The filing period for City Council ends Monday the 31st with primarys scheduled for March 1st and the general election will be held April 5th. Wards 2, 5, 6 and 8 are in play.

I've never been actively involved in campaining for a candidate before but will commit time and money to insure that Brian Walters time on the council comes to an end. South OKC deserves a Councilman that knows and understands how to get things done for the betterment of our ward along with being able to work with the other Council members on getting things done for the betterment of the city, which clearly Brain Walters does not...

Brian Walters is an embarrassment for the south side. I've been hearing that Foshee is going to run for his old seat again. I agree though, that we need to put out the stops to get Walters out.

Does anyone have the 2007 election results for ward 5?

Didn't Walters win the ward 5 election fairly easy with the majority vote?

Does anyone have the 2007 election results for ward 8?

Didn't Walters win the ward 8 election fairly easy with the majority vote?

Walters doesn't represent Ward 8 (Councilman Pat Ryan does). Walters is councilman for Ward 5.

Regarding the many down right decent ideas that get expressed here from day to day, I've wondered when or if some OKCTalk folk might be making announcements to run in the upcoming cycle.

I think illl wait again to run next election cycle.

Yeah for Brian Walters!!!

Shadid is running for Ward 2. He is a an extremely smart and capable guy. I hope he wins.

Perhaps this should be in the Political section.

This week, scores of enraged political activists contemplate running for city council. Moments later, they go to okc.gov to find out who their councilor actually is.

:iagree::yeahthat::woowoo:

Where is Steve Hunt? maybe he can use this as a stepping stone. Councilman>Mayor>Governor>President

Where is Steve Hunt? maybe he can use this as a stepping stone. Taco Bell>Councilman>Mayor>Governor>President

Fixed it for ya...

Thanks for the fix, but doesn't Taco Bell more appropriately fall under Cornett? Seeing that he had that healthier alternative spokesman thing going on with them? LOL

True. But Cornett doesn't work the drive-thru at the Taco Bell on Lincoln...

Yeah for Brian Walters!!!

Who would have guessed !!!

Shadid is running for Ward 2. He is a an extremely smart and capable guy. I hope he wins.

I'd like to see his platform before I hope he wins. I agree he's smart and capable, and he was also my student, back in medical school. At the time, I was very impressed by him, but he went on to do a surgery residency and then plastic surgery fellowship and sometimes that changes people. It's a stereotype, but surgeon's aren't "raised" to believe in compromise, or to worry about what those beneath them think. There's no time for voting in the operating room. They tend less to be leaders than dictators, in the mildest sense of the word, and that is very antithetical to the way a council operates. So, to reiterate, I'd like to see his platform.

Who do ya think is gonna pour money into the campaign?
Ill give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don't count............

Surely there are some former Falls Creek counselors that could easily win a seat on the counsel.

Maybe Oklahoma City needs a loosely organized watchdogs type organization where people gather to bitch once a week about Oklahoma City government as well as a blog to do it on. Or is there already an Oklahoma City Watchdogs?

Bunty, Welcome to the group!
:welcome5:

Maybe Oklahoma City needs a loosely organized watchdogs type organization where people gather to bitch once a week about Oklahoma City government as well as a blog to do it on. Or is there already an Oklahoma City Watchdogs?

There was, it's gone, I think they called it NOTTHISMAPS.

rc, its alive and well in this thread...hint...hint...that's why I welcomed him to the group

rc, its alive and well in this thread...hint...hint...that's why I welcomed him to the group

Alive an well, maybe, active and of any value, I think not. When you see Mr. hunt, inform him he forgot my burrito w/extra sour cream the last time I went through the drive thru.

I give up, not translating well at all...

RC,
Good to see you out from under your rock with your usual insightful and worthless comments.

Meaculpa, where do you think the money is coming from?

RC,
Good to see you out from under your rock with your usual insightful and worthless comments.

Likewise my friend, I missed you buddy, your'e such an easy target/sparring partner.

See you the next MAPS rally, unless there's something in it for public safety, then you'll stay silent and we won't have the honor of being graced with your presence.

Is there anyone already announced who is considered a champion of the public safety rank and file?

Ya know, the Firefighters office has priority surveys. When candidates come around asking for donations, we ask them to fill out a survey. A committee then reviews those surveys. Some candidates have asked for them. We have asked some others to fill them out. Like any good group of voters, we would like to know where people stand and we only have a certain amount of money to donate!

The money isn't needed for a city council election in this city, is surprisingly easy to get elected. Rarely are there even challengers.

Ya know, the Firefighters office has priority surveys. When candidates come around asking for donations, we ask them to fill out a survey. A committee then reviews those surveys. Some candidates have asked for them. We have asked some others to fill them out. Like any good group of voters, we would like to know where people stand and we only have a certain amount of money to donate!

