The Usual Suspects: Tulsa Economic Recovery Advisory Committee

Does G. T. Bynum IV know anyone who lives east of Yale, north of 21st, or west of the river?

I've been watching the creation of blue ribbon panels for years, and this list is disturbingly familiar.

The mayor's picks for his Economic Recovery Advisory Committee are yet another expression of the tunnel vision of this city's ruling class, which can't see beyond its own little network of friends and associates, and which thinks of north, east, and west Tulsa as empty places you speed through to get to the airport, the lake, or Dallas.

When I posted this list to social media, all but one of my friends who replied spotted the deficiencies immediately. If you're in The Money Belt Bubble, if you're a Yacht Guest, you probably won't see any problem at all -- you'll think that this list is comprehensively representative of the city's economic life.

Small companies that make products and provide services for customers across the country and around the world -- they may as well not exist as far as Tulsa's trust-fund babies are concerned. Small, unfashionable businesses that serve the residents of Tulsa's forgotten neighborhoods -- barbers and beauty salons, cafes, neighborhood bars, local retailers, the businesses that are most vulnerable to a prolonged shutdown -- don't rate inclusion in a discussion of Tulsa's economic future.

TU is included, but not ORU, a university that draws students to Tulsa from around the world, many of whom stay after graduation and contribute to Tulsa's economy.

Churches aren't in the picture at all. Bynum IV apparently has no interest in the institutions that provide spiritual, social, and often financial support to vast numbers of Tulsans, institutions that have had to shut their doors and have taken a financial hit along with the rest of the economy.

Let's break down the list. First, you've got the power behind the throne, the woman who was rejected by the voters but found in Bynum IV a vehicle back to the Mayor's office: Kathy Taylor.

Then there are the Kaiser Konnections: Argonaut is George Kaiser's private equity fund, BOK is George Kaiser's bank, GKFF is George Kaiser's foundation, the University of Tulsa is George Kaiser's Kollege, and G. T. Bynum IV is George Kaiser's politician. I seem to recall reading that Gerry Clancy was too ill to continue as president of TU and had to stand aside, to be replaced by the wife of GKFF's executive director, but somehow he has the strength to nurse the city's economy back to health?

Three of the city's hospitals are represented and the city's largest private employer, American Airlines, which seems reasonable. But why do you need to hear from the general manager of the BOK Center, which already enjoys a $200 million public subsidy and is going to be propped up by the taxpayer however bad the economy may get?

There's a city councilor on the panel, and of course it's the councilor for the only district that matters, District 9, which contains the midtown portion of the Money Belt.

Arch-Chamberpot Mike Neal is on the list, head of a quango that pretends to be a branch of government when it's convenient (when it comes to taking tax dollars or hosting the State of the City address as a fundraiser) and a private club when it's not (when it comes to openness and accountability). Most of the rest of the names on the list are also members of the Tulsa Regional Chamber Board of Directors -- the same names that pop up time and again on public boards and commissions.

Tulsa is known around the world as the setting for the bestselling youth novel The Outsiders and the location for Francis Ford Coppola's beautiful film adaptation of the book. But Tulsa was then and still is run by a band of Socs who refuse to acknowledge that the rest of the city exists. This election year, Tulsa needs an Outsiders revolution. Tulsa's ignored neighborhoods need to drive off the mis-leadership of Bynum IV and his Soc cabal and elect a mayor and councilors who represent all of Tulsa.

MORE: Here's the official press release, for the record:

Mayor's Economic Recovery Advisory Committee Formed to Help Restore Tulsa Economy Amid COVID-19 Response

The City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Regional Chamber announced the creation of the Mayor's Economic Recovery Advisory Committee today to help guide near-term strategy around Tulsa's economic recovery while also identifying long-term opportunities for growth as the Tulsa community responds to the COVID-19 threat.

"As we manage a public health crisis using guidance from independent local public health experts, so too will we rely upon guidance from some of the best minds in Tulsa's private sector to recover from this economic crisis," said Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum. "I am very grateful for these Tulsans stepping up with their time and expertise across a broad array of industries. Working together, we will work to restore Tulsa's economy while protecting public health."

The Mayor's Economic Recovery Advisory Committee will focus on two main goals. First, to develop guidelines for safely reopening the Tulsa economy during the coming weeks and months, and second, to identify what the Tulsa-area business community needs to do to drive a stronger post-pandemic economy.

