Blake Ewing

My Side of the Story

A Campaign Confession

Posted on September 12, 2011

Greetings,

As you may know, for the last few months I have been a candidate for Tulsa’s City Council District 4. I’m running as a Republican in a primary race against Rocky Frisco and Liz Hunt. Tomorrow, District 4 Republicans will decide which of us will move forward into our November general election against Ken Brune or Maria Barnes.

This campaign has produced a number of firsts for me. In my 32 years, I had never sent out a bulk mail piece, walked neighborhoods in 107 degree heat, been the recipient of political donations, etc. This is all very new territory. While I’m used to promoting my businesses and trumpeting what they have to offer, I’ve never had to do it for myself.  It feels funny to self-promote in such a way. Most of us have been taught not to talk about ourselves. It’s rude, right?

With just an evening left to campaign, what is there left to say? I’ve sent out mail pieces talking about my qualifications. I’ve woken up early to talk to be on the radio. I’ve done Tulsa World interviews. The information is out there. If you look and listen, you can learn about us.

As I walked around District 4 neighborhoods, I discovered an interesting trend. The discord at City Hall has affected people in two very different ways. For some, it inspired them to care more. It caused them to fight to find new elected leaders. It’s made them pay attention. They are more engaged in their local political scene than ever. They knew who I was when I knocked on their door and the opinions had been formed. They’ve researched. They’ve talked to their friends. They’ll be at the polls tomorrow morning. For some, however, a different thing has happened. The embarrassment at the behavior of those who represent them has had the opposite effect. It has caused them to care less. It’s had the saddest effect of all. It’s made them lose hope.

The doors I knocked were those of Republican voters who vote often. In a campaign like mine, it’s actually possible to meet a large number of the voters face to face, so we hit the streets, knock on doors, and do our thing. It works. When I knocked on the doors of many of these voters, they told me they didn’t know what was going on. They confessed that they’ve stopped paying attention. They didn’t know their district, their councilor, the issues, etc. All they know is that what they hear and what they read is not okay and they don’t care to know the details. They confessed that they don’t care.

It’s not shocking to me that in a busy life, full of stress and obligations, it’s easy to give up caring about something like city government. After all. The police are still on the street, the firefighters are still on the truck, the roads are still there (mostly), and things seem to be going okay. It’s going okay, right?

Here’s why I care. I’m convinced that Tulsa has this potential to be the greatest city anywhere. We’ve got this incredible history full of culture, and entrepreneurship, and success and failure, and dark secrets, and bold accomplishments. Our landscape is beautiful, our architecture unique, our parks are plentiful and lush and green.

All those things are great, but what really makes us special is our people. We’ve got bold, passionate, incredible people. I’ve met them. I’ve heard their stories. We’ve got historic preservationists fighting to save beautiful homes and neighborhoods and developers working to bring new businesses and homes to Tulsa. We have artists who are passionate about growing a culture of creativity, and public servants who are dedicated to building a sound infrastructure. We’ve got entrepreneurs sacrificing to build a Tulsa that is unique, exciting, and buzz-worthy. I’m running for office because of these people. I’m running for office because of my friends and my family who have chosen to call Tulsa home. I’m running because of you.

The decisions made at City Hall may not always seem so important in the grand scheme of things, but I ask you to consider your favorite places. What’s your favorite city to visit? The things about that place that make it special are all affected by what happens at  their own City Hall. If you imagine, like I do, a Tulsa that attracts people from around the area to come enjoy our shopping, nightlife, and entertainment, please vote. If you imagine a Rt. 66 running through our city that Rt. 66 travelers from around the world can enjoy, please vote. If you imagine an Arkansas River that attracts people to come and play and enjoy it, please vote. If you imagine a vibrant growing downtown that serves people from around the area and that houses a new generation of Tulsans who value dense urban living and pedestrian friendly lifestyles, please vote. If you imagine creative arterial development in midtown that works in concert with the historic neighborhoods around it, please vote. If you value public transit and envision a Tulsa where people can get around without an automobile, please vote. If you imagine smooth streets, mowed parks, and well staffed police and fire departments, please vote. If you value the benefit young creative people bring to a city and want to make sure we attract and retain them, please, vote. If you’re passionate about preserving Tulsa’s rich history and want to make sure that new developments don’t carelessly destroy that which can’t be rebuilt, please vote.

Tomorrow, Sept 13th, the polls will be open. You’ll have to take an ID or a voter ID card to vote this year, so don’t forget that. I ask you to please join me in caring about our great city. Get involved. You deserve the kind of Tulsa that can only be built by an engaged and impassioned citizenry.

This process has been one I’ll never forget. It was fun and frustrating and exciting and tiring. It was incredible. I’d like to thank the other candidates for caring so much and for conducting themselves with so much class. I look at other districts and the mud-slinging that’s happening and I’m so grateful to be in District 4, where we campaigned on our strengths, not our opponents’ weaknesses. You guys are great and I thank you.

