District 9: Kimbro v. McCray

[cannon_fodder]

Kimbro: http://benkimbro.com/index.html

McCray: http://ericmccray.com/

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I wanted to see if anyone had any opinions, interactions, or knowledge of these candidates.

[davideinstein]

McCray is running on a platform to reopen Riverside Drive before the park is complete? Then bashes people getting government assistance as being likely criminals? No thanks to that guy sitting on the council.

[RecycleMichael]

I went to the League of Women Voters debate last week between the two of them.

Kimbro seemed comfortable in the setting of about 25 people. He spoke of his endorsements and his background as a project manager for a big construction company. McCray was prepared to take on government and quickly turned it into a referendum on government spending.

The most defining thing they spoke of was about neighborhood associations. Kimbro spoke of working with neighborhood leaders and importance of small area plans and encouraged people to get involved. McCray quickly said that property rights are the most important and said that zoning is nothing more than bureaucratic policing.   

I was also kind of shocked by the candidates answer on race relations in Tulsa. Kimbro spoke of community policing efforts and McCray said the problem is that we "are kind of over-policed"

Here is the Tulsa World recap...

Ben Kimbro and Eric McCray, the two candidates hoping to succeed Mayor-elect G.T. Bynum as city councilor for District 9, faced a small but inquisitive audience at the Schusterman-Benson Library on Thursday night. McCray, a heating and air conditioning contractor and 2014 U.S. Senate candidate, couched many of his answers in terms of small government and accountability. He even suggested the possibility of reducing or eliminating the city sales tax, which is by far Tulsa's largest source of operating revenue.

Kimbro, an executive with the Ross Group construction company, mentioned several times that he wants the city to be a better "partner" with public education and that local police should be more accessible to citizens. "So many of the places where we find police — at Riverside Division, at Mingo Division — you can't go in and talk to police," he said. "They're not available. We've got to fix that." Kimbro said police are "overburdened" and under "indescribable stress" and must have better training and support to be effective. Kimbro said he understands that city government does not operate Tulsa Public Schools, but he said he thinks there are some things that can be done to help them. "I don't want to administer what's going on over there, but I also don't want to turn my back on them," he said.

McCray said the city should concentrate on paying down debt and tightening its operations. "We might be over-policed," McCray said.
"What really inflames the community is when your constitutional rights are trodded over and trampled." McCray said the city is about average for nonviolent crime and that violent crime could be traced to "three hot spots" that exist — "one of them partly because we don't enforce immigration law and the other two partly because of federally subsidized crime." "Most of the people committing those crimes are on entitlements," he said, adding that "if we are going to enforce ... the law to the max, I would look at the Tulsa Housing Authority."

Asked to name an inspirational leader, past or present, Kimbro cited former President Ronald Reagan, while McCray praised the late evangelist Billy Joe Daugherty.

The candidates will be on the Nov. 8 general election ballot only in City Council District 9. The district is bounded mostly by 31st and 61st streets from the Arkansas River to Yale Avenue, with an extension in the southeast corner to 71st Street and Sheridan Road.

[Conan71]

McCray-Cray sounds like a poor fit for our City Council.  I believe he would be right at home in the Oklahoma Legislature though.

[heironymouspasparagus]

And the BS just keeps on keepin' on...  McCray will continue the psychosis....

His inspiration - leader of Victory, Billy Joe Daugherty - was the one in charge when the organization tried to 'quiet' the news of an employee raping young girls - under 14 year olds.  I bet McCray is also a Trump supporter.  This was only a few years ago, but McCray still is a fan...!  Whew!

[Ed W]

McCray is more than half a bubble off. Among other thing, he has a FB post saying this about God given rights:

"All God-given rights are inalienable, some in particular are mentioned in the the Bill of Rights, thus protected from Federal Government intrusion."

And this:

"We have a government of laws to protect us, and a Bill of Rights and personal firearms to check that protection should it become tyranny."

He's a loon. Tulsa deserves better.

[heironymouspasparagus]

"We have a government of laws to protect us, and a Bill of Rights and personal firearms to check that protection should it become tyranny."

He's a loon. Tulsa deserves better.

Maybe not....   What have we done lately to deserve better?   We got Doobie...



JK - yes, we DO deserve better, but keep choosing not to go that path.

[Ed W]

My point is that we had two tea baggers who got seats on the city council here in Owasso, mainly due to voter apathy, and they caused wide spread problems before they were booted. Okay, one declined to run for re-election and the other lost when 92% of the votes went to his opponent. Honestly, getting rid of them was like digging out a couple of ticks.

So please learn from this admittedly bad example. There's no ideological bent to fixing roads, picking up the trash regularly, and seeing that essential services are in place. McCray seems to be out there on the far right fringe. Let him stay there and see that District 9 has responsible leadership.

[heironymouspasparagus]

My point is that we had two tea baggers who got seats on the city council here in Owasso, mainly due to voter apathy, and they caused wide spread problems before they were booted. Okay, one declined to run for re-election and the other lost when 92% of the votes went to his opponent. Honestly, getting rid of them was like digging out a couple of ticks.

So please learn from this admittedly bad example. There's no ideological bent to fixing roads, picking up the trash regularly, and seeing that essential services are in place. McCray seems to be out there on the far right fringe. Let him stay there and see that District 9 has responsible leadership.

I actually agree with you completely - as I tend to do probably most of the time.... I was doing a little sardonic editorializing...!!

[davideinstein]

My point is that we had two tea baggers who got seats on the city council here in Owasso, mainly due to voter apathy, and they caused wide spread problems before they were booted. Okay, one declined to run for re-election and the other lost when 92% of the votes went to his opponent. Honestly, getting rid of them was like digging out a couple of ticks.

So please learn from this admittedly bad example. There's no ideological bent to fixing roads, picking up the trash regularly, and seeing that essential services are in place. McCray seems to be out there on the far right fringe. Let him stay there and see that District 9 has responsible leadership.

Amen.

[cannon_fodder]

Thanks for the feedback. A review of their positions pointed me towards Kimbro, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't buying into a guy if it was known that he is just putting on a good sales pitch.