OKC Mayor Race 2014

[Urban Pioneer]

As a proud "old school" democrat with modern progressive sensibilities, I have come to realize that we were so satisfied by "a conversation" about these issues you describe, we went knocking doors not fully understanding that's all we were getting.

Ed has lent a voice, his voice, to these issues. But short of the LGBT rights issues, he has failed at implementing policy or building bridges to implement actual change.

As a Progressive, I am now incredibly embarrassed to have been involved in his Ward 2 campaign. Swinton made me squirm. But it is hard to imagine worse than this. This is about him. It not about us. It is not about our issues.

It is about Ed.

[Urban Pioneer]

I believe his efforts were a catalyst for a complete redirection of the boulevard project.

No... Those were Bob Kemper's, Marion Hutchison's, and a few hundred concerned citizens. Ed jumped on the band wagon halfway through the process and took advantage of the momentum that we had already built.

Don't fool yourself. There were a great many people who got that ball rolling and are continuing to push on it.

[adaniel]

And I still find this appalling. One would hope fire/police union leadership will step carefully around this divisive and obviously personal rhetoric.

I can't stop looking at his Facebook page and reading this. I feel like am rubbernecking a car crash.

When he first announced his candidacy I guessed he was going for the liberal urban core types. Has he just given up on that? I know of at least 2 of these types who were interested by his campaign and were appalled when they read this. Probably does't help that one works for Chesapeake. I wonder what all those people he was schmoozing with at H & 8th last week would be okay with what he said.

Speaking of, I recognized a few people who have liked his page and he's definitely got the kook vote.

[Pete]

No... Those were Bob Kemper's, Marion Hutchison's, and a few hundred concerned citizens. Ed jumped on the band wagon halfway through the process and took advantage of the momentum that we had already built.

Don't fool yourself. There were a great many people who got that ball rolling and are continuing to push on it.

All true but you also can't completely discount the fact that Ed did bring a lot of publicity to the issue and caused a lot more people to become engaged.

Give him credit for bringing more people into these conversations.


Again, I am not advocating for him but I believe everybody wins when you get more of the community involved in various issues.

Ed stirs the pot and of course there is good and bad that comes with that.

[Urban Pioneer]

He did help raise awareness from the horseshoe, wrote some checks, and made some people squirm. Yep, he did do that. But he is not the salvation alone for the Boulevard redesign. People just need to be fully aware of that.

[krisb]

His style of leadership is one that stirs the pot to get people talking and doing something. He is okay dwelling in the messiness of public discourse even if that means there is not a false united front on certain issues. In his world few issues are settled without a healthy skepticism and questioning of the status quo. Civic engagement is the end and not just the means.

[Mikemarsh51]

And I still find this appalling. One would hope fire/police union leadership will step carefully around this divisive and obviously personal rhetoric.

You know how politics work don't you? You support those who support your interest. Ed has been willing to listen to what Police and Fire have to say. Same as Griener. All we asked is that they be willing to sit down and talk. We have made it perfectly clear that we don't expect them to support us all the time. But please be willing to sit down and listen to our side. Who would you support? Someone who isn't willing to shake hands or someone willing to listen to you?

[krisb]

I hope he listens to some of this early feedback and changes his tone to something that resonates more with his base. Ali Harter is playing at his August 15 rally. Perhaps she will be a better spokesperson for what he is all about.

[Urban Pioneer]

His style of leadership is one that stirs the pot to get people talking and doing something. He is okay dwelling in the messiness of public discourse even if that means there is not a false united front on certain issues. In his world few issues are settled without a healthy skepticism and questioning of the status quo. Civic engagement is the end and not just the means.

That's fine. I just don't consider that leadership. Stir the pot, have public discourse, have public input, then build bridges and seize consensus to get you to policy implementation.

Arguably, if he could get that last part in his "style", he might be a great Councilman. Otherwise, that is a perfect role for a Councilman, but arguably not necessarily a Mayor.

I don't mean that a mayor shouldn't have these attributes, but that position seems more the role of moderator, spokesman, and leader to help (hopefully organically developed) council consensus convert into policy implementation.

[Urban Pioneer]

You know how politics work don't you?

Yep I do.

[Mikemarsh51]

It isn't a debate when you are flinging falsehoods. It's just a false tirade.

Do you care to back up this statement?