Hope to see you out there tomorrow. If you’d like to come bite your fingernails with me at the watch party, it will be at Back Alley Blues and BBQ at 6:30. It’s come and go, so feel free to swing by.

Thanks so much for reading my blog.

Blake

Categories: Uncategorized

Let’s Talk About the Chamber.

Posted on August 21, 2011

Greetings,

One of the hot topics in our current City Council elections is the The Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce. Today’s TW unveiled the candidates to whom the chamber’s BizPac has chosen to offer funding and endorsements in this year’s council election.

Tulsa has long been a city full prone to conspiracy theories. It would appear that after years of supposed “back room deals,” some of the public has come to expect, not that those deals might happen, but rather that nothing happens in this town without being the result of secret power playing. The chamber nearly always gets top billing in these theories. Their reputation is that they operate in a cloud of secrecy and limited disclosure and that they overstep their bounds without shame.  Simply, some believe that they are the big, bad nasty chamber of string pullers and that if they can’t just stick the basics of promoting the city, charming potential employers, and exhorting local business development, then they’re doing more harm than good.

Naturally, their decision to engage in the local political scene so overtly, has spawned a great deal of speculation and has fueled the fires of distrust and frustration. The primary assertion, as I’ve heard it, is that the BizPac is one big, fat conflict of interest, because the Chamber bids on and receives city funds. Theoretically, the very people they are helping to elect, might someday be the same people making decisions regarding their funding, etc. Some believe that candidates are being “bought,” by the chamber’s $1000, or $2500 campaign donations. I suppose the theorizing then dictates that the candidates will then be obligated to vote in the way the chamber wants them to, not just on issues related to chamber funding, but according to the chamber’s ongoing separate agenda.

I tell you this so that you understand the context for the rest of the post. I’m not agreeing with those sentiments. I’m not disagreeing with them. I’m simply sharing what I believe to be the sentiment of at least some of our public. Reading local blogs, message boards, and comment sections will likely lead you to the same conclusions regarding the public’s stance on the chamber. Discredit those people all you will, but they exist, they are plentiful, and they love to theorize about how it all “really goes down.”

Some have speculated that the mayor, Karl Ahlgren (his friend/political consultant), and the chamber higher-ups have had one of those famous “back room” meetings and contrived a plan to replace our current councilors with their own set. The chamber was, in fact, involved in recruiting candidates. Even if it was just in one casual conversation with Daryl Woodard (as Woodard stated in a public forum), Karl had input into the redistricting. The theories abound. The public, with the help of the local paper, has put pieces together (whether accurate or not) and come to the conclusion that this was all a big secret plot. Those theories maintain that those powers that be have pulled strings and that their latest decisions were about which candidates will be funded by BizPac. Trust me, you’ll read this in a blog or on Tulsanow.org/forum, or on the paper’s comments section.

So where do I come in? What’s my response? What’s my involvement?

Here’s the thing. I don’t really care to keep anybody’s secrets when it comes to our local government. It should be open. It should be honest. It should be transparent. I don’t care if Karl’s reputation continues to evolve/devolve and I don’t care if I upset those supposed powers that be. There will be no mystery regarding the part that involves me.

So, because I know that so many out there are suspicious or curious or something, I’m going to tell you every detail I can remember about my experience with BizPac and what I believe to be the truth about the process.

Here goes. The first I really learned about BizPac came from Karl Ahlgren. He’s a political consultant, currently contracted by my opponent. Karl and his partner, Fount Holland, came to Tulsa for a meeting and pitched their services. While I was aware of Karl’s experience and knowledge, I chose not to hire him as my consultant, largely because I didn’t feel that his track record as a ruthless operative was consistent with my approach and because I felt I already had a strong team in place. Karl’s thing works, it’s just not for me. So, if his reputation held true, this prompted him, (I’m only guessing here), to go find someone else to run against me for the District 4 seat. He has a living to make, you know? Liz Hunt had been running for State Senate for a couple of years, and after an unfortunate redistricting, was going to have to cancel her campaign for Tom Adelson’s seat, which she started while Adelson was in office, but running for mayor. Karl was clearly familiar with Liz and when I opted against hiring him, he became available to work for her. I don’t know for a fact that he went after her. Theoretically, Liz just suddenly became as passionate about local politics as she had been for state politics the two and a half years prior and called Karl out of the phonebook. Here’s part of a facebook message from Liz to me around that time:

“I may have shared that I have actively been campaigning for the state senate for the past 2.5 years, given the recent outcome of the redistricting efforts, I’m in the process of dismanteling my campaign. I was recently approached to run for CC although I would much rather support a strong candidate that I connect w/ and leverage the resources I have procured (including donor lists) , to benefit another candidate’s campaign.”

Like I mentioned, it was sent on facebook and I didn’t get back to her as quickly as I would’ve through e-mail. By the time I did, she had decided to run. I’ve got to get better about my facebook messaging, I suppose.

