View Full Version : Mick Cornett running for congress



Patrick
05-11-2006, 05:05 PM
I figured this was coming. I personally hope he beats Fallin.


Mick Cornett to enter congressional race

By Michael McNutt
Capitol Bureau

Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, who toyed with the idea of running for Congress for months, ended speculation by announcing today he is entering the race.


"I love being mayor of this great city," Cornett said in a written statement released shortly after 5 p.m. "This position remains my top priority. But over the past few months, I have come to recognize that the future of this congressional seat is vital to the future of Oklahoma City and central Oklahoma."

Cornett, 47, said he decided to enter the 5th Congressional District race after prayer and positive conversations with "hundreds of citizens in central Oklahoma."

A Republican, Cornett received a record 87.6 percent of the vote in March's mayoral election.

He said in March he would look at running for Congress. Later that month he endorsed U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Warr Acres, who is leaving Congress to run for governor.

Istook's open seat is causing a scramble for the district that includes most of Oklahoma County along with Pottawatomie and Seminole counties.

Other Republican candidates are Lt. Gov. Mary Fallin, Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode, Edmond surgeon Dr. Johnny B. Roy and state Reps. Fred Morgan and Kevin Calvey. Democrats are Oklahoma County Court Clerk Patricia Presley, Oklahoma City high school math teacher Bert Smith and Edmond physician David Hunter.

The Old Downtown Guy
05-11-2006, 05:46 PM
Glad we got that out of the way. I'm guessing that he will win on the Republican side and face Democrat Patricia Presley. Either one will be such a refreshing change from Istook.

Now who do we want to be the next Mayor of OKC?

New Thread.

writerranger
05-11-2006, 06:55 PM
I think he knew this when he ran for re-election as Mayor. To me, that was just wrong to the people of Oklahoma City. Considering that, and his formal endorsement of Ernest Istook for Governor (!) - it's politics as usual. We need some fearless leaders - I just don't know where they are.

ImproveOKC
05-11-2006, 09:59 PM
I have no use for Mick Cornett, especially after he endorsed Istook. He's simply playing political games, just like other sleasy politicians.

I hope Jim Tolbert runs for mayor and wins. Then maybe we'll see a Full Circle Bookstore in Bricktown.

John
05-12-2006, 12:22 AM
If he's up for running, it's Tolbert's to lose.

OklaCity_75
05-12-2006, 12:56 AM
Mick has my vote because I think he would fight for the city.

I would like see one of our city council members run. I think Jerry Foshee would make a great candidate.

We need someone who will pick up where Mick would leave off. The last thing I want to see is someone who wants to do nothing more than run the city and save money.

We need someone who will continue to play an active roll in developing Oklahoma City.

The last two clowns that ran against Mick had no clue on what the mayor actually does in Oklahoma City.

I hate to see Mick leave but, if he does hopefully someone with his vision and leadership skills will step up to the plate.

1Adam12
05-12-2006, 07:11 AM
If he's up for running, it's Tolbert's to lose.
I agree. Mick Cornett has been an avid supporter of the Oklahoma City Police, so he definitely has my vote. I would hate to lose him as mayor, but I know that he will still represent us very well as a congressman.

BDP
05-12-2006, 08:05 AM
I think Mick's done all that he's going to do for the city, so now he needs to cash in his political equity in congress. It's pretty obvious that the city was just a stepping stone for him to try and get to congress.

I think Mick was really just a pimp. Don't get me wrong, he was a good pimp, but he really just sold the city's past improvements overseen by past mayors more than making any concrete lasting changes himself. That's fine. That's probably what we needed, but I would love to have another visionary come in and push the city even farther.

It will be interesting, though, to see how right wingy, self righteous, and/or corrupt he gets when running for congressor once elected. I want to say he'd be better than Istook, but DC changes these people. I wouldn't be surprised that if it was business as usual if he gets elected. I mean he did endorse Istook, so, based on that, there's no reason to believe he'll bemuch different.

mranderson
05-12-2006, 08:08 AM
I am glad he is running, but will be sad to see him leave as Mayor.

The plus side of him running is he will not take money to be handed to Oklahoma City and give it away. He has created situations that have caused Oklahoma City to grow in a short time, so I am curious what he can do in Washington.

It is a tough call. I have endorced Mary Fallin and will have a sign in my yard, however, I just may have to change my mind.

metro
05-12-2006, 09:06 AM
I think Mick's done all that he's going to do for the city, so now he needs to cash in his political equity in congress. It's pretty obvious that the city was just a stepping stone for him to try and get to congress.

I think Mick was really just a pimp. Don't get me wrong, he was a good pimp, but he really just sold the city's past improvements overseen by past mayors more than making any concrete lasting changes himself. That's fine. That's probably what we needed, but I would love to have another visionary come in and push the city even farther.

