Curious as to who exactly this yokel is. I've seen him railing against the council on a few occasions and he seems to be mad at everybody about everything. The Gazette noted he's thrown his hat in for Mayor. I did a google search on him but didn't come up with much. What's his background?

Ironically, he'll be Shadid's Ralph Nader.

He apparently ran, dismally, in 2006 for mayor.
He apparently sued the OKC council in 2012 due to his belief they were violating his rights to free speech.

He apparently makes so little a splash that in comparison, Virginia Blue Jeans Jenner could be considered a force of nature.

I kind of love Joe Sarge. You can count on him to make Mayor Cornett's ears turn red and for him to call it like he sees it. He sees things through a different pair of glasses than I do but it's great political theatre.

Should we add him to the mayoral poll?

You should have seen him at the end of the council meeting two weeks ago! Classic Joe! He went around the horseshoe and condemned nearly every one- except Ed.

You should have seen him at the end of the council meeting two weeks ago! Classic Joe! He went around the horseshoe and condemned nearly every one- except Ed.

He does seem to get his dander up. I'm curious because he comes of as not just angry, but threatening, as if he can bully the council into doing his bidding. What are his motives exactly?

So, this guy is, like "stealing" Joe the Plumber's schtick?
(only on a local level?)

One man's vision for the Skirvin: Real Deals

By Journal Record Staff
Posted: 01:00 AM Friday, February 18, 2000
Share on print Share on email

Picture a domed swimming pool atop the Skirvin Hotel. A classic brick tower integrating luxury guest rooms and office suites, a grand ballroom and fine dining.

That’s the vision driving Joe Nelson, the former president of Triple R Construction who would like to rescind his retirement to save Oklahoma City’s empty downtown hotel. He’s chomping at the bit to begin a fund-raising campaign to restore the historic structure.

Nelson’s plan, which he has given to the Oklahoma City Council’s Skirvin Solutions Committee, calls for a statewide telethon to raise funds to renovate and operate the Skirvin, which has been closed and vacant for more than 11 years. According to the State Election Board, Oklahoma has about 2.1 million registered voters as of Jan. 15. If each voter pledged $20, nearly $42 million would be generated. Nelson thinks the Skirvin could be acquired for about $5 million, leaving the rest of the money for restoration.

“My plan for the hotel is a several-part presentation that, in certain areas, will create revenue in short-term order,” he explained. “It can be restructured in certain areas, remodeled and restored in others, and all the while have the amenities that the biggest names in hotels have to offer. Yet all the while, maintain her heritage, dignity, grace, charm and her fame, giving us the power to broaden our horizons like never before.”

Nelson’s plan would call for 220 guestrooms and four luxury suites. Each room and suite would be equipped with whirlpool tubs. The remaining rooms in the east and west wings would be transformed into business offices, while spaces on the first floor would be leased to retail stores.

“People will want to lease in the hotel,” he said. “A bank may want to put in a branch like in the grocery stores.”

Nelson would like to see the possibility of removing a section of the top floor to install a swimming pool with a bubble top for year-round swimming. On one side of the pool could be a sauna and the other side a “workout room.” Two suites could be constructed on either side of the pool, two on the east side and two on the west side.

The ex-president also envisions each floor having a different color theme. Yet through all of this, Nelson said the entire hotel would be restored without changing its appearance from “its original beauty.”

“Not only because she is one of Oklahoma’s finest works of art both on the exterior and interior, but also because in this day and age, her craftsmanship and interior structures have made her irreproducible, which makes her a national treasure,” Nelson said.

The Skirvin Solutions Committee met last week in the council chambers to discuss what can be done about the vacant hotel. The committee is reviewing the possibility of converting the building to apartments, public housing or leveling it for a parking space. The committee also is considering the validity of using taxpayer money to revitalize the hotel, either through tax breaks, federal funding or a temporary tax.

On that score, Nelson prefers his plan, saying people are “tired of being taxed.” Under his proposal, monies raised from the telethon would acquire and restore the hotel for the citizens of Oklahoma. They would own the hotel, with a representative of each of the state’s 77 counties acting as liaison between the people and the contracted Skirvin management team. Each county would select its representative to serve on an annual term in what Nelson called “the people’s committee.”

“Everything has to be tied to Oklahoma,” he said. “We would put the money in an Oklahoma bank, the interest it will draw while sitting there will be used to purchase the Skirvin, utilize a certain amount of dollars to remodel it and everything would be accounted for with a receipt.”

He is researching the possibility of holding the telethon soon. He is contacting celebrities with Oklahoma ties to get involved. Nelson said he would pay for advertisements for the donation campaign.

“It’s a no-lose situation,” said Nelson, who would like to oversee the contractor work. “The only thing we’re going to lose is one of our greatest heritages. With all the dignitaries that have passed through that hotel since it was built in 1910, we’d be fools to let her go to shame.”

The Skirvin Project

By Journal Record Staff
Posted: 01:00 AM Wednesday, March 8, 2000
Share on print Share on email

A maverick campaign to bring the 90-year-old Skirvin Hotel to the people began Tuesday when local contractor Joe Nelson opened a savings account at Commercial Federal Bank.

The account, called “The Skirvin Project,” represents a grass-roots promotion by Nelson to involve the people of Oklahoma in preserving the downtown Oklahoma City hotel, which has stood empty for more than a decade.

Nelson believes the citizens of Oklahoma should own the structure on the National Register of Historic Places. He hopes to reopen it in 2002.

“Oklahoma needs to hold onto its history,” stated the retired president of Triple R Construction.

