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Tulsa County Republican Convention 2013: Christiansen, Vuillemont-Smith win straw polls

Today, March 23, 2013, the Tulsa County Republican Party held its biennial convention at the Jenks High School Performing Arts Center. In the spring of each odd-numbered year, Oklahoma Republicans gather in precinct caucuses, where they elect precinct officers and elect delegates to the County Convention who elect a county...

Posted by Michael Bates on March 23, 2013 11:41 PM

Vision2: @SayNotoVision2's victory speech on Twitter

One of the most active social media accounts during the Vision2 campaign was @SayNotoVision2 on Twitter. I don't know who ran the account, but he or she was active on a daily basis, rebutting vague and misleading statements from proponents, and making the argument against Tulsa County's Vision2 sales tax...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 9, 2012 11:52 AM

Vision2: Election night analysis on KJRH

I was in the KJRH 2 News studio election night, on a panel with news anchors Russ McCaskey and Karen Larsen and fellow analysts David Blatt of the Oklahoma Policy Institute and State Sen. Rick Brinkley to talk about state questions and other local results as they came in. Here's...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 8, 2012 5:46 AM

Vision2: Blake Ewing explains his opposition to Prop 1

Tulsa City Councilor Blake Ewing has a blog post out today explaining his opposition to Vision2 Tulsa County Proposition 1 in great detail, addressing the "deal closing fund" and the "airport part" in separate sections, and it's worth reading in full, but here are a few highlights (emphasis added): As...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 5, 2012 8:10 AM

Vision2: The problems with Prop 2

One possible outcome of Tuesday's vote is the defeat of Proposition 1 and the passage of Proposition 2. Many voters hear about proposed projects and think, "what the heck." There are plenty of reasons to turn down Prop 2. Here are just a few: We're voting in 2012 on a...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 4, 2012 1:45 PM

Vision2 poll's real margin of error

There are a couple of serious flaws with the Vision2 poll that was published today in the Tulsa World and conducted by SoonerPoll.com. The results weren't too surprising, and they may very well match what we see on election day, but nevertheless the results should be taken with a big...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 4, 2012 11:23 AM

Vision2: Wildlife Department opposes new dams on Arkansas River

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife is opposed to new dams on the Arkansas River, according to a Public Radio Tulsa news story on the impact of low-water dams on the river's water and wild animals. The Tulsa City Council has included $71 million for modifying the Zink Lake dam and...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 3, 2012 4:00 PM

Vision2: TulsaNow's better vision

TulsaNow, which has announced its opposition Tulsa County's Vision2 tax scheme, has developed Vision 2029, a detailed example of an alternative, showing one possible scenario of what the City of Tulsa could accomplish if Vision2 is voted down and the City of Tulsa enacts a tax of its own to...

Posted by Michael Bates on November 2, 2012 6:38 PM

Vision2: A better vision for Bixby, Jenks, and Sand Springs

Here's my second installment of fliers explaining why Vision2 hurts Tulsa County's municipalities and how these cities would be better off enacting a city sales tax to replace the Vision 2025 county sales tax when it expires on the last day of 2016. Specifically, this time, here's a better alternative...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 31, 2012 12:00 PM

Who's funding the Vision2 campaigns?

I was interviewed midday Tuesday by Fox 23's Ian Silver about the fundraising gap between the proponents and opponents of Vision2. The "vote yes" bunch reports donations of $562,952, and only $450 in contributions of $200 or less. The opposition group Citizens for a Better Vision has had monetary contributions...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 30, 2012 11:51 PM

Vision2: Sheriff Glanz in uniform in pro-Vision2 ad

A reader writes to tell me about a pro-Vision2 ad that ran on KOTV during the 5:30 pm Sunday newscast. The ad features County Commissioner Karen Keith and Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz. Glanz has been re-elected without opposition to a seventh four-year term as sheriff. Oklahoma has an anti-electioneering...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 29, 2012 12:53 AM

Vision2: Commissioners say too soon to make plans for 2017

I've been negligent. I did tweet about this brilliant video by Steven Roemerman, but had yet to post it here. Steven tried to call all three Tulsa County commissioners to invite them to speak to a neighborhood meeting on January 2, 2017, the day after the Vision2 tax will go...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 29, 2012 12:09 AM

Vision2: Putting all our eggs in one basket

NOTE: I'll be talking about Vision2 in studio with Pat Campbell and company on 1170 KFAQ, starting at 7:05 a.m. -- Monday morning, October 29, 2012. On Saturday afternoon, I spoke at the invitation of the Tulsa Community Business Group, an organization that meets monthly to encourage the development of...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 28, 2012 10:26 PM

Stop Vision2: Save the Republic Rally, community meeting today

This morning (Saturday, October 27, 2012) from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. there's a "Save the Republic" rally at LaFortune Park, featuring Tea Party activists and candidates, including 1st congressional district Republican nominee Jim Bridenstine. Citizens for a Better Vision will be there with yard signs and bumper stickers and...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 27, 2012 12:47 AM

Senate District 39 candidates on Vision2

Both candidates in the closely contested Oklahoma Senate District 39 race have taken a position on Vision2. Incumbent Brian Crain enthusiastically supports the Tulsa County 13-year, 0.6 cent tax scheme; challenger Julie Hall has expressed skepticism about the plan and the hasty, opaque process that produced it. Sen. Brian Crain...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 25, 2012 10:54 PM

Vision2: A better vision for Broken Arrow, Glenpool, and Owasso

I've started to put together a series of fliers explaining why Vision2 hurts Tulsa County's municipalities and how these cities would be better off enacting a city sales tax to replace the Vision 2025 county sales tax when it expires on the last day of 2016. Here are the first...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 24, 2012 12:53 AM

Romney's case against Vision2

I'm sure Mitt Romney is too busy with his own campaign to pay attention to a sales tax election Tulsa County, Oklahoma, but several of the Republican presidential nominee's comments about government and business in tonight's third debate suggest he wouldn't support Vision2, the Tulsa County sales tax scheme on...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 22, 2012 9:47 PM

Vision2 imponderables

By the way, I'm speaking at the Tulsa Republican Club luncheon today about Vision2. It's at the Summit Club, 30th floor of the Bank of America Building, 15 W. 16th St. Buffet lunch ($20) served starting at 11:30, program begins at 12 noon. You can join the club for $25...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 19, 2012 2:59 AM

Vision2: The alternative in a nutshell

Many thanks to KJRH Channel 2 (Cox Cable 9) for a well-balanced story on Vision2 today. I spent a couple of hours with Citizens for a Better Vision, the organized opposition group to Vision2, out on 51st Street where people could pick-up signs, buttons, and bumper stickers. While I was...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 13, 2012 10:34 PM

Stop Vision2: Your help is needed

While it seems that nearly everyone who is paying attention right now is against Vision2, that won't be enough to win on November 6. Far more people who aren't paying attention right now will show up to vote for President on November 6 and may decide on the spot...

Posted by Michael Bates on October 7, 2012 11:25 PM