2008 city council elections

[RecycleMichael]

I just wanted to start talking about the upcoming elections. The filing period is only about eight weeks away.

The election board has the filing period for Tulsa city council offices January 14, 15 and 16. The primary is only seven weeks later and the general election is only four weeks after that. The actual date of the general election is April 1st (insert your own April fool's joke here).

I read that Roscoe Turner has already announced a bid for re-election and heard that Maria Barnes is having an announcement event this weekend.

Do we know any other incumbents that have announced? Do we have any names of challengers?

[pmcalk]

I heard Cason Carter is not running again--is that correct?  If so, District 9 should be an interesting race.

[sgrizzle]

We should get challengers from the forum for each district.

[Double A]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

We should get challengers from the forum for each district.

Don't you live in District 4? You willing to run?

[Double A]

quote:Originally posted by pmcalk

I heard Cason Carter is not running again--is that correct?  If so, District 9 should be an interesting race.

Carter is running for state Senate to seek the term limited seat of James Williamson. It's been common knowledge since before he was elected as Dist 9 Councilor that he was really interested in being a Senator, and the Council was just a steppingstone. I heard Troyer(District 6) won't seek re- election.

[RecycleMichael]

I thought Grizzle Acres was in south Tulsa.

[mrsgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

I thought Grizzle Acres was in south Tulsa.

The GrizPalace is in district 8 - Christiansen.

[sgrizzle]

I guess I could run on the "just shut up and build the dang sidewalk" ticket against christiansen.

[MichaelBates]

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

I guess I could run on the "just shut up and build the dang sidewalk" ticket against christiansen.

Under the idea that Councilor Eagleton brought up (and which they use for city elections in Minneapolis), you'd be able to put an abbreviated form of that ticket name on the ballot next to your name. (Minneapolis allows three words.)

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by MichaelBates

quote:Originally posted by sgrizzle

I guess I could run on the "just shut up and build the dang sidewalk" ticket against christiansen.

Under the idea that Councilor Eagleton brought up (and which they use for city elections in Minneapolis), you'd be able to put an abbreviated form of that ticket name on the ballot next to your name. (Minneapolis allows three words.)

Hmm... Three words or less?

Scott Grizzle (R) - Not Christiansen

Scott Grizzle (R) - Free beer

Scott Grizzle (R) - Will fix roads

[RecycleMichael]

I don't know what my three words would be.

RecycleMichael - Man with plan.
RecycleMichael - Larger than life.
RecycleMichael - Friendly, Funny, Furry.

It would probably be smart to have words that would show up in search engines...

RecycleMichael - Britney, Hillary, Sex.
RecycleMichael - Enter and win!

Maybe the strategy should be to use words that help convince them to choose you...

RecycleMichael - Just do it.
RecycleMichael - Check this box.
RecycleMichael - Already declared winner.

I could also just lie (I am probably expected to as a politician)...

RecycleMichael - Invented the Internet.
RecycleMichael - Tiger's Golf Coach.

My best chance is probably just to be myself.

RecycleMichael - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

[Double A]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

I don't know what my three words would be.

RecycleMichael - Man with plan.
RecycleMichael - Larger than life.
RecycleMichael - Friendly, Funny, Furry.

It would probably be smart to have words that would show up in search engines...

RecycleMichael - Britney, Hillary, Sex.
RecycleMichael - Enter and win!

Maybe the strategy should be to use words that help convince them to choose you...

RecycleMichael - Just do it.
RecycleMichael - Check this box.
RecycleMichael - Already declared winner.

I could also just lie (I am probably expected to as a politician)...

RecycleMichael - Invented the Internet.
RecycleMichael - Tiger's Golf Coach.

My best chance is probably just to be myself.

