Mayor 2013: Over in June?

[sgrizzle]

Trying to see if TulsaNow forumites can predict the election.

[Conan71]

I'm not sure if Kathy did herself a favor in refusing to appear on Channel 6 this morning.  Her statement was along the lines of not being an "effective use of my time".

That comment won't play well with those who see her as an elitist, then again those who think that of her probably wouldn't vote for her in the first place.

[RecycleMichael]

I saw the segment with Bill Christiansen. They asked him about who should run the jail and then about schools then went to a commercial.

Does channel 6 actually know anything about what the Mayor actually does?

[Townsend]

That comment won't play well with those who see her as an elitist, then again those who think that of her probably wouldn't vote for her in the first place.

Anyone making a decision on a candidate due to their thoughts on elitism should work on their own self image.

[Conan71]

Anyone making a decision on a candidate due to their thoughts on elitism should work on their own self image.

And how is that coming for you? 

[Townsend]

And how is that coming for you? 

They're all stuck up and it's freaking me out.

[sgrizzle]

I'm not sure if Kathy did herself a favor in refusing to appear on Channel 6 this morning.  Her statement was along the lines of not being an "effective use of my time".

That comment won't play well with those who see her as an elitist, then again those who think that of her probably wouldn't vote for her in the first place.

Is Channel 6 the working man's channel?

The people who think that aren't voting for her anyway.

[RecycleMichael]

I asked my wife about the channel 6 morning show debate and she said they got a lot of requests from a lot of different groups to debate and many of them were last minute. They had already agreed to two debates in a three day period and politely said no.

There is a live debate being televised and on radio this Thursday night at 6:00pm.

[Conan71]

Is Channel 6 the working man's channel?

The people who think that aren't voting for her anyway.

That's pretty much what I said.  Dewey declined and said he granted an "exclusive" to another station.

I don't have a personal problem with Christiansen, but I just can't get excited about him, he's not engaging as a candidate.  For some reason I've got an odd feeling Dewey will be re-elected.  He hasn't had any major issues recently and the misinformation circling about Kathy "abandoning" the city when we needed her most doesn't help, but then again the people repeating it were not likely Taylor voters in the first place.

[davideinstein]

City has gotten way better under Bartlett, but I think that is because of what was done under Taylor. Yes? No?

[Conan71]

One thing for certain which has improved, is the mayor's relationship with the City Council.  Though I think that has more to do with some petulant children who are no longer on the Council. 

I still think Bartlet (sic) is a hapless bumpkin and I can't honestly say his admin has been a bust.  However, I've been disappointed that Plani-Tulsa has more or less died under his watch and it's something that needs a mayor to help shepherd.

I think Kathy is one of the better visionaries we've had in decades that's one reason why I would be happy with her being back in office.

[Red Arrow]

I predict that Kathy will not win in south Tulsa since (I read somewhere) that she is the only candidate to not specifically come out against the bridge to Bixby from Yale/121st.

[AquaMan]

I originally thought that Taylor was the favorite to win outright. But she hasn't done well with her answers on pertinent questions and Bartlett has.

I see a runoff coming. The question is which two? Bartlett is old school which is why he often appears out of synch with modern Republicans and totally alien to the far right. He loses North and West Tulsa but takes midtown and East. Christiansen looks attractive as a south Tulsa candidate but less so from a midtowners view. His support will be in the more populous and wealthy South obviously but its more than that. He seems like a guy who knows practical stuff and works for his constituents. Hated the biblical marriage comment.

Interesting that Taylor allowed herself to be portrayed as not just a woman running for mayor but a woman's candidate. She must have written off middle age white guys or saw some polling that indicated that women are more active voters.

Taylor vs Christiansen.

[Gaspar]

I originally thought that Taylor was the favorite to win outright. But she hasn't done well with her answers on pertinent questions and Bartlett has.

I see a runoff coming. The question is which two? Bartlett is old school which is why he often appears out of synch with modern Republicans and totally alien to the far right. He loses North and West Tulsa but takes midtown and East. Christiansen looks attractive as a south Tulsa candidate but less so from a midtowners view. His support will be in the more populous and wealthy South obviously but its more than that. He seems like a guy who knows practical stuff and works for his constituents. Hated the biblical marriage comment.

Interesting that Taylor allowed herself to be portrayed as not just a woman running for mayor but a woman's candidate. She must have written off middle age white guys or saw some polling that indicated that women are more active voters.

Taylor vs Christiansen.

The development community is strongly against Christiansen, or at least all of the builders and developers that I know.  He made things difficult for many of them when he was a counselor.  I would have to say it's going to be an election between Taylor and Bartlett, with the business community going towards Bartlett and the public sector and women's vote going to Taylor.

Bartlett has been nothing more than lackluster in the public eye, but from a business standpoint he has done a good job.  His strength with the business community is due to a very conservative approach to government. The city has added almost 10k jobs, has tens of millions in savings including the rainy day fund, and hasen't proposed a laundry list of new tax-payer-funded programs to screw all that up.  He has allowed Tulsa to grow through the private sector.  I however still have a hard time viewing him as a leader because he lacks the ability to articulate his vision, but perhaps that's my own failing. 

Taylor's appeal and major hurtle is the same.  Her platform is based on an ever-expanding list of new programs and policies, and is based on the necessary public sector expansion necessary to accomplish them.  Yes, we want all of this stuff, but she offers no reality on how she intends to pay for them.  Visit her website and you get a scroll of issues 3 pages long without any consideration, recognition, or concern for cost.  There are a lot of underpants gnomes there, and it brings back memories of the past out-of-control spending we seem to have overcome.

As a Southie, I like Christiansen because he has been a very good servent to my district in the past and always accessible, I just don't think he stands a chance against the Taylor spending machine or the Bartlett business machine.

This election is going to require some serious consideration.

[RecycleMichael]

Taylor wins in either June or November. I am willing to bet booze or a bag of cheeseburgers. Any takers?