I welcome a debate. You've stated your premise. Let's hear the evidence.

Lets start with a tally. You'll have to help me out here. I do not claim to be all knowing. So, where are the senior centers?
We do have new libraries, one south and one north, are there more than those two? We have closed most if not all the pools and have some splash parks. Any new golf courses? Lets talk trails. Well, actually lets talk sidewalks. I can leave my neighborhood and make it to Earlywine, that's nice! What else? Well not much else. I said almost if you remember. Now hear me out! I really enjoy downtown!!! We go down to the twilight concert series. It's awesome! It's funded by Devon. My wife rows. We love Bricktown! But, we have a whole city, not just downtown.

[Mikemarsh51]

Yep I do.

Way too much of the previous quote went unanswered!

[betts]

I hope he listens to some of this early feedback and changes his tone to something that resonates more with his base. Ali Harter is playing at his August 15 rally. Perhaps she will be a better spokesperson for what he is all about.

But how can we trust what he says? He's shown that he'll either lie or fudge the truth, depending on how generous you want to be, be misinformed or "change his mind" if it suits him. At this point, if he does an about face, it's for purely political reasons.

I'm a Democrat, and a fairly liberal one. Although I wasn't in his ward, I helped campaign for Shadid. I have a lot of regret about that and won't make the same mistake twice.

[Urban Pioneer]

adding quote

[Urban Pioneer]

Way too much of the previous quote went unanswered!

There was way too much irony in your comments between Ed and transit/boulevard advocates to even get into it tonight Mike. I would be on this forum all night and I have work to do.

Let's just say that the hand has been extended to Ed many, many, many times. Too much irony...

[Patrick]

Lets start with a tally. You'll have to help me out here. I do not claim to be all knowing. So, where are the senior centers?
We do have new libraries, one south and one north, are there more than those two? We have closed most if not all the pools and have some splash parks. Any new golf courses? Lets talk trails. Well, actually lets talk sidewalks. I can leave my neighborhood and make it to Earlywine, that's nice! What else? Well not much else. I said almost if you remember. Now hear me out! I really enjoy downtown!!! We go down to the twilight concert series. It's awesome! It's funded by Devon. My wife rows. We love Bricktown! But, we have a whole city, not just downtown.

Mike,

1. The senior centers are in the planning stages. Mick just toured senior centers in Little Rock, and that was a great move considering they've done a senior centers. We're going to be modeling ours after their plan. At least Mick is doing his homework. With the original MAPS it took about 6-8 years to complete the first project and many more years until the last project was completed. If you remember right, there were budget problems, consultant studies, etc. that had to happen before the projects could be built. The 15,000 seat originally proposed ballpark came in way over budget. It was scaled back, although it still ended up being one of the nicest minor league ballparks in the nation. Chesapeake Arena almost wasn't built due to naysayers and budget problems. But Flintco came in way under budget, so it was built. All the same applies here. You want to plan right before you start turning soil. Senior centers will be built. There may not be 4. There may be 2 large ones, north and south. But, they will be built after we study and determine what the best plan is for them.

2. Libraries: with the 2 new libraries we have new or renovated libraries in every part of the city. What more do you want?

3. Pools/splash pads. The old pools could've been renovated. But, there would've been the high cost of renovation and the need to hire staff to manage them. City council opted that the best use of city money was to convert the properties to splash pads. Problems?

4. Sidewalks: OKC has gone years and years without building side walks. Think of how much mileage city limits covers. If you thought that MAPS 3 was going to provide side walks everywhere, you were dreaming. MAPS 3 promised to continue the new plan of bidding a sidewalk to be included in every street rebuilding project. That's it. As far as trails go, we have now completed a city-wide system of trails connecting our 3 lakes and everything in between.

5. Parks: Every park has new playground equipment, picnic tables, awnings shading those tables, etc. Been out to Bluff Creek Park lately? It's nice. Check it out. New trails, brand new playground equipment, new cooking equipment, etc. Stars and Stripes Park was also completely redone. All of the parks have brand new playground equipment....did I mention that? Route 66 Park is new.

6. Golf Courses? Really? The last thing we need is a new golf course. We have plenty around the metro. Take your pick. NE side: Lincoln park. NW side: Hefner. Southside: Earlywine. And to be fair, at Lincoln Park Golf Course, they are in the midst of building a brand new club house. Get out of your suburban house and drive down there some time. It's going to be nice.

