As many of you know, I announced recently my intentions to run for Tulsa’s District 4 City Council seat. In the time since that announcement, others have decided, for one reason or another, to join me in pursuit of public office. This week was Tulsa’s filing week and in the last few days, over twenty people have submitted paperwork to the election board.
We humans are an interesting race. We’re driven by things like love, money, and fear. We have hobbies and passions. Some of us work hard. Some of us play hard. Some of us hardly do anything at all. Two people in the same basic place at the same basic time can have entirely different ideas about what’s happening around them and can be compelled to react very differently.
Roughly 400,000 of us find ourselves in Tulsa – a “big little” city or a “little big” city that sits smack in the middle of our great nation. We live here because it’s comfortable or because the people are friendly. Some of us live here because our parents live here. Some of us choose it for ourselves, for others of us, it was somehow chosen for us. Employers may have moved us here or opportunity brought us here. Some of us even left and came back.
So what’s your thing? What are you in to? You like sports? Do you read? Do you have kids? Are you an artist or a writer? Perhaps you’re in to politics. Odds are strong that you care deeply about something. You spend your free time or even your work time doing something that you care about. Of course you do. You’re human. You’re built to care about things. For a community to thrive, it has to be made up of people caring about all kinds of different things. We need deacons and elders and Boy Scout leaders and coaches, and recyclers, and pet lovers, and choir directors and big brothers and big sisters, and people who volunteer. We need people to care about all kinds of different things. It may sound simple, but without that love and the expression of it, the community suffers. I may not be the guy who does some of those things, but I’m glad that there are people who do. We all have our unique passions. Mine is Tulsa. I know, that sounds like something a candidate would say, but please believe me. The things I do and the places I do them speak to that love. I care deeply about my city and I’m confident that it shows. Long before I announced that I was running for office, I was working to make Tulsa a better place, and if I win or lose, that work will continue. It’s my interest, my hobby, my occupation. It is my passion.
Caring about our city is a funny thing. It’s big and bulky and complicated. Many of us just trust that for the most part things are going to be okay. No matter what the politicians are up to, be they efficient or not, we still manage to have roads and police officers and firefighters and parks. Sometimes fun things even show up like arenas and museums and ballparks. Those things affect our quality of life and shape our experience as citizens, but how much attention do we really pay? How involved should we be? Do we need to care? I think it’s okay if we care to varying degrees, but I also think it’s important that when it comes to the city, we don’t just leave it up to others. I think we should all care about this thing to some degree.
In the last City Council election, my district of over 40,000 had around 4,000 voters. Roughly ten percent of one of the more active districts in town showed up to vote in a hotly contested race. Clearly the majority of Tulsans are okay with letting a small number of Tulsans decide who runs the city.
That fact has created a scenario in which the primary strategy for winning a council seat is to walk around the neighborhoods knocking on doors and meeting people face to face and then send lots of mail pieces to the people who vote. If only 4,000 people are going to vote, a candidate can literally talk to all of them and with enough cash, can mail something to each voter. I love the idea of meeting voters face to face and of mailing them print collateral, but I’m concerned that our council seats are then likely to be won by the people with the most spare time and the most money. Do we want our city council to be made up of people who don’t have real jobs? Do we want the individuals who run our city to be the ones who can raise and spend the most money? Our city council was originally intended to be available to citizens who work a traditional job. It’s been mutated into a council of unemployed, lightly employed, or retired people with plenty of spare time on their hands and the connections to raise money. I understand that the job is demanding and that it will take time. Public service should be a sacrifice. It shouldn’t be a career move or something to fill up an otherwise empty schedule. It also shouldn’t be able to be bought. Tulsa is too important.
As it is, we’re trusting the future of our city to the votes of around 10% of our population from a pool of candidates largely made up of retirees, political climbers, and lawyers.
I think we can do better. I ask you what kind of city councilor you’d like to have. If you really thought about it, what would you come up with? Would you select business minded entrepreneurs with a history of creating jobs, developing blighted buildings, revitalizing neighborhoods, supporting the arts, and caring for the needy? Would you want them to be big thinkers who are running for city council, not because there were no State or county offices to run for, but because they are most passionate about the city of Tulsa? Would you want them to be people who don’t just talk about growth and jobs, but create them? Would you want people who aren’t afraid to take on the establishment and who don’t mind calling out shady political consultants who hurt our city by puling strings no man should be allowed to pull? Would you choose people who aren’t indebted to anyone, including The Chamber, the political parties, the developers, the old money, etc.? Would you want City Councilors who are known for being able to communicate effectively, solve problems, and push others towards progress without fighting and backstabbing? I do. That’s why I’m running.