Regardless, Karl was my early cheerleader and is how I know most of what I know. When he heard that I was thinking about running, he made contact. He called me repeatedly. He encouraged me to run. He talked about how much money I would raise and that I was a great candidate. He spoke of motivated donors and of a PAC (or at least a group of people who wanted to influence the council elections) he was working with. I assume this includes Ben Latham of GBR properties, as he’s been vigorously emailing a fundraising letter for a supposedly “vetted” group of candidates. Karl also knew something about what was happening with the chamber, though I’m not under the impression that he was the one actually pulling strings there. As this process has gone on, several conversations have happened that have caused me to come to that conclusion. It’s amazing to me the degree to which people are going to avoid association with Karl Ahlgren right now. Anyway, I’m guessing that he’s working with Ben Latham and his underground group of political influencers, but only loosely (or not at all) with the chamber. The chamber is off the hook on this one as far as I can tell.

On July 14th, I was contacted by Gwendolyn Caldwell, the chamber’s vice-president of government affairs. It was an e-mail sent to all candidates asking us to schedule a time to meet with the BizPac. I assumed at the time that I was not likely to be the candidate they chose to support. Liz has been an active participant in Chamber functions and was now working with Karl. Remember, I assumed at the time that Karl was more involved than I now believe him to be. I debated going to the meeting, but embraced the idea that every group should endorse and support me (even the chamber), and that I’d accept all endorsements. I trusted that I could clearly explain myself if any of them aroused suspicion. I decided that if I’m going to claim to be the best candidate for our city, I should act with confidence in seeking and accepting endorsements, regardless of which group they are from. Just because a group is suspicious, it doesn’t mean I’m any less qualified or deserving of their endorsement. I will continue to resent the simplistic insinuation that an endorsement indentures me to its giver. That’s my character we’re talking about. I take it seriously.

I met with the BizPac on July 20th. Sitting around the table were Cassie Reese the TyPros chair, Gwendolyn Caldwell, Mike Thornbrugh from QuikTrip, David Page is the chair of the committee, Becky Frank of STF PR and vice-chair, Michael Christian the past TyPros chair, Nick Doctor who used to work as a council aid and is now in government relations for the chamber and then two or three others whose names I don’t remember (sorry, if you’re reading this). These were all very cool folks. They asked great questions, were fun to talk to, and are great Tulsans across the board. Say what you will about the chamber. The people in that room are a great bunch of people.

Here’s part of their e-mail to me regarding format:

Purpose:

Provide the Tulsa Metro Chamber and its stakeholders an opportunity to interview the city council candidates and have discussion on important issues facing the City of Tulsa. 

Structure:

45 minutes total length

5 min – candidate opening statement

30 min – Formal Questions (from TulsaBiz PAC finance committee)

The formal questions will be questions given to all candidates for sake of consistency.  These will be written and pre-approved by the TulsaBiz PAC finance committee members only.

10 min – open discussion

The open discussion period is when members of the audience will have an opportunity to ask a question

And that is, in fact, how it went.

They did ask questions about their 11 point platform. I will include the platform items and a part of their stance and then my stance on them for your viewing pleasure. My comments here will be written as close as I can remember to the way it was communicated to them in the interview. I haven’t changed much in a month.

1. Regionalism

The Tulsa Metro Chamber strongly believes that regional partnerships need to not only be increased, but actively sought after; and that barriers to regional cooperation at both local and state levels should be removed. Our partners in this initiative will be proactively working toward the formation of a regional body in the long-term, and removal of the duplication of services in the short-term.

Regionalism, like some other words that end in “ism,” is great in theory. It’s better in many ways. It’s better and more efficient to share services across the metro area rather than have us all duplicating the same basic services for use by our own municipalities. We have, however, some basic fundamental issues undermining those possibilities, none larger than our funding sources. Simply, as long as our local municipalities are forced to fund themselves primarily with sales-tax revenue, we’re going to be competing with our suburban areas. So, I support regionalism in theory, but I’m aware of the difficulties. I like the efficiencies created by our city-county library system, INCOG, city-county health dept, etc. That doesn’t mean I always like how those agencies work, but I don’t attribute those issues to the fact that they are regional entities. It’s hard to argue that the shared services isn’t more efficient. At the end of the day, Tulsa has to fight for itself. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to compete with our suburban neighbors, but our world isn’t perfect. They’re lean, young, funded, aggressive and appealing. We have to compete for jobs, shopping centers, sales tax revenue, etc. We can work together, but we can’t forget that if we continue to support and accommodate suburban growth at the expense of the city, we’ll suffer in the long run.

2. City Charter

The Tulsa Metro Chamber strongly believes that the City Charter is to be respected, adhered to, and turned to for guidance by Tulsa’s elected officials. Changes to the City Charter, if they are needed, should be done through the formal Charter revision process and include the full consent of Tulsa’s voters. Our partners in this initiative will support the City Charter and its guidelines, adhere to the parameters itestablishes, and seek to alter the Charter only through appropriate means and when significant need is demonstrated.

