The mayor and other city leaders are still curious to hear your views on the upcoming council races. If you haven't researched the candidates yet, and/or commented on the topic, please do so. The thread can be found in Poll Vault or at the following link:

http://www.okctalk.com/t2054-city-council-candidates.html

We need to finish replacing the council. I do not see any of the incumbants really doing anything to improve the city. No major sports on the horizon, no other major businesses on the horizon. They still applaud the hokey cowboy and Indian things that bring the image of this city down.

One of my fellow agents said yesterday that he got a call from the city manager of anothe major city. The caller said he thought all the people in Oklahoma City still rode horses. Goes to show you what others think and of the type work we need.

New, forward thinking blood can repair the image and bring us where we need to be.

Marrs is to new to know what will happen, Dobbs is not running, and the others have had at least four years to prove themselves... None have.

I had a dream one night. I dreamed ole Jerry Foshee was up for re-election, and mranderson was up against him. Well, in my dream, mranderson won by a landslide. Congrats to mranderson:congrats: . Then, I woke up, and realized it was only a dream.

Sam Bowman hasn't been a bad addition to the council, but obviously, I'd favor our very own Susan Johnston for Ward 2, if she were running against him again. Susan would be such an asset, and a breath of fresh air to the council. She's definitely proven her commitment to our city through her involvement in various city community service organizations. We need someone in there who's an advocate for the beautifucation of our city. If she ran under the MAPS for Neighborhoods banner, she might be a show in!

Here's the post where she presented the MAPS for Neighborhoods idea:

http://www.okctalk.com/showthread.php?p=12944#post12944

Please note, I'm not putting down Sam Bowman in any way. I don't want anyone to get that idea. I just have a lot of respect for Susan.

It seems to me some of the candidates have too many pipe dreams. Pipe dreams are great for some issues; however, not every problem can be solved with creativity. The other issue I see is the fact some of the candidates seem to be uneducated on the issues. It almost reminds me of Jim Denny when he ran for governor. His quote was always “I’m not sure how that works but, if you vote for me I will study it and make the needed changes."



My question to some of these candidates is; Why are you running for city council when you don't even understand the issues that are affecting the city?





I'm supporting candidates that will strongly support public safety. I have heard several the candidates voice that too much money goes into public safety. I disagree therefore I will vote for candidates who promote public safety.

I'm running for Bethany City Council, Ward 2 so if you live in Bethany or know someone who does, vote for a fellow OKCTalk member !!

I find the lack of media attention to municipal elections to be a breach of their responsibility to act in the public interest. Television news has become one feature story after another. The "news" that IS covered seems to need to be a) A tragic accident - complete with live standup's from the scene or b) sensational crime stories. It gets very old and tiring. Local news as "Inside Edition." Don't you miss the days when ALL the stations had full-time reporters covering City Hall? Now, I'm not even sure that full-time people are assigned to the state CAPITOL! I could be wrong, maybe somebody who knows could chime in.

But really, the lack of attention on city government (unless there's scandal in the wind) and the lack of coverage of city campaigns is appalling.

I find the lack of media attention to municipal elections to be a breach of their responsibility to act in the public interest. Television news has become one feature story after another. The "news" that IS covered seems to need to be a) A tragic accident - complete with live standup's from the scene or b) sensational crime stories. It gets very old and tiring. Local news as "Inside Edition." Don't you miss the days when ALL the stations had full-time reporters covering City Hall? Now, I'm not even sure that full-time people are assigned to the state CAPITOL! I could be wrong, maybe somebody who knows could chime in.

But really, the lack of attention on city government (unless there's scandal in the wind) and the lack of coverage of city campaigns is appalling.

I agree with part of what you are saying on this one.

As a lot of people on this board know, I am eyeing ward five council at the end of the current term. In the past, even in the 70's and early 80's, I would get a lot of press just for being on this board and announcing my plans. The city council were celebraties. Now, Mick Cornett is the only one with that staus. It is a shame more people do not know what our council is like, and who they even are. Yes. We need full time reporters at city hall again for television and radio. We DO have at least one at the capitol. I believe Terri Watkins is for KOCO.

Thanks for the info about Teri Watkins. Nice to know...

You are so right about the council members being celebrities. I remember those days well.

My, things have changed.

It seems like the only news organization with a reporter/writer designated for city hall is the Oklahoman. Our very own, Steve Lackmeyer, coners city hall for the Oklahoman. Alex Cameron does cover city hall for channel 9, but since he's an anchor also, that's not his primary job. We need a Steve Lackmeyer at all of the news channels.