Translated means what are you going to do for us if we throw are support in your direction. (scratch are back and we scratch yours, translated--back means pocket)

RC, let me point out that you brought up Maps. It's sad your so cynical. Did you read where I said "only a certain amount of money"? We may not have a large amount of cash to distribute. What we do have is volunteers! We are willing to pound the pavement. To put out signs, distribute flyers or anything else we can to support a candidate who believes in priorities that are in line with ours. Much the same as any other organization will. Can't wait for you to trash these comments as something nefarious for participating in the political process.

Metro, I think you may be wrong about your previous comments.

Metro is definitely wrong about the money issue.

Since Mayor Kirk, a lot of money has been spent on council seats. Furthermore, there will be upwards of 5 candidates for Ward 2 and 3 for Ward 6. In these cases volunteers are worth more than money. The wards are dense and every voter can be reached with about 100 volunteers.

The Tea Party types seem to be setting up a heck of a campaign for a fella in Ward 2.

Priority surveys are used by many organizations. The Chamber, organized labor, environmental groups, transit groups are examples of a few

RC, let me point out that you brought up Maps. It's sad your so cynical. Did you read where I said "only a certain amount of money"? We may not have a large amount of cash to distribute. What we do have is volunteers! We are willing to pound the pavement. To put out signs, distribute flyers or anything else we can to support a candidate who believes in priorities that are in line with ours. Much the same as any other organization will. Can't wait for you to trash these comments as something nefarious for participating in the political process.

Metro, I think you may be wrong about your previous comments.

As the saying goes, "the proof is in the pudding". See you at the rally.

A Fireman I know said that the fire fighters and police are supporting Ed Shadid in Ward 2.

Real easy to get elected if there are not challengers. ;) But I would bet "most" of the time the person who spends the most money wins - even in city elections.

OKC City Council Candidates’ Forum

One of the most important decisions affecting land use and development in Oklahoma City will be made on March 1 when voters go to the polls to elect city council members in four wards.

Who are the candidates? Will they continue to move OKC forward on its present course? Or do they favor a change of direction? Where do they stand on MAPS 3, economic development, and city government’s role in improving the quality of life in our community?

Come find out what’s at stake in this election. Voter turn-out is expected to be small and your vote could be decisive. Don’t miss this opportunity to get your questions about land use and development answered by the people seeking to lead the city for the next four years.

Date
Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Location
The Skirvin Hilton
One Park Avenue
Oklahoma City 73101

Time
5pm – 7pm
Cash Bar

For more information please contact:
DeShawn Heusel
ULI Oklahoma
P.O. Box 20780
Oklahoma City, OK 73156
http://oklahoma.uli.org/
deshawn.heusel@uli.org

^^^
just to give credit, this was posted over in Steve's blog http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/2011/02/17/fyi/

I'm sure it was a simple press release from the ULI.

http://newsok.com/feed/city-ward-6-candidates-answer-questions/article/3542456?custom_click=pod_headline_news#

These are the candidates for Ward 6, other questions were asked and answers are at the story link above.

What do you think of the MAPS 3 projects?

Jessica Holstein, 21, psychiatry clinic research assistant

“I think that we could use that money for other things that are more important. A lot of those projects are being focused downtown and there are other parts of Oklahoma City that should be focused on as well. I don't think we need a new convention center.”

Meg Salyer (i), 55, business president

“I think MAPS as a concept is a model for rebuilding communities around the country. People are coming to Oklahoma City all the time to figure out how we did this ... There's something in each one of those initiatives for citizens all around our community. Is every project exactly what everybody what everybody wanted? Not necessarily, but collectively they represent something for everyone in our community.”

Adrian Van Manen, 61, church music director

“The law has been passed, and I understand that the projects are not prioritized yet, or they haven't decided which ones to do first, and I don't know at this point what can be done to change it. That's something that I'll have to be brought up to speed on as soon as I get elected.”

So Jessica wants to change it. Meg appears to be non-committal. Adrian doesn't realize that any/all of it can be changed and doesn't seem interested in finding out until after the election.

Talk about a no-brainer, Meg wins in a landslide.

...So Jessica wants to change it. Meg appears to be non-committal. Adrian doesn't realize that any/all of it can be changed and doesn't seem interested in finding out until after the election.

Salyer didn't seem non-committal at all in my opinion. She addresses MAPs as a collective, which it is, and notes others want to emulate what OKC is doing.
Holstein hits a point that many, even amongst those who supported MAPs3, have hit over time, the CC seemed to be the least popular item in the pitch.
Van Manen played politico in my opinion. One can paint him as uninformed and apparently fine with that unless he should get elected, or one can paint him as a don't know what exactly can be done to alter existing priorities, but finding out is job one once elected. he's probably in between those two paint jobs, but I wouldn't put him dead center between them.