They shouldn’t have had to put it on their list and we shouldn’t be talking about it at all, but some of our friends at City Hall seem to be confused about the suddenly ambiguous terminology in the charter. Some want to throw better lawyers on the staff to interpret it, while others want to replace the officials it governs. I’m not exactly sure what the root of the problem is, but I’d love to work on solving it. It seems that most of the issues we’ve seen in recent months have been related to different interpretations of the charter, not full-blown disregard of it.

3. Education Issues

Our partners in this initiative will share this passion, and will both support TPS in its current reform efforts as well as seek to find opportunities for collaboration and mutually-beneficial endeavors between the City of Tulsa, Tulsa’s educational organizations, our generous philanthropic community, and the private sector.

No brainer. I support this.

4. Support for “The Next Tulsa Vision Package”

The Tulsa Metro Chamber strongly believes that this is the greatest tool available in moving our region forward. Our partners in this initiative will share this vision, and commit to making every possible effort in ensuring the successful creation, passage, and implementation of the “Next Vision Package.”

Yeah, so I’m not going to pledge my support to any packages, especially hypothetical ones. I think it’s probably  time to start thinking about what comes after Vision 2025, but I’m not ready to make pledges like this. There are plenty of things to worry about ahead of the next vision package, like our comprehensive plan, for example.

5. Neighborhood Associations and Infill Development

The Tulsa Metro Chamber is willing to work toward a model of shared use which accommodates both the need for safe neighborhoods and the preservation of historic areas; while also providing its residents with retail possibilities, increasing walkability, and creating distinct centers of urban density. Our partners in this initiative will share these broad goals, and be willing to work toward developing new standards for infill and urban development that responsibly meets the needs of both homeowners and Tulsa’s development community.

Agree. We have to be thinking about the comp plan first. This is a big issue, especially in Dist. 4.

6. Intermodal Facilities and Transportation

Many of these projects are too large in scale to be managed by any one governmental body or locality. The realization of these goals will require concerted efforts by municipalities, counties, state and federal government, and business organizations. The Tulsa Metro Chamber stands committed to these efforts, and will work to build regional consensus and strategic partnerships in ensuring their completion. Our partners in this initiative will share this commitment, be willing to dedicate resources and/or secure funding, and work with other regional partners to ensure individual projects are strategically implemented.

I agree, to the degree that I know what they’re talking about. I think the Port of Catoosa plays a huge role in the future of our city and that it’s not too early to start thinking bigger than we have been when it comes to transportation of all types in and around the area.

7. River Development

The Tulsa Metro Chamber views this as a top priority for the Tulsa region, and an issue where Tulsa’s citizens demand action. Our partners in this initiative will strongly support a public/private partnership as the vehicle for river development, and will seek any and all means to expedite the acquisition of funding sources, the completion of environmental feasibility studies and design work, and the beginning of physical construction.

I love river development as much as anyone else. I think there are things the city can do to promote river development without a river development tax. I can support a public/private partnership for infrastructure improvements, but I think we should always look first to solving these problems with ways other than tax increases. The city and county can work to create opportunities. If the opportunity is real, a capitalist will capitalize on it. Let’s get creative about using our existing resources to create opportunity for capitalists to do what they do. I’m a businessman. I’m not the only one. We can make the river appealing as a development site without paying for the development. The chamber may be too quick to look to tax-based financing for this type of thing. If the opportunity is there, developers will take it. The city and county have some work to do on the river. If they do it, I trust the private developers to do the rest…Folks who do it for a living are better at development than the city, county, and the chamber put together.

8. Renew the “Fix our streets package”

The Tulsa Metro Chamber firmly believes that our ability to recruit top companies, employers, and talent is directly tied to the state of our infrastructure. Our city’s long- term health also relies upon a well-maintained infrastructure that doesn’t inhibit its residents. Our partners in this initiative will work to immediately begin planning for “Fix Our Streets II,” identifying the next wave of projects and ensuring they both target high- need projects and are equally distributed across Tulsa. They will also recognize the importance of a strong public buy-in and outreach process to ensure voter support, and will keep this focus throughout all stages of development.

Again, I refuse to make pledges to renew anything. That doesn’t mean I won’t, it just means I think it’s crazy to commit to anything right now. The whole thing has to be done in context. What’s the current budget? What are the current priorities? Is there a plan that involves improved public transit to match the increase in density in midtown and downtown? There are tons of questions to ask. Until they’re answered, you won’t catch me making any pledges. Do we need nice, smooth streets? Yes. I’ll work for that.

9. Downtown Revitalization

The Tulsa Metro Chamber and its member businesses are strong proponents of continued downtown revitalization. Our partners in this initiative will recognize the importance of a strong downtown, and will seek creative avenues for continued growth (through both public and private investments).