It will be interesting, though, to see how right wingy, self righteous, and/or corrupt he gets when running for congressor once elected. I want to say he'd be better than Istook, but DC changes these people. I wouldn't be surprised that if it was business as usual if he gets elected. I mean he did endorse Istook, so, based on that, there's no reason to believe he'll bemuch different.

Well said. I highly respect Mick although he did use alot of triumphs from the past and was just in office at the time it all came to glory. Granted I'll give him full credit for the Hornets. He is a visionary unlike some mayors and congressmen. We do need a younger visionary to step up to the place. Like someone said, the other two "clowns" that ran, have no idea what it takes to run this city. If it is just those two who run again, heck, I'll seriously run against them. I hope a young, visionary leader steps out and runs for Mayor. I wouldn't be surprised if Willa Johnson even considered us. BDP, I do have to disagree with you on one thing though. Unlike Istook, I think Mick is still committed to this city and has not sold out to DC and Utah. I don't think Istook is truly committed to this state. That's my two cents......:stars:

BDP
05-12-2006, 10:10 AM
Well, my statements regarding Cornett's future in DC were pure speculation, mainly based on political cynicism. But, he must feel that Istook was good for the state, or he wouldn't have endorsed him to be in charge of its executive branch. I can only assume that this is based on Istook's track record in congress (what else would it be based on?), so I think I am safe, as a constituent, to assume at this point that he will follow in Istook’s legislative foot steps. Sure, the endorsement may have been simple partisan politics, but, again, to me, that just reinforces the idea that he's simply going to be another partisan panderer to his party's extremes. It shows he's playing for himself and using the typical party buddy system to do it. I mean, we already know he wasn't above playing partisan politics with the mayor's race. Using the party to get elected was more important than preserving the political integrity of the Oklahoma City mayoral race.

Now, we don't even have a campaign from him yet, so all of this has to be taken with a grain of salt, but, in my view, he has done absolutely nothing to distance himself from the same sort of politics that produces an Istook. In fact, he is following the partisan blueprint and I can't see any sign that he is not going to be just another fringe radical from Oklahoma who will sell us out for the party and for the money. Certainly, I can be wrong, and if he starts specifically speaking out against some of Istook's dealings and increases the office’s accountability to Oklahoma, then I will be forced to revaluate my assumptions.

metro
05-12-2006, 11:17 AM
My political experts tell me he won't pull off the Congress seat. Read my comments in the Poll Vault.

The Old Downtown Guy
05-13-2006, 04:46 PM
Okla_City_75 and metro, please tell me that you aren't refering to JIm Tolbert, who was one of the other candidates in the last Mayoral election, as a "Clown".

Patrick
05-13-2006, 05:54 PM
The Old Downtownguy, I think they're referring to the two guys that ran against Mick in the re-election recently. They were unknown.

I'd support Jim Tolbert all the way. He knows exactly what's going on in this city. He put up a good run against Mick the first time around, and I liked him then, although I did vote for Mick because I liked Mick at the time.

Still, I'd love to see Tolbert step in there.

okcpd
05-13-2006, 06:12 PM
I personally feel Mick Cornett should resign. Kirk Humphries had the honor and dignity to resign. Both Humphries and Norick have expressed concern over Mick Cornett having run for mayor when he probably had an idea he might run for District 5. did he deceive the purlic in voting for him when he ran for mayor? Probably. Still, at this point, there's no way he can be mayor of OKC and run for a federal public office. As Norick and Humphries have said, mayor is pretty much a full time job.

If Mick is a decent guy he will resign his post. IT would be for the good of OKC.

metro
05-15-2006, 09:27 AM
Okla_City_75 and metro, please tell me that you aren't refering to JIm Tolbert, who was one of the other candidates in the last Mayoral election, as a "Clown".

Tolbert did NOT run in this past mayoral election, he ran in the one back in 2004. Mick just won re-election about 2 months ago. As someone said, these last two guys were unknown and had no experience. One looked like Santa Clause.

Patrick
05-15-2006, 10:32 AM
At first, I didn't feel Mick Cornett should rsign. But, now I'm having second thoughts. Both Norick and Humphries did come out recently saying Mick should resign as they didn't see how he could run a campaign and taker care of city duties at the same time. If anyone should know they should know, and I know Humphries is a Republican too, so he wouldn't try to do anything purposely to make Mick look bad.

quailcreekgal
05-15-2006, 11:54 AM
I think Mick can multi-task - be mayor and run for congress at the same time.

writerranger
05-15-2006, 12:00 PM
He ran for re-election as Mayor knowing he would run for congress. Is there anyone here who doesn't really believe that? The mayor's job gives him a fall-back if he loses the congressional election. This is so obvious. So no, he's not going to resign. Though, in my opinion, he should. In fact, he should never have run for re-election if his heart is in the political ladder climb and going to Washington.

metro
05-15-2006, 12:45 PM
Although I think he's the better candidate for OKC out of all of them. I agree he should of resigned. He's not resigning because he knows statistically his odds are long, thus he's covering his butt.

