New mayor in Tulsa

[soonerfan_in_okc]

GT Bynum just defeated incumbent Dewey Bartlett by around a whopping 20%. Here is to hoping he brings positive momentum and energy to a city that needs it.

[Swake]

GT is a good guy, this is a very positive development. Tulsa has a good city council currently and now has a good mayor to match. Dewey was really a big negative.

[sbs]

Dewey did fine in his first term, reviving the city from the mess Kathy Taylor left them in. However, he quickly grew stagnant. GT is a great guy who will bring good change to Tulsa. His grandfather, Bob LaFortune, was one of the most liked Mayor's in Tulsa history.

[TU 'cane]

Dewey did in fact grow stale as his tenure wore on. Plus, I'm not going to say I had the utmost confidence in him, either, at any point. BUT, there have been great developments and projects all in and around Tulsa that came through under his tenure that needs to be acknowledged.

I had no idea Bynum was a grandson of LaFortune until this morning (I really didn't pay attention to the race). Bynum's focus as a councilor most recently was on the river, so we'll see what happens. He won't officially take office until December.

[Eric]

Dewey did in fact grow stale as his tenure wore on. Plus, I'm not going to say I had the utmost confidence in him, either, at any point. BUT, there have been great developments and projects all in and around Tulsa that came through under his tenure that needs to be acknowledged.

I had no idea Bynum was a grandson of LaFortune until this morning (I really didn't pay attention to the race). Bynum's focus as a councilor most recently was on the river, so we'll see what happens. He won't officially take office until December.

I would agree with that. Dewey was by no means an exceptional mayor, but by no means was he terrible. He just didn't do anything memorable his last term... EXCEPT... keep Williams in town.

;-)

[adaniel]

Good for Tulsa. Dewey was AWFUL. He was far too interested in being an typical partisan Okie politician rather than a civic leader. His views were simply too out of date for any city trying to make it in the 21st century.

I actually met Bynum many moons ago and he seems like a sharp dude.

[Swake]

Good for Tulsa. Dewey was AWFUL. He was far too interested in being an typical partisan Okie politician rather than a civic leader. His views were simply too out of date for any city trying to make it in the 21st century.

I actually met Bynum many moons ago and he seems like a sharp dude.

Dewey was nothing short of an Abysmal mayor. Bynum’s uncle, Bill Lafortune, seemed about as bad as a mayor could be, decent ideas but completely disinterested in actually doing the job. Dewey proved that idea very wrong. Any progress made in the city was in spite of him, much of it due to really good city council that he fought pointlessly at every step.

Dewey loves to claim credit for things he either didn’t participate in or sometimes was even against. He’s the reason we are spending millions on pointless additional firefighter jobs and now have a permanent slush fund for police. He’s the reason Tulsa is spending millions on the Gilcrease Expressway to nowhere, which now will be a toll road when OTA is only paying for a portion of an unneeded bridge. He was behind the stupid attempt at giving bankrupt American Airlines a pointless $200 million that would have not added or even saved any jobs. He was blocking parts of the gathering place because his little oil company’s landlord was against a sidewalk on Riverside. Don’t even get me started on the dumb REI plan. The list of his amazingly stupid ideas and positions can go on and on, but I will leave you with he’s a now Trump supporter.

As a comparison, Kathy Taylor was an amazing mayor that saved the city from bankruptcy during the financial crisis. Some of her best work hopefully can now be revived with Dewey gone, like a rework of the zoning code into form based zoning in urban parts of the city and the KPMG study of the city to look for efficiencies and cost savings.

[Eric]

Dewey was nothing short of an Abysmal mayor. Bynum’s uncle, Bill Lafortune, seemed about as bad as a mayor could be, decent ideas but completely disinterested in actually doing the job. Dewey proved that idea very wrong. Any progress made in the city was in spite of him, much of it due to really good city council that he fought pointlessly at every step.

Dewey loves to claim credit for things he either didn’t participate in or sometimes was even against. He’s the reason we are spending millions on pointless additional firefighter jobs and now have a permanent slush fund for police. He’s the reason Tulsa is spending millions on the Gilcrease Expressway to nowhere, which now will be a toll road when OTA is only paying for a portion of an unneeded bridge. He was behind the stupid attempt at giving bankrupt American Airlines a pointless $200 million that would have not added or even saved any jobs. He was blocking parts of the gathering place because his little oil company’s landlord was against a sidewalk on Riverside. Don’t even get me started on the dumb REI plan. The list of his amazingly stupid ideas and positions can go on and on, but I will leave you with he’s a now Trump supporter.