Nelson deposited $100 to open the account. He would like everyone else in the state to donate $20 each in hopes of raising $42 million for the hotel’s preservation. The initial $100 represents each member of his family — his wife Jackie, his mother Viola Nelson and his father-in-law Jacob Harrison. He threw in an extra $20 to make the deposit an even $100.

Donations may be made at any of the state’s 21 Commercial Federal branches, including nine in the Oklahoma City area. Nelson said donors must specify the contribution “is for The Skirvin Project.”

Besides the bank account, Nelson contracted Summit Video Productions to produce a television ad for his campaign.

“They did a magnificent job,” he said.

Nelson has spent more than $700 from his own pocket to cover production costs and $1,500 for airtime on KWTV Channel 9.

“It will be ready Friday and begin airing sometime next week,” Nelson explained. “I’m getting the tapes and will be taking them to all the other stations.”

The commercial will be broadcast on a staggered schedule during the next month.

Nelson emphasized that his project “has nothing to do with the Skirvin (Solutions) Committee.”

“The people are paying for it and they’ll get a piece of the action,” he said. ‘This is the first luxurious hotel on Oklahoma soil and we need to preserve her.”

Nelson first presented this plan in February to the Skirvin committee, which was set up by the Oklahoma City Council to study what to do with the 231-room hotel, which has been empty since 1988. Nelson suggested using a statewide telethon to raise funds for his enterprise. The property, he said, could be acquired for around $4 million, with group ownership by the citizens at large. Past reports have placed the cost of reviving the deteriorating structure at more than $20 million.

Nelson’s vision goes beyond restoration, however. He foresees the property being rebuilt to house 220 guestrooms and four luxury suites, all with whirlpool tubs. The remaining rooms in the east and west wings would be transformed into business offices, while spaces on the first floor would be leased to retail stores. Throw in such possibilities as a domed swimming pool atop the hotel, a grand ballroom and fine dining, and the project is complete.

Whatever funds remaining would be used to jump-start the hotel’s operation, which would be overseen by a citizen’s committee.

Nelson also volunteered to come out of retirement to oversee the reconstruction project. “I am familiar not only with this hotel, but also with providing first-rate, quality craftsmanship and products while at the same time achieving the most definite cost cutting possible,” he told the Skirvin Solutions Committee. “This hotel could be a revitalization not only visually, but mentally and financially as well.”

Nelson said he has received some positive support for his idea.

Oklahoma native Jody Miller, a Grammy Award-winning country singer, wrote a supportive letter. “I truly believe that this wonderful landmark is truly worth saving, and I believe in your fight for her,” Miller said.

She won the Grammy in 1965 for Queen of the House, a response to King of the Road, sung by her distant cousin Roger Miller, another Oklahoma native. Her song was honored in the Best Country Female Vocal category. Roger’s song won five Grammys that same year.

Joseph H. Carter, president of the Will Rogers Heritage in Claremore, also encouraged Nelson’s idea with “gratitude and respect.”

“This hotel, beyond its regal beauty, bequeaths chapters of Oklahoma and American history that must be instilled into future generations who must be acutely aware of their heritage in order to understand tomorrow,” Carter said. “So much greatness is alive in the Skirvin Hotel that you so nobly seek to preserve and honor.”

Will Rogers and his son, Will Rogers Jr., stayed at the Skirvin numerous times through its history.

“It’s quite a fantastic deal to me,” Nelson said. “Now it’s coming together because we’re getting the right names in the right places.”

Nelson said he has received verbal encouragement from former Gov. George Nigh and actor James Garner, an Oklahoma native. Nelson said Nigh would like to further review the proposal before making any further commitment.

“That’s the way he does things,” Nelson said.

Nelson said he has been in contact with Garner, but the actor has been on a vacation recently and could not be reached for comment.

Nelson said people interested in donating to preserve the Skirvin may do so with cash, check, or by a bankcard (Visa, Master Card, Discover, American Express). The donations are tax-deductible only if the money is raised; otherwise the money will be returned to each donor. Nelson expects to raise the money by July 4. He also plans to promote his cause via a telethon on one of the state’s TV stations.

“That’s not too far off,” he said.

The two bankers at Commercial Federal’s N. Pennsylvania Avenue branch, where Nelson opened the account, were pleased he chose their bank.

“Anytime we can preserve something historical, I just think you can’t go wrong,” said Pam Oelke, assistant vice president of the branch. “There seems to be a lot of good things downtown now, that I think really makes this appropriate.”

Personal banker Katie John said she is excited about Nelson’s campaign. “I think the Skirvin needs to stay here,” she said. “It needs to be visible to the people of Oklahoma. It’s been here a very long time and it’s just a part of it.”

Curious as to who exactly this yokel is. I've seen him railing against the council on a few occasions and he seems to be mad at everybody about everything. The Gazette noted he's thrown his hat in for Mayor. I did a google search on him but didn't come up with much. What's his background?

I could be wrong about this, yet . . . isn't "yokel" a loaded term? Semantics-wise?
If Sarge Nelson were actually serious about all this, he'd be down there campaigning for free admission to all the Opening Night Venues and having people burn their paid buttons and wristbands. Standing on an actual soapbox, in the bone-chilling wind, waiting for the fireworks like the rest of us who don't do that anymore. =)

C'mon . . . Is he really Chad "Stevens" in disguise? =)
Or is he that Cowboy Actor from back in The 80's who was a local media star?
(Maybe Count Gregore?_)

Anyone who can make The Mayor o' OKC blush a little is OK in my book . . .
(as granddad used to say)

And that from a guy who used to watch him ("Slick Mick") on TV when he was more of a sportscaster than a skilled political mouthpiece for vested interests. If I had to vote for the mayor of OKC, I'd have to be for the guy other than Shadid. For a whole lot of various reasons. Some of which involve integrity.