The Old Downtown Guy
05-15-2006, 02:03 PM
My experience and observations indicate to me that the lure of political power often leads people to make choices that reveal their true motivation. The sleezey political mud-slinging piece distributed at the eleventh hour in his first campaign for Mayor, to which he professed no knowledge or endorsement, but also didn't strongly denounce as unappropriate; and now the combination of Cornett's public endorsement of Istook for Governor, followed by his announcing for the congressional race while retaining his office as Mayor of OKC, leads me to suspect that though our Mayor mouths those hard right, honorable "family values" that appeal so mightily to the easily led and misled in his political party, his actions are driven by his personal goals.

Just as the tatic of far too many in Congress, Republicians and Democrates alike is to mostly bash those across the isle, work primarily for political advantage and get relected rather than fulfill the duties of their office, Cornett's goal will now be to garner the Republician nomination, to the exclusion of everything else. His duties as OKC's Mayor will suffer and his decision making will be clouded by political motivation. Staying in his present elected office is a failure of leadership on his part at a critical time when OKC has momentum but much more to accomplish.

IMO, resigning is the only proper thing for him to do.

Patrick
05-15-2006, 02:27 PM
I think Mick can multi-task - be mayor and run for congress at the same time.

It's apparent that you have absolutely no earthly idea what the job of mayor entails, and the time requirements of running for federal office.

I applaud those like Kirk Humphries, Brad Carson, and others who have quit their positions to run for a higher office, knowing that they couldn't do both jobs at once.

metro
05-15-2006, 02:34 PM
Supposively Mick says he won't think about or do anything for the congressional race until July. Either way at some point he's going to put the city on the backburner.

Patrick
05-15-2006, 02:35 PM
Supposively Mick says he won't think about or do anything for the congressional race until July.

I hope he doesn't think his name will win him this election, although it helps!

quailcreekgal
05-15-2006, 02:57 PM
Patrick,
Having worked on a US senate campaign, I do have an earthly idea of what it takes to run for federal office. I wish Mick all the best in his quest for Congress and will be happy he is still Mayor if he is defeated in the primary or general election.

Midtowner
05-15-2006, 03:28 PM
QCG: Whad did you do on that Senate Campaign?

-- posting signs in people's yard or marching in a parade does not make you a political commentatrix.

quailcreekgal
05-15-2006, 04:02 PM
Event coordinator - making $3500 a month plus expenses. Got a fulltime job now but I can volunteer to put up yards signs. Anyone out there got Mick's campaign office phone number?

Patrick
05-15-2006, 09:13 PM
Which senate campaign?

quailcreekgal
05-16-2006, 07:37 AM
It was 4 years ago and I am not going to reveal more specific info about me to you on a public web forum, Patrick. I imagine you and Midtowner will take my refusal to be more specific as a green light to justify your continuing attacks on my opinions on this thread and any other thread I join. Not a problem for me so knock yourselves out, boys, I don't validate my self worth based on your approval.

I found the following info on the OKC Talk forum page and you might find it helpful to you:
OKCTALK is a "big tent" message board which welcomes a broad range of opinions. As such, you are likely to disagree strongly with many of the comments you see expressed here. Please do not take these differences of opinion personally. The simple fact that someone disagrees with you does not give you the right to lash out and break the rules of this message board. A thick skin is usually required to participate on this or any message board.

Midtowner
05-16-2006, 07:56 AM
QCG: Read that last sentence again. Repeat until you understand.

-- Literacy should be something we can all support!

Patrick
05-16-2006, 08:20 AM
I have thick skin. I'm not the one getting all upset. I'm simply making statements and asking questions to help my side of the debate.

I just love when people try to hide behind a message board. I'm not afraid to make my name known and my thoughts known here. I have nothing to hide.

ImproveOKC
05-16-2006, 08:32 AM
If you were David Walter's event coordinator, I feel sorry for you.

OklaCity_75
05-16-2006, 11:11 AM
The two clowns I was referring to were the two grumpy old men than ran against Mick in the last election:

If one candidate does not receive a simple majority in the March 7 election, the general election will be April 4, 2006.


The Candidates


Mick Cornett - The incumbent, Cornett was elected Mayor in 2004 when Kirk Humphries resigned the position to run for US Senate. Elected at the age of 45, he became the youngest OKC Mayor since 1959.

A native Oklahoman, Cornett was born and raised in OKC, attending high school at Putnam City. He made a name for himself in the metro as a television reporter and anchor, both in news and sports. He was on Oklahoma newscasts for nearly 20 years before going into private business in 1999.