Given the typical low turnout for council elections, anyone with voter eligibility and a preference ought to assume their favorite is an underdog and work hard and then work harder. This year doesn't seem to be a six of one, half dozen of another choice for the voters.

With regard to Adrian, it's just sad that he doesn't even have a rudimentary knowledge of the most important municipal issue that'll come before him.

If Jessica Holstein happens to come by, I'd like to give her some political advice- maybe "A lot of those projects are being focused downtown and there are other parts of Oklahoma City [outside of ward 6?] that should be focused on" is not the best way to appeal to voters in Ward 6.

Here's a mailer I received in Saturday's mail. This one says, under the address box, "This advertisement is not authorized or approved by any candidate - Paid for by Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum." Googling that phrase, I got no results, but I presume that it is a group composed of various Chamber members. As far as direct contributions to her campaign (as distinguished from those behind the the mailer's committee), this Oklahoman article (http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-council-elections-three-vie-for-ward-6-seat/article/3542455) says that her campaign has received ...



... $53,600 in donations, much of it from those with business connections who supported MAPS 3, according to reports filed last week. Salyer's top contributors all gave $5,000.

Those were the Chesapeake Oklahoma PAC; Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy Corp.; Larry J. Nichols, chairman and chief executive of Devon Energy Corp.; Clayton I. Bennett, the owner of a diversified private investment company and chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder; and Gregory Love, president and chief operating officer of Love's Country Stores.

The Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum flyer shows more about Meg Salyer than her own flyers do, which tend to be more general.

Click on images for larger views.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/megsalyer1as.jpg (http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/megsalyer1a.jpg)

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/megsalyer1bs.jpg (http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/megsalyer1b.jpg)

Larry, I agree with KevinPate ... Meg, I think, sees herself as part of the ongoing MAPS process and I'd be amazed if she proves to be a "revisionist" ala some December and January remarks by Pete White, remarks which he subsequently backed away from, sort of.

Rcjunkie, I'd certainly like to share your confidence. But of the wards that voted "Yes" in the MAPS 3 vote, Ward 6 said "Yes" the least. Unofficial returns for Ward 6's vote were 2,512 Yes, 2,455 No, the "Yes" percentage being only 50.5%. This contrasts with Ward 8's MAPS 3 vote, 8,628 Yes, 4,469 No, the "Yes" percentage being 65.9%. Assuming that the wards each have approximately the same percentage of voters (and I don't know if that's so), the vote also indicates a much lower total voter turnout in Ward 6 than in Ward 8 ... Ward 6: 4,976; Ward 8: 13,097. Consequently, voter turnout was very important. Voter apathy on the part of MAPS 3/Salyer supporters combined with the sense of an opportunity to be seized on the part of anti-MAPS3/VanManen supporters could easily produce a victory for the latter. The Sooner Tea Party (http://soonerteaparty.org/page/4/) has plainly stated that it is banking on a low voter turnout:




These races are very low turnout; literally a couple thousand voters will choose who gets the seat, so we stand an excellent chance of winning these two seats if we put money and effort into the races.

A map showing the Ward 6 MAPS 3 vote (blue being Yes and salmon being No), appears below:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a49/DougLoudenback/misc/ward6_maps3vote.jpg

It would be a serious mistake for Meg Salyer's supporters to assume that she does not need a high turnout of her supporters to vote on March 1. Compared to the Ward 8 election between Patrick Ryan and Cliff Hearron, her seat certainly appears to be the greater "at risk."

Voter turnout, I expect, will tell the tale in the Ward 6 vote.

Midtowner, I very much doubt that Adrian VanManen's public remarks represent his thinking. I cannot believe that he hasn't got some very firm things in mind with regard to MAPS 3, generally, and the pieces of MAPS 3, particularly. Whatever else one might say about members of the Windsor Hills Baptist Church, an absence of opinion is certainly not one of their traits. At the risk of being flamed for being redundant (the video was posted earlier in the Political forum grouping here), the political underpinnings of that church (where both VanManen and Hearron are leaders) come through pretty clear from their own words ... words and images which I captured from actual Windsor Hills BC videos at the church's video archive area (http://windsorhills.org/video.php) but , mostly, at http://www.justin.tv/whbcservices/videos ... but most of the JustinTV videos no longer exist on-line. I'm glad that I got 'em while the getting was good.

v/4CJhlKS_6uk?version=3

These are not people who are predisposed to have a shortage of fully formed opinions.

