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Oil in Oklahoma: Tulsa TV 50 years ago
I have finally gotten around to reading Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann, in anticipation of the Martin Scorsese film to be released in October. I'm about halfway through, and I was skimming ahead. (It's OK. I already knew who the bad guys were.) I was surprised to...
Tim Harris for Tulsa School Board
As a prosecutor who has seen the tragic results of failed public schools, as a long-time volunteer serving young people, as an administrator with responsibility over a complex organization, and as a devout Christian husband, father, and grandfather, Tim Harris has the values and experience we need on the Tulsa school board.
Owasso city manager malfeasance investigation matter of public interest, court rules
From the Oklahoma Taxpayer Alliance, news on the vindication of the late Owasso City Councilor Patrick Ross in his fight to release a report investigating alleged wrongdoing by City Manager Rodney Ray, whose 20-year tenure ended in 2013 under an ethical cloud but with a hefty severance package from the...
Mapping Tulsa: historical maps on exhibit downtown
Mapping Tulsa, a diverse collection of historical maps illustrating Tulsa's history and culture, is on display at the Henry Zarrow Center gallery, at the southwest corner of Brady Street and Cincinnati Avenue in Tulsa's Bob Wills Arts District. The gallery is open noon to 6 pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and...
Rick Westcott for District Judge
I have known Rick Westcott for over 15 years, and I've consistently observed his diligence to determine facts, his careful reasoning, his clarity of expression, and his fairness to all. It would be a blessing to have Rick Westcott serving as our District Judge. I urge you to join me in voting for Rick Westcott on June 26.
Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi
We saw the new Star Wars movie last night. I'm glad we went, mainly because we finally found out a few answers to the questions raised by Episode VII. The Last Jedi had its exciting moments, a few funny moments, but overall, I found it unsatisfying. Like many Tulsans my...
Tulsa city election process history
Here is a brief history of all the changes to the City of Tulsa Charter, Article VI, Elections. That link leads to the current text of Article VI and the text of each change, with the ballot language and election results of each. When Tulsa adopted a mayor-council form of...
Michael Willis for Tulsa County Clerk
On Tuesday, June 28, 2016, Republican voters in Tulsa County will decide which of two candidates will be our next County Clerk. The incumbent is not running for re-election, and only two Republicans filed for the seat: Michael Willis and Nancy Rothman. Online access to public records is a big...
Vision 2025's broken promise: Economic development
We were promised in 2003 that if we passed Vision 2025, our economy would grow so much that we'd have enough additional revenue to pave streets and hire more police officers and re-open our closed city pools. If Vision 2025 made our economy grow, why are we now being asked to increase our permanent operating sales tax rate by 17.25% (from 2% to 2.345%) to fund basic police and fire coverage and street maintenance? Why are we demolishing rec centers and pools?
2014 judicial elections: General thoughts
Tomorrow morning, Monday, October 27, 2014, at 8 a.m., I'll be on 1170 KFAQ discussing judicial races on the Pat Campbell Show. (UPDATE: Here is the podcast of my conversation about judicial races with Pat Campbell, Eddie Huff, and Tulsa Beacon publisher Charlie Biggs. Here is a direct link to...
The Tulsa non-partisan election and runoff process
There's a good deal of confusion about the City of Tulsa election process. Tulsans have amended the election dates and terms of office about a dozen times in the last seven years. In just a few years we've gone from partisan elections in February and March of even-numbered years to...
Tulsa Election 2013: Ethics report notes; mayoral bet-hedgers
This is the first City of Tulsa mayoral election in which candidates are required by state law to file campaign finance reports through the Oklahoma Ethics Commission, rather than the city clerk's office, making it far easier to have access to the reports and analyze them. Tulsa County candidates also...
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...
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...
<em>Whirled</em> blurs Kathy Taylor responsibility for Great Plains settlement
I had hoped for some changes with the change of ownership. Today's Tulsa World story on the mayoral election and Kathy Taylor's Great Plains airlines settlement has undermined that hope. One positive change -- the pictures make all of the candidates look bad, not just the disfavored candidate. One...
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...
Dewey Bartlett Jr: Republican for Kathy Taylor
I'll be on 1170 KFAQ Wednesday morning at 7 with Pat Campbell to talk about mayoral candidate and former Tulsa mayor Kathy Taylor's record during her term from April 2006 to December 2009.* Taylor is claiming to have "cut wasteful spending," but in fact the general fund budget under her...
Reason misses the story on Dewey Bartlett Jr
My guess is that Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr has a friend at the libertarian Reason Foundation or has a friend who is a major donor to the organization, because they've posted another story -- with video this time -- hailing him as a budgetary genius. Clearly, the only Tulsans...
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...
Keep the Fairgrounds in the city limits
In a recent issue of Urban Tulsa Weekly, Terry Simonson, who left his position as Mayor Dewey Bartlett Jr's chief of staff under an ethical cloud, makes a very weak case for de-annexing the Tulsa County Fairgrounds (aka Expo Square) from the City of Tulsa. Over the history of the...
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