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Voting for image, not understanding

There's a thought-provoking story from last week's local elections in Houston: An elderly, white, conservative man won a non-partisan race for a six-year-term on the board of Houston Community College, defeating a four-term African-American incumbent in a heavily African-American district. The victorious candidate, Dave Wilson, used stock photos of African-Americans...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 10, 2013 5:27 PM

Kathy Taylor aide slams Rick Santorum

A press release by Kathy Taylor's campaign manager may have accomplished what no amount of celebrity Republican endorsements have been able do: Motivate grassroots conservatives to go to the polls to vote for a man they despise as a RINO, just to make sure Taylor and her inner circle don't...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 25, 2013 6:53 PM

Dan Keating: Time for Dewey Bartlett Jr to go

Dan Keating, a conservative Republican, recently appointed by Gov. Mary Fallin to the State Board of Education, has written a scathing column in the Tulsa Beacon denouncing Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr's campaign for pushing party affiliation over his performance as mayor and saying that it's time for Tulsa Mayor...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 20, 2013 11:58 PM

Oklahomans for Life: Kathy Taylor gave to pro-abortion PAC

Oklahomans for Life, an organization that works for pro-life legislation at the State Capitol and publishes candidate questionnaires on abortion, euthanasia, and related issues, has noted Tulsa mayoral candidate Kathy Taylor's financial support for Emily's List, a political action committee that requires a radical pro-abortion litmus test of any candidates...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 19, 2013 12:58 AM

Taylor, Bartlett each deserve blame for trash mess (UPDATED)

CORRECTION: I am informed that my inference concerning Cheryl Cohenour's service on the TARE board, based on frequent news reports mentioning her as a board member prior to 2011, was incorrect. Taylor campaign research director Joey Wignarajah contacted me (directly this time) and provided me with TARE board minutes documenting...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 8, 2013 3:48 PM

Mayoral flashback: When Bartlett didn't blame Taylor for the Tulsa budget mess

Here is the monthly sales tax news release from Mayor Dewey F. Bartlett Jr's office, dated February 5, 2010. This is two months after Bartlett Jr was sworn in, just shy of three months after he was elected mayor in 2009. Please especially note the final paragraph, which I've highlighted...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 13, 2013 1:43 AM

Bartlett Jr importing out-of-town GOP volunteers

Just got an email from the Tulsa County Republican Party announcing volunteer door-knocking days on behalf of Dewey Bartlett Jr, running for re-election as Mayor of Tulsa. Although this is officially a non-partisan race, both candidates are closely identified with their respective parties, and both were elected to their first...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 30, 2013 6:15 PM

Not meeting the mayoral candidates

I have friends on both sides of the upcoming Tulsa mayoral election who have asked me if I'd be willing to meet with their respective candidate, a private meeting where I could voice my concerns and the candidate would make his or her case for my support. It's not that...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 28, 2013 11:44 PM

Finally: TDA to allow Wilkinses to develop across from ballpark

A proposed hotel/office/retail development in the Bob Wills District that was stymied in 2008 by Mayor Kathy Taylor and the Tulsa Development Authority now looks to move forward, five years later and after a lawsuit and settlement. The half-block west of Elgin between Archer and Brady is owned by the...

Posted by Michael Bates on July 31, 2013 12:49 PM

Tulsa mayor's race: Councilor endorsement scorecard

As of June 12, 2013, I'm only aware of two endorsements: Henderson and Ewing, both for Taylor. I will update this table as additional endorsements are announced. District Councilor Party Endorsing 1 Jack Henderson D Taylor 2 Jeannie Cue R 3 David Patrick D 4 Blake Ewing R Taylor 5...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 12, 2013 10:44 PM

Tulsa Election 2013: Primary results

All the precincts are in. You can download the precinct-level results for the June 11, 2013 elections statewide here. It's the last link on the page, it's a zip file, and it contains a CSV file that you can open in your spreadsheet program or query with your database software....

Posted by Michael Bates on June 12, 2013 12:11 AM

Bill Christiansen for Tulsa Mayor

Another day, another mendacious attack mailer from Dewey Bartlett Jr. If I had known there were enough Tulsans who objected to rising city budgets, county tax initiatives, the City Hall move, the Great Plains Airlines bailout, and accepting Federal stimulus money to justify a mail piece targeting those concerns, I...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 10, 2013 9:27 PM

Kathy Taylor confronted over voter fraud

It was disheartening to read that someone I backed for City Council has bought Kathy Taylor's self-serving spin on the Great Plains Airlines bailout. The airport was never at risk. The collateral for the Great Plains Airlines loan was a small piece of the apron on the Air Force Plant...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 10, 2013 9:18 PM

Dewey Bartlett Jr defended One Technology Center purchase

One of Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr's principal attacks against his rival, former City Councilor Bill Christiansen, is that Christiansen agreed to then-Mayor Kathy Taylor's plan to borrow $67 million in revenue bonds to buy the One Technology Center building to serve as a new City Hall, with the bonds...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 8, 2013 7:57 AM

Kathy Taylor and Mayors Against Illegal Guns

UPDATE 2013/06/08: As I've examined news releases and articles from the initial Mayors Against Illegal Guns summit, the picture is emerging that Kathy Taylor was even farther from being a mere passive attendee in Michael Bloomberg's group than I thought. I've added some links and photos below. Taylor was part...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 7, 2013 12:25 PM

Kathy Taylor's runoff problem

Runoff was one of the topics mentioned in Tulsa mayoral candidate Bill Christiansen's press conference on Wednesday, May 29, 2013, about the questionable ethics of his principal opponents, former mayor Kathy Taylor and incumbent mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr. The runoff under discussion isn't the election that will be held in...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 3, 2013 11:16 PM

Eagleton rates Tulsa mayor candidates

Mayoral candidates Dewey Bartlett Jr. and Kathy Taylor are "indistinguisable" with regard to policy and the candidates of choice for fans of crony capitalism, while former City Councilor Bill Christiansen "worked harder than a reasonable person would have" on behalf of his constituents and easily reaches across racial, cultural, and...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 2, 2013 2:48 PM

TulsaNow mayoral surveys online

Grassroots civic group TulsaNow sent a questionnaire to the candidates for Mayor of Tulsa; Bill Christiansen and Kathy Taylor responded. There were multiple attempts to contact incumbent Dewey Bartlett Jr, but he did not respond. Question topics include delays in PLANiTULSA implementation, police department scandals and rising costs, park demolitions,...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 22, 2013 8:35 AM

Kathy & Dewey's budget roller coaster

Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr has released his proposed budget for the upcoming 2013-2014 fiscal year, which begins July 1. (That's an 8 GB PDF.) The budget is slightly lower than last year, reflecting the drop in revenues that caught Bartlett Jr and his administration by surprise, leading to...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 1, 2013 9:35 PM

Kathy Taylor and the BOK Center budget

Former Mayor Kathy Taylor should get a "pants on fire" rating for her campaign's ads claiming that she brought BOK Center in on time and within budget. During my conversation this morning with Pat Campbell on 1170 KFAQ, Pat asked me about Kathy Taylor's claims that, as mayor, she completed...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 13, 2013 12:12 PM