Um…Yes. As for public investment, there are smart ways to do it.  Tulsa hasn’t always done things the smart way….or the ethical way.

10. Coordinated Efforts on the Convention and Visitors Bureau

The City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Metro Chamber have recently taken important steps to clearly define expectations, establish measureable goals and objectives, and work together to ensure the success of Tulsa’s CVB efforts. The Tulsa Metro Chamber believes that continued coordination between the Chamber and City of Tulsa is crucial, and the existing model represents the strongest configuration for Tulsa’s CVB. Our partners in this initiative will share this vision, and work to strengthen both the City’s and Chamber’s partnership as well as the CVB’s institutional capacity.

I basically said this: “If the chamber and the CVB can operate with total transparency, and will allow strict accountability, and can offer a better service than competitors at a better price, I have no problem at all with the CVB contract. If not, no way.” Having said that, I think our convention and visitors budget is way too low (it’s only $600K more than Muskogee) and that attracting visitors to Tulsa should be a priority. Our downtown has room to grow, both in hotel rooms and retail attractions. Outside of downtown, we have other under-utilized assets, that if capitalized upon, could make Tulsa an incredible tourism destination and a wonderful place for conventions and the like.” I’d start with Rt. 66, for the record. That road  is a huge tourist attraction nationally and while Tulsa has been an important part of that highway’s history, we’re a relatively insignificant part of its present, especially the part that runs through Dist. 4.

11. Diversity and Inclusion

The Tulsa Metro Chamber strongly supports efforts that create an inclusive and diverse community, and work to improve the social and economic climate of our region. We also recognize the importance of self-improvement, and strive to ensure our own organization mirrors these principles. Our partners in this initiative will strongly support public diversity and inclusion initiatives, will stand against policies that further divide our community, and will proactively seek out opportunities to improve these efforts in Tulsa.

I will always be an advocate of this. I’d love to see us celebrating our diversity. I know the unspoken issue here is illegal immigration. Immigration is an issue that states and local municipalities can throw water at, but until it’s solved at the federal level, there’s little that can be done, even by states, and especially by a city. The whole system needs an overhaul, starting at the top. It should be much more difficult to get in to the country illegally and much easier to get in legally. America is great because it is a nation of immigrants. We should continue to be one. Let’s crack down on illegal immigration and improve the path to a legal presence here, be it for temporary work or full blown citizenship. The solution is not short-sighted and ridiculous local laws regarding the language used on local signs. Those types of things do more harm than good.

So, they asked me those types of questions. We had a very nice discussion. I felt like they cared about our city and that they liked that I was blunt and honest. I didn’t pander to them, but I was respectful. We were talking about Tulsa. It’s my favorite topic in the world. We could’ve talked another hour. I had a good time.

I maintain that I’m  the best candidate for them to support. Regardless of my stance on those issues, it only makes sense that the Tulsa Metro Chamber would support a candidate who in his private ventures employs over 100 people, is working to revitalize downtown, and generates over 4 million dollars in annual sales. Furthermore, our current projects will employ another 100 people, will bring downtown’s first grocery market and movie theater, and will add another 8 million in annual sales. I’m also working to grow film-making in Tulsa, an industry that has provided a 3 billion dollar economic impact to Shreveport, Austin, and Albuquerque in the last three years. I may not be the best city council candidate in the history of Tulsa, but I don’t know that there’s ever been a more obvious candidate for the chamber to support. Simply, to not support my candidacy would’ve smelled of conspiracy. It would’ve generated a whole slew of conspiracy theories about behind the scenes influences, and this time I might even be participating. If you’re going to say you’re about job growth, improving downtown, and attracting people to Tulsa, it seems like you should support the candidate who does that best.

I think the process was a good one. I respect the people in that room and believe that they want a better Tulsa. I believe when they chose to support me that they made the right decision. They trusted the big picture and understood that even if I didn’t rubber stamp their 11 items, I would use sound judgment and work for a better Tulsa. I really do believe those things. It may be that the chamber has done shady things in the past and that it has too freely swung around its influence, but it’s crazy to believe that the majority of people affiliated with the chamber are corrupt. I think the opposite is probably true.

Here’s the thing, the chamber also chose to support my opponent. They’ve explained this decision by stating that they like us both and that what they really want is for the incumbent to be beaten, so they’re going to wait until the general election to give the rest of the money to whichever of us wins the primary. Romantic, isn’t it? I think it would’ve shown more leadership to commit to the best candidates. It would’ve communicated to the public that they were really about finding great new leaders, not removing old bad ones. I don’t know if they’re doing it this way because the race is too close to call and they don’t want to alienate a potential winner by backing an opponent, but I can see how people arrive at that conclusion. I don’t know if they think their financial support will translate into a rubber stamping of pro-chamber items, but I suppose I get how people think we can be bought. I don’t know if they just want to be able to say to PAC donors that the candidates they supported all won, but I get how some might say that. I’m not making those allegations. I don’t think those things are true. I do think they could’ve done it better and I’m okay with being on record.