RecycleMichael - Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Your slogan should be:

Spin to Win

[RecycleMichael]

Tulsa World Editor Ken Neal discusses low voter interest in these council races...

http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectID=212&articleID=071103_7_G6_Voter52705

Voter disinterest

By KEN NEAL Senior Editor
11/4/2007

Low turnout expected in next city election

Why is there so little interest in the Tulsa City Council positions? The filing period for candidates for nine council seats is only a little more than two months away and there is hardly enough interest in the races to fill a political gossip column. Incumbents have an advantage in most political races. That's even more important in the city races. For an incumbent, the less said about the coming election, the better. The timing of the city elections is such that holidays occupy the public attention and then boom, it's too late for most challengers to mount a campaign.

So if you're an incumbent it's best to mention the election in whispers. It's a far cry from the days when most City Hall races were hotly contested; when all city commissioners ran citywide and mayors served for two years. The voter turnout since the mayor/council form of government was adopted in 1989 suggests that interest in city politics has steadily declined. Is that the fault of the form of government?

There is speculation that the almost constant bickering that comes with dividing the city into nine districts has turned off many voters. That does show up in the voting for the councilors. In the last comparable City Hall election, the non-mayoral race year of 2004, less than 8 percent of the registered voters even bothered to cast a ballot.

For example, District 1 Councilor Jack Henderson won that race in which only 1,403 voters of about 20,000 eligible cast ballots. There was a pattern of low turnout in the district races. The lack of a mayoral race on the ballot in 2008 probably will result in another low voter turnout. But in even the hotly contested race of 2006, Mayor Kathy Taylor and incumbent Bill LaFortune attracted less than 27 percent, or about 77,000, of the city's registered voters. That's shameful. In some European countries, a turnout of less than 50 percent of the voters is not considered a valid election.

When was the record voter turnout in a city election set? You have to go back 23 years for that record. In 1984, Terry Young beat Jim Inhofe, now a U.S. senator, by fewer than 1,000 votes of 96,000 cast, still the record for a city election. That race was one of the last of the commission form of government under which Tulsa functioned until 1989. In that system, four commissioners and the mayor ran citywide. Clearly, that generated more voter interest and thus more voter participation than the current form.

Under the commission form, all voters got to vote on six races (including the city auditor). Under the mayor/council form, voters cast ballots on but three races, the mayor, the auditor and a district councilor. Ironically, the council system, intended to provide more direct citizen representation, has discouraged voter participation. One of the consistent complaints of voters is that the ward politics that go with a district system so disgusts voters that they are discouraged from voting.

In the comparable campaign of 2004, only six of the nine councilor races were on the general election ballot. The other three councilor posts had been decided in the primary election that year. What kind of a campaign and voter turnout is expected in 2008? If 2004 is a guide, less than 14,000 of the city's 243,090 voters will bother to vote. In some councilor districts, fewer than 2,000 votes were cast. No district attracted more than 3,000 voters.

Odds are, Tulsans will greet the 2008 city elections with a big yawn. But the antics of the council fills the newspaper columns and the airwaves between elections. Councilors elected with a margin of a few hundred votes act as if they have won in a landslide. If there is a suggestion that at least some of councilors ought to be elected citywide, there are howls of protest, usually from district councilors and their supporters.

The filing period for city offices is Jan. 14, 15, and 16. The primary election is March 4; the general election for April 1. Sadly, the voting record suggests that not many Tulsans care.

[shadows]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

I just wanted to start talking about the upcoming elections. The filing period is only about eight weeks away.

The election board has the filing period for Tulsa city council offices January 14, 15 and 16. The primary is only seven weeks later and the general election is only four weeks after that. The actual date of the general election is April 1st (insert your own April fool's joke here).

I read that Roscoe Turner has already announced a bid for re-election and heard that Maria Barnes is having an announcement event this weekend.

Do we know any other incumbents that have announced? Do we have any names of challengers?

Due to the vote on increasing the salaries of the councilors and them taking on more time of their own to run the city from an off stage position, it would appear that very true leaders would not consider running for council.  As one is aware there seems no one among us on this form that has the gift of leadership that can bridge the gap between the citizens and those who want to dictate the rules.

If the council was made full time at a $100,000 dollars a year and eliminate the Trusts and Authorities, making the obligation designated an implied duty, as a republic form of government, subject to the voting public and abandon this one person rule we have installed as an amended charter.  

