OKC Mayor Race 2014

[boscorama]

A few years back in a post election analysis, a particular precinct's ballots were examined. A huge number of them were marked Straight Party vote. Now that's one thing I'd abolish!

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....

[Laramie]

A few years back in a post election analysis, a particular precinct's ballots were examined. A huge number of them were marked Straight Party vote. Now that's one thing I'd abolish!

The hard core reality is that straight party voting is something you will probably never be able to eliminate because it benefits the two party system. The Democrats and Republicans will always work together to make it difficult for a third party to sprout. A number of parties like Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Reform parties have a made a slight impact. A recent Tea Party (movement) is on the horizon; however, it's hard to build a foundation to challenge our two party dominate system.

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

[boscorama]

I voted straight party once, walked way realizing I had no idea who I voted for (or, for whom I had voted), other than the president or governor. I was a low information voter.

[Dennis Heaton]

Y'all do realize that your individual ballots have your fingerprints on them? Sooooo, when your ballot is fed into the ballot collection machine, it also scans for fingerprints which is compared against the data files at the Oklahoma State Election Board. Need I go on?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcRNQIaJEQ

[Urbanized]

Good grief.

[Dennis Heaton]

Good grief.

Sorry...it just gets so serious around here sometimes.

[Jim Kyle]

Or put another way, which is better? Fewer voters or more low-information voters?

I think the authors of the Constitution, as adopted with only the first ten amendments, went for fewer voters. They excluded whole classes of low-information people. It's worth remembering that Jefferson, celebrated as the champion of democracy, always modified references to the electorate with "well-informed." We should do the same, although sources of reliable information seem to be getting few and far between...

[Easy180]

In all fairness to all of the low information voters a good portion of elected officials turn out selling their souls to the same lobbyists anyway. This election was somewhat different since it pitted a Positive Paul against a Negative Ned so I'm sure most voters just went with their own outlook on life. Thankfully the whiners and gripers lost out.

[kevinpate]

Y'all do realize that your individual ballots have your fingerprints on them? Sooooo, when your ballot is fed into the ballot collection machine, it also scans for fingerprints which is compared against the data files at the Oklahoma State Election Board. Need I go on?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNcRNQIaJEQ

Dude, just because you don't know know where to obtain fp covers, don't assume the rest of us lack that knowledge. Shoot, even plain old gloves work so long as you burn them afterwards and do not dispose of them on site.

[CaptDave]

Dude, just because you don't know know where to obtain fp covers, don't assume the rest of us lack that knowledge. Shoot, even plain old gloves work so long as you burn them afterwards and do not dispose of them on site.

Just grab a hot pan before going to vote - I might do it with only one hand though. Just remember which one you burned the fingerprints off and you should be good.

[catch22]

That means the man who handed me my ballot has prints on it too...

[boscorama]

A certain number of straight ticket voters would simply not vote in races where they have no opinion. They'd just vote for a president or governor and skip the rest.

And there is the challenge. Without straight ticket, you have more pure guesses. So the question/challenge the parties will present to any suggestion to eliminate it is, do you want want to discourage people from voting because they don't know everyone on the ballot?

Or put another way, which is better? Fewer voters or more low-information voters?

[warreng88]

I am curious what the tone was like in the City Council meeting yesterday since the race is over.

[catch22]

I'm sure it was business as usual. A dissenting tone and a somewhat reserved but otherwise positive tone from the other.

Awkward for Ed, though.

[Midtowner]

Ed's still pushing his agenda, but now the whole Council is basically just openly naysaying anything Ed suggests. Maybe they're not taking too kindly for Ed and his supporters' claims that Ed is now the most powerful Councilman in OKC history.

(to have power, don't you actually have to be able to do something?)

[soonerguru]

Ed's still pushing his agenda, but now the whole Council is basically just openly naysaying anything Ed suggests. Maybe they're not taking too kindly for Ed and his supporters' claims that Ed is now the most powerful Councilman in OKC history.

(to have power, don't you actually have to be able to do something?)

I saw that quote. What a laugher.

[kevinpate]

One can only ponder what degree of power DRED might possess post-mayoral election ... had he actually carried the vote in his own ward, instead of losing in Ward 2 as well.

[Midtowner]

I saw that quote. What a laugher.

Did you watch the meeting right after the election where Shadid started talking about how he went to the Ethics Commission over the whole PAC thing and it was just a scramble by everyone there to question him and question his judgment and question whether he's thought about how municipal should be different from state or federal ethics rules.

I actually agree with him on the PAC thing, but it was still funny to watch the other Council members kind of twisting the knife.

[soonerguru]

I don't like kicking a man when he's down, but Ed thinks he won something, so I don't know what to say.

[Snowman]

I don't like kicking a man when he's down, but Ed thinks he won something, so I don't know what to say.

Probably the most professional act as a politician of the entire campaign; never admit defeat, spin it as a victory

[Paseofreak]

If you spin it, fine. If you don't realize and accept personally that your ideas or tactics are less than desireable to the majority, then you are moving backwards.

[Dennis Heaton]

Oooops

[warreng88]

Couple of questions I asked that had to do with the mayoral race:

Gary T - 10:45 a.m. Good morning! Sorry to be tardy to the party. You said last week that there were many more factors besides TIF funds not being available as one of the reasons business people didn't want to see ES elected. Can you give us some more examples of things you heard the business community was afraid would happen had he been elected?

Steve Lackmeyer - 10:46 a.m. They saw him as a divisive voice whose overall message is more critical than positive. I'm not saying this is right or wrong. But you asked.

Gary T 10:48 a.m. Where is Ed Shadid getting the $800 million cost for the convention center and hotel figure from? What is your understanding of the total cost of the convention center with a hotel?

Steve Lackmeyer - 10:49 a.m. The $800 million is a made-up figure. I've yet to understand where it comes from, other than from some highly imaginative political consultants. There are some serious questions to ask and things to consider with the convention center and the possibility of a hotel. I'm not sure it's helpful to throw garbage into the discussion.

[Laramie]

I don't like kicking a man when he's down, but Ed thinks he won something, so I don't know what to say.

So true!

What is happening to Dr. Ed Shadid is the result of how he chose to go about attacking Mayor Cornett during the campaign. He injected a lot of innuendoes throughout the process with nothing concrete. Mick Cornett has his flaws; however Dr. Shadid needs to put the election aside and stop the 'rocking the boat' antics--this doesn't benefit Oklahoma City in any manner.

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

[soonerguru]

Interesting. So Ed Shadid hasn't met the deadline to file his financial paperwork with the Ethics Commission? While he rails against "dark money?" Anyone surprised?

I think this should put to rest a lot of BS from ES:

1. Remember him saying he was going to spend a million bucks? BZZZZ.
2. Remember him crowing on and on about "secret donors" supporting the mayor? Ummm. No. The mayor raised 800k from people willing to be disclosed.
3. Ed is transparent and ethical? Peel me off the floor -- the article makes clear that he didn't even meet the deadline to turn in his ethics forms.

Cornett raised nearly $800K for his re-election campaign | News OK