Less horse poop at downtown parade

[swake]

Rick Westcott to vote against special event application

By BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Published: 12/2/2010 

Council Chairman Rick Westcott said Thursday he will vote against the special event application for Tulsa's annual holiday parade at tonight's 6 p.m. meeting unless "Christmas" is restored to its official name. Controversy erupted this week over the name change, which actually occurred two years ago, when U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe said he would not participate the parade until its name is returned to the Christmas Parade of Lights, rather than the Holiday Parade of Lights.

Westcott told the Tulsa World he had heard from numerous upset constituents on the issue and that voting against the special event application is his way of representing their frustrations. "All of the people who have contacted me are offended by the removal of Christmas from the name, and all of them want it brought back," he said. The application will be voted on by the full council. The Dec. 11 event can't take place without it.

Westcott said he normally wouldn't think councilors should try to dictate to organizers what a particular event should be called. But he said the annual parade is different. "This is something that is central to the beliefs of much of the community," he said. "Because of that, I want to try to have some influence on the situation." In a response to a letter to the editor that appeared in the Tulsa World a year ago, Larry Fox, the parade's board chairman, explained that the word "Christmas'' was deleted from the official name to reflect more accurately its actual theme and an inclusiveness that has always been a part of the parade.

Meanwhile, the council is also scheduled to take action tonight on a vote of no-confidence on City Attorney David Pauling, who just started work Wednesday, and on overturning the mayor's veto on a proposed charter amendment to make the city attorney an elected position.But Westcott said those items might be moved to a special meeting Tuesday because not all councilors are expected to be in attendance at tonight's meeting.

Read more from this Tulsa World article at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=16&articleid=20101202_11_0_Counci261960&rss_lnk=11

Well isn't that special.....

[Conan71]

Well isn't that special.....

[patric]

Council Chairman Rick Westcott said Thursday he will vote against the special event application for Tulsa's annual holiday parade at tonight's 6 p.m. meeting unless "Christmas" is restored to its official name. Controversy erupted this week over the name change, which actually occurred two years ago

The Council's dysfunctionality just got a little clearer.

[cynical]

And to add a little bit of reality to the circus, two local organizations with an investment in Tulsa, McNellies Group and Mimosa Tree Capital Partners, just ponied up $10K each to keep the parade going after it was abandoned by PSO and no one else came forward.  A couple of pandering culture warriors have decided that it's even more fun to fight the wars using other people's money than their own or the taxpayers'. 

Can someone please explain to me the incentive for anyone whether it is George Kaiser, Elliot Nelson, or any of the others who have given money to try to make this a town a better place?  Someone always takes a dump on it.  I can accept it when it losers do that.  But Inhofe and Westcott?  Well, maybe I've answered part of my own question.

[swake]

A  city councilor publically wanting to deny a use permit because the event wasn't Christian enough is just begging to get the city sued.

A "Parade of Lights" sounds more like a Hanukkah parade than a Christmas parade anyway.

[Conan71]

A  city councilor publically wanting to deny a use permit because the event wasn't Christian enough is just begging to get the city sued.

A "Parade of Lights" sounds more like a Hanukkah parade than a Christmas parade anyway.

Westcott isn't exactly on my Christmas holiday card list.

[Hoss]

Westcott isn't exactly on my Christmas holiday card list.

Well played!

[godboko71]

Who gives a bleep? No one cared when it "changed" two years ago :/ People need to get a life and worry about real problems.

[guido911]

Who gives a bleep? No one cared when it "changed" two years ago :/ People need to get a life and worry about real problems.

Okay. What are they? And by all means let's talk about them in this thread, you know, where you are not forced to post or even read.

[guido911]

Okay RM, since when have you been a high school football referee? 

[godboko71]

Okay. What are they? And by all means let's talk about them in this thread, you know, where you are not forced to post or even read.

Okay so you actually care what a parade is called? You think our representatives should be using energy (even if its aides and other people) on something as silly as a parade? Did the name change to something offensive? Did the name change the meaning of the parade for the people going?

[patric]

'As long as the Dec. 11 parade does not violate "reasonable time, place and manner" restrictions, the City Council would have no legal basis to turn down its special event application, said Joey Senat of Oklahoma State University and Freedom of Information Oklahoma.'
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20101202_11_0_Counci261960

Do we have to wait till a judge affirms that?    I feel a censure coming on...

[guido911]

Okay so you actually care what a parade is called? You think our representatives should be using energy (even if its aides and other people) on something as silly as a parade? Did the name change to something offensive? Did the name change the meaning of the parade for the people going?

Did not affect me one bit. Still, don't you think we can at least have a discussion on the matter in here?

[Conan71]

'As long as the Dec. 11 parade does not violate "reasonable time, place and manner" restrictions, the City Council would have no legal basis to turn down its special event application, said Joey Senat of Oklahoma State University and Freedom of Information Oklahoma.'
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20101202_11_0_Counci261960

Do we have to wait till a judge affirms that?    I feel a censure coming on...

No more basis to turn it down than the gay pride parade or MLK day parade. 

I understand the sentiment over the tradition of the parade, but Westcott is over-reaching here for an even the city is not even a sponsor of.  Certainly it runs through city streets but FAIK, the entire event is underwritten by private funds.

On KRMG a bit ago they reported he'd recieved "a half-dozen calls and a couple dozen emails from his consituents"  Boy that's some real outrage, 30 people in district 2 are pissed off.

[swake]

Did not affect me one bit. Still, don't you think we can at least have a discussion on the matter in here?

Sure, we can talk about it here. I would usually prefer the more traditional term Christmas in most situations like a parade like this. But really I didn't care one way or the other myself before now. Now I care a lot. 

Inhofe was an donkey with his making this into an issue but if he wants to skip the parade because of the name of the parade, as a citizen he certainly has that right. But a sitting city councilor is now trying to force a privately funded event to be more Christian by granting (or not granting) city permits? Are you kidding me? Talk about idiotic and chilling government intrusion.