So here’s what I’m going to do. If there’s something that stinks here, I don’t want to be a part of it. It doesn’t full on stink, but it might smell a little funny to some, right? I’m going to accept the $1000 donation and then I’m going to donate $1000 to a local charity. I’d rather not reject it and send it into my opponent’s pocket, so I’m going to accept it and let you decide what local non-profit will benefit from it. I’ll accept your nominations in the comment’s section below and my campaign team and I will decide by the end of the month who gets the $1000 bucks. Let’s let that money make a difference. There are tons of worthy local non-profits. Make your case for one of them.

I don’t mean any disrespect to the chamber and I do not want to appear ungrateful. I’m very grateful. I do appreciate their support, their effort, their volunteers, and their process. I think there are some great people in that organization and if elected, I will be happy to work with them. I’m honored that they chose to support me. I accept their support. I agree with them that I’m a good candidate for Tulsa. Like I said, I think the chamber is mostly made up of people who love our city and are working hard to make it better and I appreciate it.

I apologize for the long post, but frankly, this has been the number one thing I’m asked during this campaign and I wanted to address it. Our suspicious public wants to know my relationship with the chamber. I want to be known for establishing a new standard of openness and honesty in my dealings, both as a businessman and at City Hall. I’ll say it again in summary. I wasn’t recruited by them. That should be obvious. Now you know about my relationship with them, my thoughts regarding their platform, and that even though I have a track record that establishes me as the better candidate in terms of creating jobs, improving our downtown, attracting visitors, growing and attracting new business, and attracting and retaining young professionals, they still split their support in my district primary. I know you’ll come to your own conclusions. I hope that now they are a bit more informed as they relate to the chamber and to me.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this and I’m glad you’re with me in caring about our great city. I ask for your support down the home stretch and welcome any and all questions and conversations. To learn more about me and my campaign, visit www.blakeewing.com. Connect on facebook at facebook.com/blakefortulsa.

If you’d like to talk, please e-mail me at blake@blakeewing.com or call me at 918.991.8252.

Categories: Uncategorized

City council candidate challenges others in race to buy locally

Posted on August 5, 2011

TULSA, Okla.— Tulsa City Council candidate for District 4, Blake Ewing, announced this Friday a challenge to his fellow candidates to spend their campaign dollars from this point on within the city limits.

“I think it’s a little bit silly how much money is raised in these political campaigns,” Ewing said, “and candidates are inundated with offers from companies outside the city for items like yard signs, stickers, banners, and more. I’d like us to serve our city throughout our campaigns and make the money count by at least spending it within the city of Tulsa. I’m making that commitment with my campaign, and I hope my fellow candidates will follow suit. I challenge all Tulsa City Council candidates, myself included, to spend all of our campaign dollars from this point forward within our city.”

According to the campaign finance reports on record with the city, City Council candidates raised more than $400,000 in contributions during the 2009 election.  Ewing, who was also the founder of the Shop Tulsa Task Force in 2010, says he hopes to see that money go back into the city this time around. He adds, “With so many great local businesses in the Tulsa area, it only makes sense to keep that money circulating in our economy.”

The Shop Tulsa initiative was created to raise awareness of the city’s funding sources and of the impact of buying as close to home as possible. Tax revenue from all items bought in Tulsa, including campaign materials such as yard signs and mailers, impacts city services such as police officers, firefighters and lighting the city streets.

City council candidates must submit their second round of campaign finance reports on October 31.

For more information contact Allison Broyles at 918.519.3065 or Allison@theengineroomcreative.com.

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Blake Ewing is a local business owner and republican candidate for City Council District 4. The Blake for Tulsa campaign platform includes five prongs: 1.Provide basic amenities, 2. Promote and improve Tulsa’s unique assets, 3. Attract and retain creative people, 4. Support creative development, 5. Create a vibrant urban core. For more information, visit www.blakeewing.com. 

Categories: Uncategorized

July 13th. And so it begins…

Posted on July 13, 2011

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.

Categories: Uncategorized

Shop Tulsa

Posted on February 9, 2011

This article was published in the Urban Tulsa Weekly last November, right before the relaunch of Shop Tulsa. It’s been a huge success. Local sales tax receipts were higher during the holidays than in years past and I like to think we played at least a small part.

A few months ago, I wrote an article for the Urban Tulsa Weekly about the importance of keeping our money in Tulsa. In the short time since, a number of exciting things have happened towards this effort and I’m thrilled to give a report on the latest and greatest news. Things are looking up and I’m optimistic that as we approach this holiday shopping season, more Tulsans will be a little bit more mindful of their spending and will spend their hard-earned dollars with local merchants (or at least inside our city limits).

