]

Jim...I am in precinct 550150 and vote at New Hope. The Presbyterian church had to move over to New Hope (for some reason?) on election day.

The reason for the move was that Grace Presbyterian had suffered fire damage some time ago and had not yet completed repairs adequately for use. The election board had a man stationed at the entrance to the parking lot to tell us about the move!

I've never figured out why we have two voting places so close together. When I first moved out here (1982) we voted at Harvest hills grade school. Later it moved to Will Rogers school up on NW 122, and finally to Grace Presbyterian...

[Dennis Heaton]

I've never figured out why we have two voting places so close together.

Not to mention Hefner Mansions just around the corner.

[Wambo36]

They really don't have the option of being terribly selective about where the polling places are. First they need a place that is large enough to accommodate the people, have enough parking, be handicap accessible and, hopefully, in the right precinct. Then the owners have to be willing to put aside their needs and let it be used for elections on multiple Tuesdays per year. Some precincts don't have anything that will suffice in their boundaries and that is why you get the groupings like you have around Hefner Mansions, Edmond Mansions, etc. It's the availability of a suitable location that is close enough to the pricinct to work. Nothing else.