I ask you all to join me in caring for our city. I’m not asking you to drop all that you’re doing and give it all of your time, but I’m asking that you get involved where you can. Pay attention to the races, donate, volunteer, talk about it at the water cooler or on Facebook. Tweet it. And most of all, vote. Your first opportunity is the primaries on September 13th.
If you’d like to support my campaign, we’re having a party tonight at Fassler Hall at 3rd and Elgin (21 and over) at 5:13 PM. We’ll have volunteer sign-ups and shirts to wear and will be registering people to vote right then and there. We’re asking for small $13 donations to remind supporters to then vote on September 13th. Fun huh? Let’s hope it’s lucky number 13. Thanks for reading my blog and thanks for caring about our city.
I’m getting up now. I’m walking out the door and driving to the election board to file my candidacy on July 13th, 2011. Wish me luck.
You’ll do a Great Job Blake….It’s time to get some younger people in office that truley care about what happens to this city! Not embarassment of it.
Great news. Great representation. Proud of your continued efforts to make Tulsa a better place. Wishing you success.
Thank to you, too, Barbara!
Thanks, Deb!
Being financially supported by the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce and their establishment of tulsbizpac indicates you agree to support their platform…
Thanks, Alice. I should have known about this, but I did not. His support from the Chamber, especially considering Tulsabizpac, is very telling and not in a good way.
Alice and C,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog. I haven’t received any financial support from the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce or the tulsabizpac. As far as I know, they’ve not given any financial support to anyone at this time. As for their platform, I am familiar with it, but can not and will not endorse all of the points on the platform as it stands. I’d love to know where you got your information, so I can correct it at the source. Furthermore, I suspect that they would be willing to openly communicate about their endorsements should you choose to contact them. I can’t imagine it being to anyone’s benefit to conduct that business in private. Certainly it can all be proven later with donation records, etc. Also, the Tulsa World typically reports on the Chamber’s endorsements. While I can’t tell people not to endorse me, it may help you to know that I’m not actively seeking any endorsements, including theirs. Also, I understand that The Chamber is conducting interviews to decide which candidates they will support. I haven’t been invited to participate in those interviews as of this writing. I’m glad to openly discuss any questions you may have about the campaign and my affiliations. As for now, it may help to know that I’m not a member of the Chamber and other than hosting some events for the young professionals in my restaurants, I’ve not had any affiliations there. Thank you again.
I need to know quite a bit more about you before I decide to vote for you. Who would you chose in a conflict between neighborhoods and businesses? I realize that is a vague question, but what would your knee jerk reaction be? What was/ is your opinion about the property tax assessed inside the IDL for financing (in part) the new ballpark? What was your opinion about the Yale Ave Apartments (aka 10 N Yale Ave) that were meant to help rid downtown of it’s troubled YMCA population? How do you feel about the city setting aside taxpayer money to incentivize the developing of downtown housing? These are just a few questions I have. Your answers to them will help to give me a better idea of who you are and will be as a representative for district 4. In the meantime, Maria Barnes will remain my choice despite the fact that I am a registered republican. At least she is a known quantity to me.
It looks like I will be voting for Rocky Friscoe in the primaries. I realize he is a long shot, but his view of the government’s role is very close to mine. I will try to keep an open mind about you, Blake, but you will have to do a lot of work to convince me you are the right candidate.
C,
If you’d be so kind as to give me your contact information, I’m glad to discuss all of these points with you, either in person, on the phone, or by e-mail – whichever is more convenient for you.
My personal e-mail address is blakeewing3232@gmail.com if you’d like to send me a communication.
Thanks so much for taking the time to ask those questions and for caring enough to know where I stand.
Blake
I will be happy to contact you by email, but I think your answers to my questions ought to be posted here so that other people will know where you stand. Not just me.
Blake, I’m so glad that Tulsa has someone with your vision and passion entering the political ring. You’ll certainly continue to make it a better place.
And C, you pose a lot of great questions, never stop, thats what we need more of these days… however I believe Blake is just the man to answer them. (
C,
Sure thing. Here goes. Please know that I suggested e-mail because I worried my long answers to your questions might be difficult to put in the comment box here. We’ll see how it goes, yeah?
Who would you chose in a conflict between neighborhoods and businesses?
This is a tough question to answer. I really think it would depend on the nature of the conflict. Often times, in government we want to simplify issues so that one side wins and another loses. I’d like to think that some creativity and diplomacy would go a long way towards creating a Tulsa that valued and protected it’s historic neighborhoods, while also accommodating revenue and job generating business. The reality is, it takes all of those things to make a city strong. Government can play a pivotal role in facilitating compromise when those conflicts arise. I would hope to do that.
What was/ is your opinion about the property tax assessed inside the IDL for financing (in part) the new ballpark?