A short time later, he was elected to the Oklahoma City Council, serving there for 3 years before his run for Mayor.

As Oklahoma City Mayor, Cornett has enjoyed the accolades associated with the continued success and growth of Bricktown, including bringing the NBA's New Orleans Hornets (http://okc.about.com/od/spectatorteamsports/p/hornetsprofile.htm) to OKC on a temporary basis following the Hurricane Katrina damage in Louisiana.

But his office points to other successes as well, emphasizing the MAPS for Kids initiatives, job creation and the improvement of the city's image.
Robert Waldrop - It's his long, gray beard that you first notice about Bob Waldrop, but it's his no-nonsense, unconventional campaign style that keeps you interested.

Waldrop is a native, 4th generation Oklahoman who grew up in Tillman County and is now the music director at Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church. Running his mayoral campaign from a website (http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=okc&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bobwaldrop.net%2F) and his living room, Waldrop wants to talk about issues such as energy conservation, opposition to the present plans to reroute I-40, privatizing Will Rogers Airport and a more frugal city government.

"Oklahoma City hands out a lot of money," he says. "And I am not sure that all of its subsidies are going for prudent causes. We need to examine each and every subsidy in the City’s budget and determine if it is to be continued or handled in another way."

But Waldrop does not accept campaign contributions to help get his message out. He calls giving money a "substitute for civic engagement," and he believes that word of mouth can do amazing things. In the end, he's primarily seeking to encourage personal involvement from residents in city policy issues.
Joe Nelson - 69-year-old Joe Nelson told the Oklahoman that he hates politics. He considers himself to have a common-man approach to his campaign for Mayor.

Nelson ran for Mayor in 2002 but was disqualified because of a problem with the signatures required for placement on the ballot.

He considers his primary campaign platform to revolve around cutting taxes for the poor, education support and the funding of health care.

"If I got elected mayor," he told the Oklahoman (http://clk.about.com/?zi=1/XJ&sdn=okc&zu=http%3A%2F%2Fnewsok.com%2Farticle%2F1772658%2F) . "I'm gonna walk in there and just start chompin' at the bit and get the sales tax cut down right now."

Nelson speaks highly of current Mayor Mick Cornett as a friend, but the Vietnam War veteran hopes to defeat him in the coming election.

Midtowner
05-16-2006, 11:14 AM
Not to worry OklaCity, there will always be a developer who is willing to run. In the past, they have taken turns with the city. There is certainly enough money to be made by having a bought-and-paid-for mayor, so someone will fill that slot and will probably win.

Survey
05-16-2006, 11:17 AM
I'm thinking Mick Cornett will lose the Rep seat. I hope he does.

Midtowner
05-16-2006, 11:19 AM
I think he's got a heck of a shot based on name ID alone.

Survey
05-16-2006, 11:23 AM
Mary Fallin and Denise Bode have good name ID as well.

OklaCity_75
05-16-2006, 11:31 AM
Not to worry OklaCity, there will always be a developer who is willing to run. In the past, they have taken turns with the city. There is certainly enough money to be made by having a bought-and-paid-for mayor, so someone will fill that slot and will probably win.


The problem with most of our citizens is that they see the position of mayor as a small potatoes job.

They do not fully understand that in order to be a first class city we need a first class leader.

We need someone who has real goals for the city. We need a leader who will continue the journey that Mick is on. We need a larger airport that will be appealing to the next airline looking for a new hub. We need more corporate citizens and professional sports. The list goes on.

I refuse to vote for someone who has a miser’s mentality.

floater
05-16-2006, 12:26 PM
:iagree:

quailcreekgal
05-16-2006, 01:19 PM
If you were David Walter's event coordinator, I feel sorry for you.
Other states elect senators, too, but I do appreciate your concern.
:backtotop
I support Mick Cornett as Mayor and candidate for Congress.:kicking:

OKCTALK is a "big tent" message board which welcomes a broad range of opinions. As such, you are likely to disagree strongly with many of the comments you see expressed here. Please do not take these differences of opinion personally.

Survey
05-16-2006, 01:22 PM
OKCTALK is a "big tent" message board which welcomes a broad range of opinions. As such, you are likely to disagree strongly with many of the comments you see expressed here. Please do not take these differences of opinion personally.

Is that like supposed to be your signature or something because you're being pretty corny.

And if you really want to get back to topic, leave the forum rules out of this.

quailcreekgal
05-16-2006, 01:31 PM
Again, I support Mick Cornett as Mayor and candidate for Congress.
Now you can go :backtotop

Survey
05-16-2006, 01:34 PM
Again, I support Mick Cornett as Mayor and candidate for Congress.
Now you can go :backtotop

I think you've already said that.

quailcreekgal
05-16-2006, 01:48 PM
Go :backtotop