Tulsa's Mayor

[Wilbur]

Why does anyone give two craps about the size of her house or where she files her taxes?  Whether or not she's got a tennis court or seven?  Who her neighbors are in Ft. Lauderdale?  Stop sniping and vote her out of office if it's troublesome to you.

I don't care about the size of her house nor how many tennis courts she has.  Terrific for her and her husband who have succeeded at business.  In fact, I've been to a couple 'events' at her house and it is one fantastic house!  Congratulations to her.

Where she pays taxes and where she claims residence is troublesome to me if it is anything but Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[Oil Capital]

I'll see what I can find that is official.  I have family that lives there and they gripe profusely about it every year come tax time.  We have some common passive assets and they are affected in Florida but were not in Texas where they used to live...  Florida also does a neat stunt with visiting boats and aircraft (the AOPA sends out warnings to its members each year about this)... spend (I think it is) 3 weeks in the state and using airport and marina activity records they file a tax lien for sales tax and force you to register the asset in their state even if you are not a resident and charge sales tax based on their determination of the assets value regardless if you have owned it forever in another state.

You have the aircraft one about half right.  IIRC, they charge visiting craft the use (sales) tax if the craft was purchased within 6 months prior to the visit.  They are working on fixing it so that you can visit for up to three weeks without paying the use tax.  Currently, it apparently applies the moment you touch Florida with your recently-purchased craft (air or water).

[ILUVTulsa]

I don't care about the size of her house nor how many tennis courts she has.  Terrific for her and her husband who have succeeded at business.  In fact, I've been to a couple 'events' at her house and it is one fantastic house!  Congratulations to her.

Where she pays taxes and where she claims residence is troublesome to me if it is anything but Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Ditto.  No, this puzzle has never been solved.  Who Owns Kathy?

[Oil Capital]

I'll see what I can find that is official.  I have family that lives there and they gripe profusely about it every year come tax time.  We have some common passive assets and they are affected in Florida but were not in Texas where they used to live...  Florida also does a neat stunt with visiting boats and aircraft (the AOPA sends out warnings to its members each year about this)... spend (I think it is) 3 weeks in the state and using airport and marina activity records they file a tax lien for sales tax and force you to register the asset in their state even if you are not a resident and charge sales tax based on their determination of the assets value regardless if you have owned it forever in another state.

After looking and finding nothing, I am just going to go out on a limb and say there is no way that Florida taxes personal investment and passive income at 15%.  You must have gotten something confused.   Think about it for a minute.... if there was such a tax in Florida, would ANYONE be living in Palm Beach or any of the other oceanside communities of uber-wealthy people?

[Vision 2025]

After looking and finding nothing, I am just going to go out on a limb and say there is no way that Florida taxes personal investment and passive income at 15%.  You must have gotten something confused.   Think about it for a minute.... if there was such a tax in Florida, would ANYONE be living in Palm Beach or any of the other oceanside communities of uber-wealthy people?

I'm looking... My brother in law (is my source) lives in the state he gripes about it every year, it may ba a local.

[Conan71]

I don't care about the size of her house nor how many tennis courts she has.  Terrific for her and her husband who have succeeded at business.  In fact, I've been to a couple 'events' at her house and it is one fantastic house!  Congratulations to her.

Where she pays taxes and where she claims residence is troublesome to me if it is anything but Tulsa, Oklahoma.

And again, that's what the electoral process is all about.  If there are things we aren't comfortable with in an incumbent, we fire them.  I guess I'm getting a little weary of the personal attacks on certain politicians.  I'm hardly a Mayor Taylor apologist.  I just don't get the point in bringing up "Where does she pay her taxes?" every three months.  A month before the election... have at it. 

[carltonplace]

I'm not an appologist either, but I don't think she deserves all of the uninformed venom that is directed at her in the Tulsa World blogs. Has she made mistakes? Certainly. Is she working very hard (for free); is she committed to the job and to Tulsa?  Yep. I have no doubt that her heart is in the right place.

[custosnox]

I'm not an appologist either, but I don't think she deserves all of the uninformed venom that is directed at her in the Tulsa World blogs. Has she made mistakes? Certainly. Is she working very hard (for free); is she committed to the job and to Tulsa?  Yep. I have no doubt that her heart is in the right place.

I too think that folks are taking any chance they can to put her down (yes, I've brought up a point or two that I think need concideration, but just brought them up, perhaps clarified, then let them go), but I am far from a supporter of hers.  I think she has made plenty of mistakes.  However, there is no reason to continuing roasting her on any little thing that the internet will turn up on her that can be shed in a negative light.  I do not, however, share your confidence that her heart is in the right place. But this is just my thoughts on it.

[rwarn17588]

I too think that folks are taking any chance they can to put her down (yes, I've brought up a point or two that I think need concideration, but just brought them up, perhaps clarified, then let them go), but I am far from a supporter of hers.  I think she has made plenty of mistakes.  However, there is no reason to continuing roasting her on any little thing that the internet will turn up on her that can be shed in a negative light.  I do not, however, share your confidence that her heart is in the right place. But this is just my thoughts on it.

I talked to someone I respect about her, and he had a pretty good analogy. He compared Taylor to a baseball player who goes up to the plate and swings for the fences. She wants to make things happen, instead of taking a bunch of pitches and waiting for something to happen. She'll strike out or hit a dribbler to the mound occasionally. But she'll also hit her share of doubles, triples and home runs.

It beats LaFortune, who seemed paralyzed by indecisiveness and the "rebels without a clue" city council the last two years of his term. Or, to further strain the metaphor, he was a .300 singles hitter who suddenly quit hitting.