As a comparison, Kathy Taylor was an amazing mayor that saved the city from bankruptcy during the financial crisis. Some of her best work hopefully can now be revived with Dewey gone, like a rework of the zoning code into form based zoning in urban parts of the city and the KPMG study of the city to look for efficiencies and cost savings.

Are we talking about the same Kathy Taylor?

The one that more or less left Dewey to temporarily can 100 some odd police officers and then in my opinion make some quit bold moves in order to shore up the fiscal soundness of the city. THAT Kathy Taylor?

The same Kathy Taylor that instigated the ballpark assessment for all of the IDL? The assessment that makes it where it makes financial sense to tear down a building for a surface parking lot. That friend of urbanism Kathy Taylor?

The same Kathy Taylor who "completed the BOK center on time and under budget". So far under budget that the low water dams were scrapped (again) with all the surplus (overages) that stemmed from it.

I want whatever you're having.

Dewey's greatest accomplishment undoubtedly has to be his actions taken in his first year or so in rectifying the budget dilemma left him by the previous administration. Which is why sometimes (not all the time) a businessman mentality is a useful tool for a mayor. Whereas politicians would like to play Santa Clause all the time, what you really need is someone making potentially unpopular decisions when the situation demands it.

Again, I am no cheerleader, but you have to recognize good things when you see them.

[Eric]

Kathy did institute free tuition at TCC though. So there is that...

Santa Claus.

[TU 'cane]

^^ Wasn't the TCC funding a public vote?

[Eric]

^^ Wasn't the TCC funding a public vote?

Don't steal her thunder...

[Swake]

Are we talking about the same Kathy Taylor?

The one that more or less left Dewey to temporarily can 100 some odd police officers and then in my opinion make some quit bold moves in order to shore up the fiscal soundness of the city. THAT Kathy Taylor?

The same Kathy Taylor that instigated the ballpark assessment for all of the IDL? The assessment that makes it where it makes financial sense to tear down a building for a surface parking lot. That friend of urbanism Kathy Taylor?

The same Kathy Taylor who "completed the BOK center on time and under budget". So far under budget that the low water dams were scrapped (again) with all the surplus (overages) that stemmed from it.

I want whatever you're having.

Dewey's greatest accomplishment undoubtedly has to be his actions taken in his first year or so in rectifying the budget dilemma left him by the previous administration. Which is why sometimes (not all the time) a businessman mentality is a useful tool for a mayor. Whereas politicians would like to play Santa Clause all the time, what you really need is someone making potentially unpopular decisions when the situation demands it.

Again, I am no cheerleader, but you have to recognize good things when you see them.

Taylor made all those budget decisions and didn't run for reelection so what had to be done wouldn't be political.

The ballpark has been a huge success and has led to what Brady is today. The building that was torn down was was exactly one building and one idiotic owner. The ballpark has been a bigger deal than the BOK.

The BOK Center and the low water dams had zero to do with each other. There only was $5.6 million in 2025 money for the dams, it was used for design and permitting and was intended to be used with federal and state funding that never happened. Nothing to do with the BOK Center or Taylor. Your statement is just plain false.

Dewey's greatest accomplishment in his first year was a weird deal with business cards as a city official for his wife, hiring Terry Simonson (who seems to be behind every dirty deal in Tulsa) and having a smoking cell phone.

[BG918]

Dewey Bartlett also supported the outlet mall by Turkey Mountain as well as the development of Helmerich Park by the river. GT Bynum opposed the Turkey Mountain location and has already said he wants more public input on any development at Helmerich Park.

[BigTulsa]

Dewey Bartlett also supported the outlet mall by Turkey Mountain as well as the development of Helmerich Park by the river. GT Bynum opposed the Turkey Mountain location and has already said he wants more public input on any development at Helmerich Park.

Just as long as that rube is gone. I didn't vote for him either time because he always struck me as a greasy car salesman. The fighting with the council and the subsequent request for investigation and the bizarre transcript that came out of that investigation (where the 'flaming cell phone' was born) left me incredible sour on him. I'm glad he's gone. Worst mayor we've had in my lifetime for sure.