I love that we have a ballpark in downtown Tulsa. I love the Drillers and their presence in the neighborhood. Drillers stadium makes downtown Tulsa a better place. Having said that, I dislike the way it happened. I believe that if local leaders and developers are going to make the case that a ballpark will spur economic development, you build the ballpark in a good location and let the economic development happen. They could’ve built the ballpark on the donated money alone without a tax assessment. The property around the ballpark was purchased with the other half of those funds. I think we could’ve trusted that the ballpark’s presence would’ve created incentive in the free market for entrepreneurs to develop the surrounding properties without the government’s involvement. It’s a little more complicated than I’m making it and I can sympathize with some of their reasoning, but in general, I love the ballpark and appreciate the private funding that helped to make it happen, but I don’t like the assessment.
What was your opinion about the Yale Ave Apartments (aka 10 N Yale Ave) that were meant to help rid downtown of it’s troubled YMCA population?
Good question. Please know that I’m answering this question, both as a resident of the Turner Park neighborhood which is just across the highway from the 10 N Yale Apartments and as a business owner downtown. In many ways this project affected my work neighborhood and my home neighborhood. My neighborhood and the nearby White City neighborhood were both very concerned about the presence of the facility and many had issues with the way the councillor at the time handled the matter. While I understand the concerns, I think that generally, the facility has turned out to be non-threatening to the neighborhoods surrounding it. It’s a nice looking building and if it’s proving a safe place for some of Tulsa’s homeless population, I’m glad to have it. Having said that, I’m frustrated by the way some people view the presence of homelessness in our downtown area. There is definitely a group of people who believe that their presence downtown prevents or hinders development and that to make our downtown a more appealing place for developers, we have to rid it of as much of the homeless population as we can. People say things about the homeless that they would never say about other minority groups. The talk I’ve heard about “rounding them up” and “moving them out” is grotesque and wouldn’t be tolerated if it was used towards any other group of people. They are our neighbors. Speaking frankly, they have the right to be homeless. I want us to care for them. I want us as citizens to concern ourselves with their wellbeing and I want us to work to get rid of homelessness, not because we want to get rid of the homeless, but because we aspire to serve those in our community who have less than we do and we have higher hopes for them.
How do you feel about the city setting aside taxpayer money to incentivize the developing of downtown housing?
I tend to prefer that government stick to the work of maintaining our basic amenities and necessities. Having said that, it’s important to consider several other things when evaluating things like subsidies for downtown residential developments. The city has a responsibility to pursue an efficient and sustainable future for its citizens. It’s more efficient and sustainable for a city to have dense housing, especially in its core. A large number of people in a small geographic footprint means that fewer of the city’s resources are being used to maintain the infrastructure. For example, no new roads need to be built to accommodate a large population increase in the downtown area. Utilities and other resources are already present and are densely located as well. Furthermore, a large number of individuals living in close quarters makes a part of town more attractive to developers who bring exciting new business that produces jobs and sales tax revenue. Developers look at “rooftops.” This is as true at 101st and Memorial as it is downtown. “Number of rooftops” is the primary factor in most development decisions. We may not have to subsidize housing in south Tulsa, but it doesn’t mean those developments don’t come with a very high price-tag to the city. We’re paying for them with expensive expansion of roads and utilities. There are times when we have to consider a bigger picture. Tulsa is competing with other cities in many ways. We’re competing for jobs, conventions, visitors, national retailers and restaurants, etc. If we choose not to participate in the competition, we will surely lose. I prefer to see us participate in a way that’s still responsible and that considers the wellbeing of the entire city. The important thing for us conservatives to remember is that sometimes the best way for our government to become more efficient starts with spending a relatively small amount of money. I’d compare it to saving on your electric bill by buying better AC units and better windows. A small up front cost can produce greater long term savings and benefits. I’d rather subsidize a downtown residential unit than pay the very high price of expanding our infrastructure to accommodate a new sprawling subdivision. One fire station can service a downtown area full of thousands of residents, where several fire stations might be needed to service the same number of people in sprawled suburban areas. If providing subsidies for downtown housing increases density, that’s great. If that, in turn, leads to savings on infrastructure expansion and we also attract new business and new visitors in the meantime, that’s a good thing. Those things can lead to jobs and revenue. They can help make us a stronger city. It can make us more competitive. If the subsidies are not designed for that purpose and we aren’t responsible with their implementation, then they aren’t worth it.
I’m glad to answer your questions. I hope I’ve done an adequate job of helping you to understand how I would approach similar issues. I apologize for the length of the response, but I want to make sure I’ve gotten the point across to potential readers.
Thanks for taking the time to ask and for reading my response.
Blake
Dear Blake, For the first time moving to Sapulpa, I wish I live bake in Tulsa. You will make a great Councilman. So proud of you and the wonderful man you have grown into! Blessings, Carol D
Awesome man, very inspiring. I’m not in Tulsa, but I’ll do what I can to support your campaign!