"We are confident that the City of Tulsa working in concert with the local business community can ensure we rebound as safely as possible," said Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber. "This committee will also leverage the collective brainpower of many of Tulsa's brightest leaders in hopes of helping us all emerge from this challenge as quickly as possible."

Mayor's Economic Recovery Advisory Committee:

Steve Bradshaw, Bank of Oklahoma
Chet Cadieux, QuikTrip
Gerry Clancy, University of Tulsa
Carlin Conner, SemGroup (retired)
Kevin Gross, Hillcrest Medical Center
Marilyn Ihloff, Ihloff Salon & Day Spa
Ben Kimbro, Tulsa City Council
Dave Kollmann, Flintco
Paula Marshall, Bama Foods
Josh Miller, George Kaiser Family Foundation
Steve Mitchell, Argonaut Private Equity
Mike Neal, Tulsa Regional Chamber
Elliot Nelson, McNellie's Group
Jeff Nowlin, Ascension St. John
Erik Olund, American Airlines
Pete Patel, Promise Hotels
Anja Rogers, Senior Star Living
Larry Rooney, Manhattan Construction
Peggy Simmons, American Electric Power
Casey Sparks, ASM Global
Barry Steichen, Saint Francis Health System
Kathy Taylor, Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation
Rose Washington, Tulsa Economic Development Corp.

*Lead Staff: Kian Kamas, City of Tulsa Chief of Economic Development and Justin McLaughlin Tulsa Regional Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

For the most up-to-date news, information and business resources in Tulsa, visit www.cityoftulsa.org/COVID-19.

MORE: Longtime reader Bob comments:

Yes, again the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce appears to be picking the Committee members.

For the actual business executives appointed to the Committee, I wouldn't see how they would actually have any real spare time to devote to a Recovery Committee.

BOKF CEO Steve Bradshaw, Q-T CEO Chet Cadieux, and the CEO's of Hillcrest, St. John's and St. Francis are all probably working double-overtime to save their businesses. And, the American Airlines executive appointed has EIGHTY AA jets parked at Tulsa International Airport, totally idle.

BOKF's stock has been plummeting, falling in the past year from $89 per share to a recent low of $35, and only very recently climbing back to $45 per share. Additions by the major banks to their Provision for Loan & Lease losses has been huge at the U.S. Multinational banks at quarter end 3/31. I'll look up BOKF's shortly.

Due to a cessation of elective surgeries, which provide all 3 Tulsa hospitals with the majority of their revenue, they've got to be hemorraging $$.

How much of his valuable time would the SFHS CEO who earned $1.7 million back in 2017, according to OCPA's "Perspective" newsletter, have to devote to a City of Tulsa committee?

What are Bynum's and the Chamber's REAL strategy?

Another "emergency" sales tax INCREASE to "save" City Government.

WHY? Because in the same Tulsa World edition as announcing the Economic Recovery Committee, Mayor Bynum announced a measly 3% cut in the city budget for the Fiscal Year 2021 beginning July 1.

That's Fantastical! The city is intentionally building in a revenue crisis that will hit later this year, but in time for a new Sales Tax initiative, probably a special election, because of the funding "Emergency".

There are now 26.5 MILLION people out of work nationally. The U.S. government accumulated Federal Debt will exceed our 2020 Gross Domestic Product!

There is NO revenue flowing to City facilities at the BOK Arena, Driller Stadium, or the PAC.

As measured earlier this week, less than 180 passengers were cleared that day by TSA at Tulsa International Airport. Normal volume is 5,000 daily.

All the malls are closed. That means no city sales tax generated.

Restaurants are drive-in, take-out, or home delivery only.

Oil prices have collapsed. closing at $17 per bbl today, after actually closing at negative $13 on Monday for the first time EVER. Meaning oil sellers of WTI were paying buyers to buy their May crude oil delivery contracts.

All the oil service companies are announcing layoffs, and capital spending reductions. Oil production companies are shutting in their wells all over the U.S, and offshore. Too much oil for the level of demand.

That's a fair point about the likely level of participation by the CEOs. If the people calling the shots already know the preferred outcome, the members of the Blue Ribbon panel are just there for window dressing. The last thing they want on such a committee is a member who will do research on his own time, who will ask probing questions, and who may come to a different conclusion than the prescribed result.

And in the spirit of Rahm Emmanuel's maxim -- "Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste" -- it wouldn't surprise me if the aim is to create a fiscal crisis that demands higher tax rates.