Blog search

Tulsa Election 2020: Mayoral candidate questionnaire

Last Wednesday, BatesLine sent a questionnaire to the six serious candidates for Mayor of Tulsa, using the email addresses provided in their declarations of candidacy or on their websites. We sent two reminders. We received replies from three candidates: Craig Immel, Ken Reddick, and Ty Walker. The survey consists of...

Posted by Michael Bates on August 18, 2020 8:08 PM

Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 2

At the end of the second of three days of candidate filing for the 2020 City of Tulsa elections, the incumbent mayor, auditor, and seven of the nine incumbent city councilors have filed for re-election, with Mayor GT Bynum IV drawing three opponents and incumbent Democratic Councilors Kara Joy McKee...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 9, 2020 5:12 PM

2020 City of Tulsa candidate filing period

Filing period for mayor, auditor, and council of the City of Tulsa runs June 8-10, 2020. If you're unhappy with city officials (and you should be), time to act and make a real difference.

Posted by Michael Bates on June 8, 2020 12:00 AM

Tom McCay for Mayor of Tulsa

Back last November and again in April during filing for candidates for city offices, I begged for a principled conservative to throw his hat in the ring for Mayor of Tulsa, so we wouldn't be left with a Hobson's choice between Tweedledee Jr and Tweedledum IV, both of whom have...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 16, 2016 10:57 PM

Bartlett Jr vs. Bynum IV: KFAQ mayoral debate

On Friday, March 20, 2016, 1170 KFAQ hosted a debate between the two most prominent of the five candidates for Tulsa mayor: Incumbent Mayor Dewey F. Bartlett, Jr., and City Councilor G. T. Bynum, IV. KFAQ morning host Pat Campbell moderated the hour-long, uninterrupted debate. If you'd prefer to listen,...

Posted by Michael Bates on May 20, 2016 11:43 PM

Wanted: conservative candidates; Tulsa, county, state, federal 2016 filing periods this week

City of Tulsa candidate filing is this week, and we don't have any conservatives running for mayor, nor any conservatives currently on the city council. I am praying that solidly conservative candidates will step forward to run for city office. I hope you'll join with me in prayer, that you'll be open to the possibility of running, and that you'll think through your list of friends and consider whom you might encourage to run.

Posted by Michael Bates on April 13, 2016 8:34 AM

Bartlett Jr vs. Bynum IV: Tweedle-dee vs. Tweedle-dum

Tulsa Mayor Dewey F. Bartlett Jr. has announced his intention to run for a third term. Federal lobbyist and City Councilor G. T. Bynum IV has announced his intention to run against Bartlett. My one-word take: Feh. Tulsa needs better choices. (I won't say "deserves better"; as Mencken wrote, "Democracy...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 24, 2015 10:34 PM

Dewey Bartlett Jr: "As Mayor, I rely on The Weather Channel..."

Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr. was quoted in a web advertisement for The Weather Channel, part of the cable network's pushback in its battle against DirecTV's decision to replace the channel with WeatherNation on its satellite lineup. KJRH meteorologist George Flickinger posted a screenshot the ad on his Facebook page....

Posted by Michael Bates on January 14, 2014 10:46 PM

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

Eagleton: Dewey Bartlett Jr is no fiscal conservative

Former Tulsa City Councilor John Eagleton, a Republican and a budget hawk during his time on the council, issued a statement today on the fiscal record of incumbent Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr: As a former City Councilor, I share my opinion that Mayor Dewey Bartlett is not a fiscal conservative....

Posted by Michael Bates on November 7, 2013 7:48 PM

Terry Simonson: Tulsa murder rate isn't so bad, when you don't count all the killings

Terry Simonson, Dewey Bartlett Jr's former chief of staff, writes that Tulsa's murder rate isn't all that bad, if you don't count all the murders: It's hard for the community to be concerned about the number of homicides when it's gang members killing gang members. When you think about it,...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 26, 2013 5:28 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

Christiansen announces he won't back Bartlett for Tulsa mayor

Former Councilor and mayoral candidate Bill Christiansen announced today that, having met this week with Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr to discuss his concerns, he has decided not to endorse Bartlett Jr. According to Christansen, Bartlett told him he doesn't have a platform for his second term in office and...

Posted by Michael Bates on September 19, 2013 3:19 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

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

Bill Christiansen statement on election results, possible endorsement

From the Christiansen campaign office: Bill Christiansen ran for Mayor of ALL Tulsa and ran because he wanted to represent the citizens of Tulsa not special interest groups. He was out spent nearly 10-1 and started out at 9% and consistently raised to 24%. These may be worth boasting about...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 12, 2013 5:11 PM

Tulsa primary election 2013

Happy Election Day! Polls open in Tulsa County and the City of Tulsa at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Citizens of the City of Tulsa have two races on a non-partisan primary ballot: Mayor and City Auditor. There will be runoffs in November and possibly (but not likely)...

Posted by Michael Bates on June 11, 2013 7:02 PM