Not long after that last article was published, I was honored to be put in charge of a citizens’ task force to assist with the fledgling Shop Tulsa campaign. The city had created the campaign, but without adequate resources to promote it, they acknowledged that it might never achieve the desired impact without some help.
The task force is made up of some of Tulsa’s most incredible people. We’ve got local business owners, some local media folks, some bloggers, some big-time Tulsa advocates, and some of our friends at city hall. This group of people pushed “reset” on the campaign and got to work laying out a new and more focused approach.

We started by defining the purpose of the campaign. Our goal is to educate and inspire Tulsans to be mindful of the effects of their spending and to choose to spend as locally as possible. This means that we hope Tulsans will first target locally owned independent businesses for their shopping needs. When that’s not possible, then the secondary aim is to target businesses of any kind that are located within the city limits of Tulsa. Easy, right?

With the year over year increase in online shopping and rapid growth in the suburbs, Tulsa has suffered through a drain on our sales tax revenue collections, thus causing our local government to have to make tough decisions about which jobs and services lose funding.

Once the goals were defined and a plan put into place, my company, The Engine Room Communications, to execute the plan (Pro Bono, of course. This is truly a grass roots campaign!). Last week, we hosted a press conference for the campaign’s relaunch. City councilors, Maria Barnes, Bill Christiansen, Jack Henderson, and Rick Westcott attended the event, as did Mayor Bartlett and many others. They all expressed their whole-hearted support of the campaign (Yes, they all agreed on something).

I’m optimistic that this campaign can do more than just cause Tulsans to think about where they shop. My hope is that it will help to water the seeds of pride that Tulsa has in herself. We have a city to be excited about, though many Tulsans have a history of failing to recognize the things about which they should be proud. If we can foster a more pronounced awareness and support of our small businesses and their impact on our city, perhaps we can become a place that, over time, becomes known for them. Cities with a strong core of small businesses tend to have some common traits – Their citizens are proud of their city. Their visitors hold it in high esteem, and their economies are strong and growing.

In the months to come, The Engine Room will be creating new events to keep Shop Tulsa in the spotlight. We’ll be looking for continued support from the community and are optimistic that the excitement about the campaign will continue. Our first event was our kickoff event, The Black Friday Party, which was held November 26th at The Blue Dome Diner in downtown Tulsa. The Black Friday Party featured a full line-up of local bands, free food from local restaurants, and nearly $20,000 in prizes and giveaways from local businesses. Local business owners and supporters stepped up and contributed a huge pile of fantastic gifts. Please express your thanks to our sponsors and shop with them often!

Remember when you shop this Valentine’s Day to Shop Tulsa!

Categories: Uncategorized

Stick to What You Know

Posted on October 5, 2010

Another Urban Tulsa Weekly article from a while back…

I have a brother named Tony. He’s a few years younger than I am, but he’s just the right age for a good sibling rivalry.

Growing up, Tony was quite the athlete. He played sports from the time he could walk and was always good at every sport he tried. I can remember few times in his life that he wasn’t the best player on his team.

I was always jealous of his abilities, and the acclaim that they got him. In case you didn’t know, being a good athlete is a great way to get attention. When you’re playing a sport, everyone is watching you. Even when the game is over, they’re talking about you. Throughout the years, I’d tell my parents that I wanted to play a certain sport, and they’d take the opportunity to remind me that I was good at different things, like art.

I think cities are like people. We all have personalities and attributes that make us unique. Some cities are “sports towns,” for example, while others are “arts towns.”

When I think of “arts towns,” I think of places such as Austin, Portland, Seattle, Santa Fe, and I’ll even add in music and food cities such as Memphis, Kansas City and New Orleans.

When I think of “sports towns,” I go a different way. I think Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Boston. Sports and arts and architecture and food and music are things that make a city what it is. Those things, and a city’s feelings about them and history with them, are what distinguish one place from another.

Some cities, like some people, are well aware of their identity and are therefore able to celebrate and promote it. I don’t think it’s important that a city be one thing or another, just that it know what it is.

Cities such as Austin, Texas and Portland, Ore. have become trendy cities in the past few years. They are celebrated for the way they’ve developed their city, their culture and for their generally progressive and artistic ways.

Oklahoma City, conversely, has embraced its “sports town” culture. They built a ballpark downtown, renamed streets after baseball players, and aggressively went after and nabbed an NBA franchise.

It seems to me like Tulsa struggles with its identity sometimes. Are we an arts town? Are we a sports town? Do we celebrate our art deco architecture? Do we embrace our history of music? Just who are we?

The people charged with promoting our city seem to have trouble getting on the same page. It’s like they have different ideas about what we should be, so they keep pushing their own misguided agendas, all the while neglecting the personality that we clearly already have.

I think Tulsa is an arts town. Here are some things that support that claim. We should all be able to agree about these things: We’ve got incredible architecture; we’ve got great museums; we’ve got great cultural areas known for restaurants and local retail; we’ve got large and well-attended arts festivals; we’ve got a hugely successful performing arts center. Our arena is very popular for its music events (not as much for its sports). We have historically significant venues (Cain’s and Brady Theater) that do very well. We have a strong local arts scene that is well supported by those with money and appreciated by the starving artists who make it special.