Doug & Kevin, I see what you are saying about Meg. But then again, I think she was one of the council members (along with Pete) that weren't 100% in favor of all the projects. Not saying she would do a complete 180 on the entire proposal, but just as Pete's comments showed, she might be inclined to flip on a project or two.

On edit it was White & Ryan that weren't 100% in agreement on the projects, from the same article:

Ward 6 Councilwoman Meg Salyer, whose ward includes downtown, said she is an "enthusiastic supporter" of MAPS 3.

But given the squeaker of passage in her Ward, if retained in office, she could easily flip on individual projects if she gets enough letters etc in opposition. But then again she may be swayed more by the voices that have given the most money. I don't know enough about her to know which is more likely to be the case, but it wouldn't be the first time that an elected officials votes went the way of the highest donors. No conspiracy or agenda implied, just reality

The people running against Meg Salyer are not the challengers that worry me. But Meg does need to step up her appeal to the southside, or bank on huge turnout in her favor from Heritage Hills and Gatewood...

I am worried about where Shadid stands on the issues, and I am concerned about people running against Ryan.

Meg doesn't want a good turnout in Gatewood.
Polling in the neighborhood shows clearly they are not supporting her.

Gatewood is a large neighborhood, mainly low income.
The neighborhood as a whole did not support MAPS either.

Heritage Hills and Mesta are supporters of her.
Mesta is closer than she would be comfortable with.

...and unions wonder why the public at large is getting sick of them.

Here's a comment by Hearron during an interview that is running in the DOK today:What, if anything, should be done about public transit?

“Public transit should be available where we have enough people to ride it to pay for it. Other than that we don't need it. I believe free enterprise could do a good job of providing public transit for this town and any other town.”



Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-ward-8-candidates-answers-questions/article/3542614#ixzz1EcHMb7DC

I wonder whether Hearron is aware that EVERY mode of transportation is highly subsidized? If we're talking about people/mile/dollar, I'd wager public transit probably beats private transit.

I campaigned in ward six today. In a very poor part of it. Those folks are not really interested in what is going on downtown. They want someone who will do something in their neighhood. One elderly gent said it was time for Meg "how do you want me to vote, Mick" Salyer to go!

Here's a comment by Hearron during an interview that is running in the DOK today:What, if anything, should be done about public transit?

“Public transit should be available where we have enough people to ride it to pay for it. Other than that we don't need it. I believe free enterprise could do a good job of providing public transit for this town and any other town.”



Read more: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-city-ward-8-candidates-answers-questions/article/3542614#ixzz1EcHMb7DC

Private enterprise? What a lame-o standard Repub comeback...I am sure there are dozens of private companies dying to operate mass transit for OKC

I campaigned in ward six today. In a very poor part of it. Those folks are not really interested in what is going on downtown. They want someone who will do something in their neighhood. One elderly gent said it was time for Meg "how do you want me to vote, Mick" Salyer to go!

Let me take a stab at your message in the poor parts..."Rather have more police and fire or a renovated Myriad Gardens?"

You missed with your stab. This is exactly how I present myself. Hi, My name is Mike, I'm with Oklahoma City Firefighters. We are supporting this candidate. I would like you to consider this. Then I hand them the material and the rest is up to them. Why dont you roll around between SW 29th and SW 15th between Grand and Portland. Tell me what you think.

What I think is that if city employees truly cared about the poor and their taxes, they'd be campaigning for salary cuts for themselves as well as an end to the Myriad Gardens. They'd retire at 65 on their company-matched IRA and consider themselves well rewarded by the gratitude of those less fortunate.

I also wonder how a candidate who thinks mass transit should be privatized or not exist at all can be considered a friend of the poor.

That was quite a fantasy episode. Utopian, I guess. You really cracked me up with the company matched IRA.

I just decided if "we" were going to be all beatific about our "goals" in this election, I might as well go whole hog. Personally, I'd probably give up my company-matched IRA for a hour with your candidate and a vial of truth serum.

Ah, I am easily amused.

Company matched IRA, that is almost as good as the cheap City Council Christmas card I got from the city. The first week of January!

I got half an hour with my State Senator last week. You never know until you ask!!

I campaigned in ward six today. In a very poor part of it. Those folks are not really interested in what is going on downtown. They want someone who will do something in their neighhood. One elderly gent said it was time for Meg "how do you want me to vote, Mick" Salyer to go!
Thanks for the report, Mike, even I don't like its content. I think that it would be a travesty if a person having the underpinnings of VanManen would oust one with those of Salyer, not even to consider their vastly different contributions to city public service outside of the city council matter.

It will be VERY IMPORTANT for those favoring Salyer to go to the polls on March 1, whichever side of the river they live on.