[DowntownNow]

I don't think there's anyone that questions wanting a Mayor that will swing for the fences...the problem I have with ours is how she goes about it.  Do we want an all-american that tries their hardest with the best of intentions and natural abilities connecting for that grand slam or do we rely on a Rodgriguez or Clemens and their way of making sure they connect despite the way its done?

Just as an exercise, what quantifiable and successful accomplishment has our current Mayor actually accomplished since taking office?  And no one gets to use the BOKCenter...many seem under the impression that she did it all, including setting the cornerstone.  Sorry, it was finished under her watch and she found a way to cover the over-budget expenses by shifting priorities and dealines and then "cut the ribbon."  What others have their been?

In her campaign she promised mostly three things:  Increased public safety, Economic Development and Education...keep these in mind with your list.

For those that want to reminisce about what Taylor had promised in her first campaign (and since it has been removed from just about every Google accessible site)...follow these links:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060507223918/www.taylorfortulsa.com/page.php?page=FightCrime

http://web.archive.org/web/20060507224005/www.taylorfortulsa.com/page.php?page=NeighborhoodPlan

http://web.archive.org/web/20060507224145/www.taylorfortulsa.com/page.php?page=StrategicVision

http://web.archive.org/web/20060507223957/www.taylorfortulsa.com/page.php?page=EducationPlan

A list of her "accomplishment" since taking office and through April '08 is located here:

http://www.taylorfortulsa.com/accomplishments/

Many of these are announcements, dedications, and hosting of events.  I have not been able to find one in the list of her first two years that mentions actively and directly bringing new businesses or jobs to Tulsa, increasing public safety officers beyond minimum staffing levels, or supporting neighborhood planning initiatives...I could be wrong, so please let me know yours.

[DowntownNow]

Michael Bates also wrote an interesting article reflecting on the Mayor's first year in office.

http://www.urbantulsa.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid:17257

[carltonplace]

Here are the accomplishments whether you agree with the decisions or not.

Spearheaded ice storm clean up and got volunteers to go door to door to help people get their weather heads restored so they could have their power turned back on. Worked with the governor's office to get disaster relief funds to pay for the clean up

Moved all city offices to a single location and the city purchased a building to house them at a price of less than $40 p sqf

ONEOK Stadium

Got the county to agree to cover the BOK center's cost overrun

Disagreed with the county commissioners' plan to make the city pay to use the DLM jail

Worked with the council to begin collecting city sales tax on goods sold at the fair grounds

Increased salaries for city employees

Hired a new police chief

Edited to add: Jack Crowley and PlaniTulsa

[rwarn17588]

^ I also was told by locals that Taylor also was a big champion in getting the Red Fork Main Street program established.

Also, DowntownNow, you could do better than make a comparison to Clemens or Rodriguez, who would have been Hall-of-Famers even if they hadn't used performance-enhancers.

Now, if you used a Brady Anderson comparison, that would have made more sense.

[DowntownNow]

RWARN...true and thanks for the reminder, would have been a better use.

While Taylor may have been instrumental (though Im sure the initiative was already there and she lent a helping hand) in getting the Red Fork Mainstreet Program established, she had also suggested that the program apply for CDBG grant funds to accomplish its mission. 

Those funds have been held up repeatedly (since being approved by the City Council in fall of '08) by Daphne Pharis, Director of Grants Adminstration.  The reason become apparent in today's just published (on the web at least) Tulsa World story - I have placed a post in the Development thread here. 

That department is a Taylor established department that was to have made things easier and more efficient in dealing with federal grants and their disbursement.  In light of the scrutiny by HUD over the City, and the administration's delay in meeting a deadline...Im not sure Id call this an accomplishment yet.

[Wilbur]

Here are the accomplishments whether you agree with the decisions or not.

Spearheaded ice storm clean up and got volunteers to go door to door to help people get their weather heads restored so they could have their power turned back on. Worked with the governor's office to get disaster relief funds to pay for the clean up

Moved all city offices to a single location and the city purchased a building to house them at a price of less than $40 p sqf

ONEOK Stadium

Got the county to agree to cover the BOK center's cost overrun

Disagreed with the county commissioners' plan to make the city pay to use the DLM jail

Worked with the council to begin collecting city sales tax on goods sold at the fair grounds

Increased salaries for city employees

Hired a new police chief

Edited to add: Jack Crowley and PlaniTulsa

You've got to be kidding!

1.  Ice storm clean up.  Great job.  Give you that one.

2.  Not all city offices are in the new city hall, not even close.  While a cool looking building, you get what you pay for.  And, any government person who knows anything about security will tell you, you don't put all your workers in one place.  Not to mention a totally glass building.

3.  ONEOK Stadium funding is hitting huge roadblocks and will face many court battles.  Don't be surprised when the city's funding plan gets thrown out.  Everyone prepare for a tax increase to clean up this mess.

4.  Disagreeing with the county over the jail may look good now, but, believe me, this will cost us more in the long run.  Just stand by for the costs associated with the pissing contest going on between the city and county.  Blame on both sides.  Neither side is looking out for the tax payer.

5.  The fairgrounds take-over was started by x-city councilor of district 3.

6.  Increased salaries of her own staff you mean, by huge amounts.  Fought with the unions against raises and only gave them when ordered by an arbitrator.

7.  I like Chief Palmer, so I'll give you that one, but, how difficult of a search was that?  Rehire the last chief who still lived in Tulsa.  Not too difficult.