Vote Today- April 4th

[Urban Pioneer]

I just wanted to remind everyone to vote today. Elections for Sherrif, OKC City Council Ward 4, and OKC Public Schools are happening 7am - 7pm.

Arguably, all three could be substantial in their impact to the makeup in each institution. There are other elections as well in Edmond and Bethany.


http://newsok.com/county-local-issue...rticle/5544108

[king183]

I just wanted to remind everyone to vote today. Elections for Sherrif, OKC City Council Ward 4, and OKC Public Schools are happening 7am - 7pm.

Arguably, all three could be substantial in their impact to the makeup in each institution. There are other elections as well in Edmond and Bethany.


http://newsok.com/county-local-issue...rticle/5544108

After the school board primary, I had several friends tell me they didn't vote because they didn't know there was an election. There is no excuse for not knowing there is an election, as it's been reported on non-stop in the paper and elsewhere. If you had no idea there is an election, get out of your hole every once and a while. Now, go and vote (after you've informed yourself on the candidates and issues).

[baralheia]

After the school board primary, I had several friends tell me they didn't vote because they didn't know there was an election. There is no excuse for not knowing there is an election, as it's been reported on non-stop in the paper and elsewhere. If you had no idea there is an election, get out of your hole every once and a while. Now, go and vote (after you've informed yourself on the candidates and issues).

Honestly, if you don't follow local news, like a lot of people my age and younger, it's actually really easy to miss an election because you didn't know about it. I use a service called TurboVote to keep me plugged in on when elections are held, because outside of OKCTalk, I usually wouldn't see them anywhere else I frequent. TurboVote will send you text messages and e-mail reminders about upcoming elections, registration deadlines, and the like. They are really good about notifications even for more obscure local elections, like the Ward 4 special election today. Super, super useful!

[king183]

Honestly, if you don't follow local news, like a lot of people my age and younger, it's actually really easy to miss an election because you didn't know about it. I use a service called TurboVote to keep me plugged in on when elections are held, because outside of OKCTalk, I usually wouldn't see them anywhere else I frequent. TurboVote will send you text messages and e-mail reminders about upcoming elections, registration deadlines, and the like. They are really good about notifications even for more obscure local elections, like the Ward 4 special election today. Super, super useful!

Hey, whatever works!

My main problem is with people saying they had no idea there was an election when there is absolutely no reason not to know it, whether through the news, social media, apps, or any number of modern tools. You've found a great way to know about them. I'll check TurboVote. Sounds like a great tool.

[shawnw]

I couldn't find a general city council thread. Do we know much about Todd Stone, the new ward 4 councilor?

[Spartan]

He's a low cost home builder who previously worked for a cell phone company. He's a republican whereas Morisette was a democrat.

[shawnw]

I'm not as interested in his political leanings as I am his openness to urbanity and its associated concerns. I do realize he represents a ward that isn't urban and that he's got to represent his constituents accordingly, but it would be nice to get a hint of how he'd vote regarding these things. I saw a response tweet by Rep Forrest saying he'd spoken with him, I think about transit, but I haven't seen much else.

[king183]

He's a low cost home builder who previously worked for a cell phone company. He's a republican whereas Morisette was a democrat.

Not if you listened to Morrissette's dishonest, low-brow campaign. He sent out mailers implying Todd Stone was "too liberal" for OKC. That type of junk should stay out of city council races (pie in the sky, I know), so I'm glad the voters didn't fall for it.

[OkieDave]

I couldn't find a general city council thread. Do we know much about Todd Stone, the new ward 4 councilor?

Well we know that the omnipresent "Catalyst" group dumped $50,000 at the end for Stone. Donors to Catalyst are anonymous.

[emtefury]

I am surprised Hupfeld lost to Lewis. With Hupfeld being the Integris CEO, he knows about running an organization. I appreciated him running because it was after his career was over and trying to give back.

[baralheia]

Not if you listened to Morrissette's dishonest, low-brow campaign. He sent out mailers implying Todd Stone was "too liberal" for OKC. That type of junk should stay out of city council races (pie in the sky, I know), so I'm glad the voters didn't fall for it.

I know this is an absolute tinfoil hat moment, and I can't be for certain, but I can't help but think that those wackadoodle flyers were an intentional hit from the inside. I know that one of the candidates that ran to fill Morrissette's seat (b/c he termed out) used similar nasty tactics during his campaign - and rumor is he was helping Morrissette's campaign for city council. Whether or not any of this is true is anyone's guess, and it's a moot point now, but... it's interesting to think about.

On Facebook, I saw a few prominent progressives back Stone, and a flyer was distributed at one point claiming the Oklahoma Tea Party had endorsed Morrissette.... This was one very, very weird election. Personally, I voted for Morrissette, based on the fact that he's a neighbor, and because his actions and his existing legislative record shows him as a strong supporter of things like public transportation, as well as the Eastern Flyer project. Truthfully, I do not know Stone's positions on these issues, but I assume we will soon see by his record in the City Council.

[Spartan]

I'm not as interested in his political leanings as I am his openness to urbanity and its associated concerns. I do realize he represents a ward that isn't urban and that he's got to represent his constituents accordingly, but it would be nice to get a hint of how he'd vote regarding these things. I saw a response tweet by Rep Forrest saying he'd spoken with him, I think about transit, but I haven't seen much else.

Morisette is a good guy. I don't know his stances on urbanism issues specifically but I know he's been friendly toward OKC, really helped champion a lot of city hall causes as the Henry administration was coming to a close, and has always had very reasonable stances.

As for Ward 4 not being urban, the problem is that there is no Capitol Hill council member because they've carved it up with majority white wards. Pete White was a progressive who championed every Latino/working poor issue and was likable enough to keep getting re-elected east of Crossroads Mall. Pete White was often the only vote alongside Ed Shadid on progressive issues. Mr. Stone is probably not going out on the same limb.

I'll say this about Mr. Stone - I don't know anything about him, and I look forward to finding out where he stands on important issues. I think how little OKC pays council members makes me a little wary of their impartiality at the end of the day. I know the Chamber obviously likes him, hence the anonymous "Catalyst" donors (remember "Momentum"?), and hence the NewsOK endorsement, etc. Those things all make me a little wary.