Councilors sitting five days for eight hours in session would be much more productive in reversing the down sliding of the city responsibility to the public.   They could have a hand on duplicating services and funds.  When the founders hired the lamp lighter they didn't hire a person to carry the ladder nor light the match for him.  

The bottom line will lie with how much time it will consume and how much will it pay.  


 

[Double A]

quote:Originally posted by recyclemichael

Tulsa World Editor Ken Neal discusses low voter interest in these council races...

http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectID=212&articleID=071103_7_G6_Voter52705

Voter disinterest

By KEN NEAL Senior Editor
11/4/2007

Low turnout expected in next city election

Why is there so little interest in the Tulsa City Council positions? The filing period for candidates for nine council seats is only a little more than two months away and there is hardly enough interest in the races to fill a political gossip column. Incumbents have an advantage in most political races. That's even more important in the city races. For an incumbent, the less said about the coming election, the better. The timing of the city elections is such that holidays occupy the public attention and then boom, it's too late for most challengers to mount a campaign.

So if you're an incumbent it's best to mention the election in whispers. It's a far cry from the days when most City Hall races were hotly contested; when all city commissioners ran citywide and mayors served for two years. The voter turnout since the mayor/council form of government was adopted in 1989 suggests that interest in city politics has steadily declined. Is that the fault of the form of government?

There is speculation that the almost constant bickering that comes with dividing the city into nine districts has turned off many voters. That does show up in the voting for the councilors. In the last comparable City Hall election, the non-mayoral race year of 2004, less than 8 percent of the registered voters even bothered to cast a ballot.

For example, District 1 Councilor Jack Henderson won that race in which only 1,403 voters of about 20,000 eligible cast ballots. There was a pattern of low turnout in the district races. The lack of a mayoral race on the ballot in 2008 probably will result in another low voter turnout. But in even the hotly contested race of 2006, Mayor Kathy Taylor and incumbent Bill LaFortune attracted less than 27 percent, or about 77,000, of the city's registered voters. That's shameful. In some European countries, a turnout of less than 50 percent of the voters is not considered a valid election.

When was the record voter turnout in a city election set? You have to go back 23 years for that record. In 1984, Terry Young beat Jim Inhofe, now a U.S. senator, by fewer than 1,000 votes of 96,000 cast, still the record for a city election. That race was one of the last of the commission form of government under which Tulsa functioned until 1989. In that system, four commissioners and the mayor ran citywide. Clearly, that generated more voter interest and thus more voter participation than the current form.

Under the commission form, all voters got to vote on six races (including the city auditor). Under the mayor/council form, voters cast ballots on but three races, the mayor, the auditor and a district councilor. Ironically, the council system, intended to provide more direct citizen representation, has discouraged voter participation. One of the consistent complaints of voters is that the ward politics that go with a district system so disgusts voters that they are discouraged from voting.

In the comparable campaign of 2004, only six of the nine councilor races were on the general election ballot. The other three councilor posts had been decided in the primary election that year. What kind of a campaign and voter turnout is expected in 2008? If 2004 is a guide, less than 14,000 of the city's 243,090 voters will bother to vote. In some councilor districts, fewer than 2,000 votes were cast. No district attracted more than 3,000 voters.

Odds are, Tulsans will greet the 2008 city elections with a big yawn. But the antics of the council fills the newspaper columns and the airwaves between elections. Councilors elected with a margin of a few hundred votes act as if they have won in a landslide. If there is a suggestion that at least some of councilors ought to be elected citywide, there are howls of protest, usually from district councilors and their supporters.

The filing period for city offices is Jan. 14, 15, and 16. The primary election is March 4; the general election for April 1. Sadly, the voting record suggests that not many Tulsans care.

Do I smell another push for at-large councilors?  Maybe this would be the opening salvo in the push for non-partisan elections? That seems weird because non-partisan elections result in even lower voter turnouts. I love those cherry picked examples they cited as being an honest overall representation. At least they had enough shame to keep it on the editorial page for once.