7. Streets: wow! This has been a complaint for a long time, but I have to admit, I'm getting tired of seeing all of the construction work. There are far more resurfacing projects going on around town than I've ever seen in a lifetime. I think we're close to being caught up.

I continue to be flabbergasted to hear that all of the work is being done downtown. There are far more projects being done around the metro than just downtown. Here we are complaining about a $777 million MAPS plan that provides about $600 million invested downtown. But don't forget that we're also in the midst of a $1 billion bond issue that is investing in infrastructure projects all around the metro. I just don't see why everyone's complaining. I guess people are getting sucked into the false warped tin-foil beliefs of Ed Shadid, believing that everything is being done downtown.

So, Mike, if you think everything is being done downtown, what is currently being done downtown? Okay, a new elementary school. Well, 1 downtown elementary school is being built for 77 other renovated schools across the rest of the metro. What else?

Last time I checked almost every project being done downtown at the moment is private investment. Yes, several of the MAPS 3 projects will invest money in downtown, but that's in the future. Project 180.....you can thank Devon for that one. The new Devon Tower: yup, thank Devon. The new Kerr Park: thank Sandridge. The new Sandridge campus: thank Sandridge. All of the housing projects are private enterprise. Stage Center: private enterprise.

[rcjunkie]

Soonerguru, This has nothing to do with Maps 3. You know it's was passed right? Maps 3 is the law of the land. Nothing will change that. This is about Mayoral leadership and who is best to do that. I think is is time for Mick to seek success elsewhere. All this talk about consensus building confuses me, Mick a consensus builder! That is funny, he has been a puppet of the big money since the beginning.

Midtowner, being the mayor is about leading! If the mayor thought public safety was a priority he would lead the city in that direction. And could claim responsibility for all the public safety good. This Mayor has made it clear its is not a priority, yet the first few items he claims hes responsible for is public safety. Kinda like claiming responsibility for the sun coming up. The Mayor is the figure head leader of the city. It is the Mayors job to lead the city. Although He has one vote, he is more powerful than the other 8 votes. This Mayor has been almost 100% about downtown. Maybe some like that, maybe some don't. I'm happy to see this get feisty! A little spirited debate won't kill anyone. Oh, by the way how did you get to be so much better than some of the people on here? I mean referring to your fellows citizens as idiots, that's just mean man!

Election, long gone, and still pissed. How Funny

[Patrick]

And by the way, I want my mayor to have connections with the big money. It's the big money that invests in our city, provides jobs, helps build infrastructure through TIF money, and builds a tax base. Think of what our city would be like without Devon, Chesapeake, Sandridge, Midfirst Bank, Farmers Insurance, American Fidelity, etc. etc.

[Patrick]

Please join me in donating to support Mick for Mayor 2014!

Mick Cornett for Mayor

[bradh]

Mike,

1. The senior centers are in the planning stages. Mick just toured senior centers in Little Rock, and that was a great move considering they've done a senior centers. We're going to be modeling ours after their plan. At least Mick is doing his homework. With the original MAPS it took about 6-8 years to complete the first project and many more years until the last project was completed. If you remember right, there were budget problems, consultant studies, etc. that had to happen before the projects could be built. The 15,000 seat originally proposed ballpark came in way over budget. It was scaled back, although it still ended up being one of the nicest minor league ballparks in the nation. Chesapeake Arena almost wasn't built due to naysayers and budget problems. But Flintco came in way under budget, so it was built. All the same applies here. You want to plan right before you start turning soil. Senior centers will be built. There may not be 4. There may be 2 large ones, north and south. But, they will be built after we study and determine what the best plan is for them.

2. Libraries: with the 2 new libraries we have new or renovated libraries in every part of the city. What more do you want?

3. Pools/splash pads. The old pools could've been renovated. But, there would've been the high cost of renovation and the need to hire staff to manage them. City council opted that the best use of city money was to convert the properties to splash pads. Problems?

4. Sidewalks: OKC has gone years and years without building side walks. Think of how much mileage city limits covers. If you thought that MAPS 3 was going to provide side walks everywhere, you were dreaming. MAPS 3 promised to continue the new plan of bidding a sidewalk to be included in every street rebuilding project. That's it. As far as trails go, we have now completed a city-wide system of trails connecting our 3 lakes and everything in between.

