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The 2005 recall: Five years later

Five years ago tonight, on July 12, 2005, I was at The Embers, a wonderful steakhouse at 81st and Harvard (now gone, sadly), celebrating the overwhelming defeat of the attempt to recall two Tulsa City Councilors, Jim Mautino and Chris Medlock. The recall effort dominated the local political scene for...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 12, 2010 11:22 PM

At-large barge runs aground; Murphy's sweet deal

The final report from Tulsa's Citizens' Commission on City Government is the topic of this week's column in Urban Tulsa Weekly. The commission, appointed by then-Mayor Bill LaFortune last December, finished on schedule, made some constructive recommendations, including a recommendation against adding at-large seats to the City Council. You can...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 22, 2006 10:20 PM

At-large barge runs aground

An edited version of this piece was published in the June 21, 2006, issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly. The archived version is no longer online. Here is my blog entry linking to the article. Posted on the web August 2, 2009. Links to the Citizens' Commisison final report added October...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 21, 2006 10:12 PM

Citizens' Commission starts winding down; SB 1324 update

The charter review commission that Bill LaFortune put in place last December following the failure of Tulsans for Better Government's supercouncilor initiative petition is nearing its scheduled conclusion. I spoke at last Friday's meeting at the invitation of Co-Chairman Ken Levit. This week's Urban Tulsa Weekly has my report on...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 19, 2006 12:56 PM

Citizens' Commission on City Government discusses voting methods; SB 1324 update

An edited version of this column appeared in the May 17, 2006, issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly. The published version is no longer available online. Here's my blog entry linking to the article. Posted online October 26, 2017. Charter change commission winding down The blue-ribbon panel assembled to consider radical...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 17, 2006 12:19 PM

Blue ribbon jeer

This week's column is about the demise of the late, unlamented petition pushing for at-large members of the Tulsa City Council, and Bill LaFortune's new "Citizens' Commission," which appears to be intended to push the same agenda by other means. Elsewhere in the current Urban Tulsa Weekly: Have you wondered...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 14, 2005 11:17 PM

At-large petition dead; LaFortune forms Citizens' Commission

An edited version of this column was published in the December 14, 2005, edition of Urban Tulsa Weekly. The published version is still online, courtesy of the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Here's my blog entry linking to the article. Posted October 28, 2017. The at-large councilor petition appears to be...

Posted by Michael Bates on December 14, 2005 8:56 AM