5. Parks: Every park has new playground equipment, picnic tables, awnings shading those tables, etc. Been out to Bluff Creek Park lately? It's nice. Check it out. New trails, brand new playground equipment, new cooking equipment, etc. Stars and Stripes Park was also completely redone. All of the parks have brand new playground equipment....did I mention that? Route 66 Park is new.

6. Golf Courses? Really? The last thing we need is a new golf course. We have plenty around the metro. Take your pick. NE side: Lincoln park. NW side: Hefner. Southside: Earlywine. And to be fair, at Lincoln Park Golf Course, they are in the midst of building a brand new club house. Get out of your suburban house and drive down there some time. It's going to be nice.

7. Streets: wow! This has been a complaint for a long time, but I have to admit, I'm getting tired of seeing all of the construction work. There are far more resurfacing projects going on around town than I've ever seen in a lifetime. I think we're close to being caught up.

I continue to be flabbergasted to hear that all of the work is being done downtown. There are far more projects being done around the metro than just downtown. Here we are complaining about a $777 million MAPS plan that provides about $600 million invested downtown. But don't forget that we're also in the midst of a $1 billion bond issue that is investing in infrastructure projects all around the metro. I just don't see why everyone's complaining. I guess people are getting sucked into the false warped tin-foil beliefs of Ed Shadid, believing that everything is being done downtown.

So, Mike, if you think everything is being done downtown, what is currently being done downtown? Okay, a new elementary school. Well, 1 downtown elementary school is being built for 77 other renovated schools across the rest of the metro. What else?

Last time I checked almost every project being done downtown at the moment is private investment. Yes, several of the MAPS 3 projects will invest money in downtown, but that's in the future. Project 180.....you can thank Devon for that one. The new Devon Tower: yup, thank Devon. The new Kerr Park: thank Sandridge. The new Sandridge campus: thank Sandridge. All of the housing projects are private enterprise. Stage Center: private enterprise.

Patrick just dropped the mic and ended the thread. Go home everyone

[betts]

I registered to volunteer.

My whole family is volunteering.

[Mikemarsh51]

Election, long gone, and still pissed. How Funny

Wow, Junkie your crack pipe really needs to cool off before you try to read! Pissed? How much more could I say I love downtown?

[soonerguru]

I hope he listens to some of this early feedback and changes his tone to something that resonates more with his base. Ali Harter is playing at his August 15 rally. Perhaps she will be a better spokesperson for what he is all about.

People are so desperate for a "progressive" they will jump onboard with this turncoat. It's depressing, really. And sadly, it provides a great poster boy for the conservative chamber types to pick on. Progressive politics can be about providing solutions, not just stirring the pot.

[Frustratedoptimist]

I'm ready for a Cory Booker or Wendy Davis-type Mayor. Who's with me? Know anyone?

[betts]

Trails, sidewalks, fairgrounds, senior centers, and you can at least argue that the Oklahoma River is not strictly downtown: MAPS 3 is certainly not completely downtown-centric. MAPS 2(for Kids) was not at all. I think the argument that MAPS has only been for downtown smacks of politics.

Regardless, as someone who has lived outside of downtown for 25 of the 30 years I've lived here, my first emotions on seeing downtown when I moved here were shock and dismay. As someone who lived miles from downtown, I was extremely excited about and proud of what we accomplished with MAPS I. I was thrilled at Mayor Cornett's coup in getting the Hornets here and paving the way for the eventual move of the Thunder. Driving downtown to a Hornets game, I caught my first sight of what would become my home, sitting in the midst of empty fields with the closest things a railroad track and Ruedy's garage. It was what we'd accomplished with MAPS I that made me take the leap of faith to move downtown. When I see what MAPS has done for my city, what a complete turnaround in civic pride has occurred, I'm shocked that people question it. When I spend time downtown at the movies, at the concerts at the Myriad (and I'm there almost every Sunday with thousands of other cityans), at Thunder games, at meetings at the Public Library and events at the Civic Center, I see far more people than my downtown neighbors. I see people of every socioeconomic and ethnic group enjoying their downtown, the one they've taxed themselves to build.

And I privately thank mayors Norick, Humphries and Cornett for their contributions to this amazing renaissance. I'm finally proud to show my city off to visiting friends and relatives, to tell people I'm from here. Of course, they always say, "Oh yes, the Thunder."