We have several community theater groups that are full of life and energy. We have a history of national celebrities in both film and in music, we’ve had some important films shot in Tulsa, and until this year, we had a pretty amazing urban music festival.

In Tulsa, we have this opportunity to really define ourselves as an important city for arts, music and film. When a citizenry starts to embrace their personality, like Austin and Oklahoma City have, it helps the public to define the path to progress. If Tulsa is looking for ways to differentiate itself from competing cities, we have the answer. I’ve heard it reported that individuals within our “metro area” chamber have said things like, “Tulsa is not a festival and convention city. We’re into sports and brick-and-mortar business.”

This lack of vision will keep Tulsa on a slower pace to progress. While our neighbors in Oklahoma City have city leadership who are all well aware of their city’s personality and are aggressively moving ahead as a city, Tulsa is at times cursed to fumble around, relying entirely on entrepreneurial private citizens to inspire the public.

A Tulsan named Jason Connell started the Tulsa United Film Festival several years ago. He’s since moved on to L.A. where he now makes films and puts on a series of film festivals across the world from San Francisco to New York to London.

Connell still puts on his festival in Tulsa, by far the smallest of the host cities. The festival will be July 29-Aug. 1 at the Circle Cinema. Connell believes in Tulsa and in the potential we have to be an important city for filmmaking.

Tulsa native, Marshall Bell will be honored at the festival. Marshall recently starred in The Rock and Roll Dreams of Duncan Christopher, a full-length motion picture set to make its Tulsa debut at the festival. Duncan Christopher was written and directed by Tulsans, starring Tulsans and filmed in Tulsa.

This festival is an important thing for Tulsa in a number of ways. I invite you to join me in celebrating Tulsa by celebrating Tulsa film. (Check out more on the Tulsa United Film Festival on Page 39.)

The Tulsa United Film Festival is just one of the exciting pieces of a dynamic local arts scene. Continued support of events like this will do two important things for Tulsa: It will show our city’s “promoters” that the arts is their ticket, and it will help these already special things to grow, which feeds the cycle.

Tony and I grew up. He continued to be the athlete and even played soccer in college. While I tried my hand at sports and even enjoyed playing, I eventually embraced my identity and developed the artist inside of me, and I now get to create for a living. One’s not better than the other, but it was important for me and my process of growing up to become comfortable with who I was.

Check out a fantastic locally owned movie theater in The Circle Cinema, one of the best films to ever come out of Oklahoma in The Rock & Roll Dreams of Duncan Christopher, and Tulsa’s most notable film festival, the Tulsa United Film Festival.

Categories: Uncategorized

A Bigger Small Business

Posted on October 5, 2010

I wrote this for the Urban Tulsa a few months back. Decided it should be on the blog.

My primary business is the restaurant business. I spend a good part of my day dealing with the work of preparing food and serving it to people. Although I don’t make as many pizzas these days as I once did, I still spend a good amount of energy trying to figure out how to creatively better our business and its financial situation. It’s what small business owners do. We work hard to grow and improve our businesses, so we can make more money.
It doesn’t sound complicated, right? Offer something that the public needs and wants, and then let them know that you’ve got it and then give it to them in a way that they like.

It’s essentially what every business in the world is doing, and when times get tough for us, there are two major things we can do to address a difficult financial situation.

We can sit down in our offices, crunch numbers, call vendors, and figure out ways to cut costs. Not a bad idea. Cutting costs definitely has its place as long as you’re not compromising your product or your service.

The other part of the process is to evaluate our operation, improve where we can and promote our product better. You see, driving up sales and getting more customers fixes a money problem much faster than saving a few bucks on pepperoni.

The best way, after all, to deal with a money problem is to make more of it.

Watching how our city leaders have historically dealt with Tulsa’s budget problems, I’m often left scratching my head. They seem to spend lots of time figuring out ways to save money (often with seemingly little regard to the damage those cuts do to the standard of service they provide), but little to no time working to generate new revenue. Maybe I shouldn’t compare running a city to running a restaurant, but I can’t help it.

The city is not too different from a small business. In Tulsa, it’s even more like a business than in other cities as our primary funding source for the city is sales tax revenue. It’s quite simple. The more money people spend in Tulsa, the more money our local government gets. The more money they get, the better equipped they are to provide services.

During last year’s mayoral race, one of the questions I heard asked repeatedly was one about changing our city’s revenue source to be more diverse. The candidates tended to reply in favor of diversifying our revenue base. I get it. Property tax and other taxes are more predictable. They’re less affected by large swings in the economy. A diverse tax base allows government to better budget for the future.

What I think proponents of that change (which is not going to happen any time soon as it will have to come from the state), fail to embrace is the opportunity that our current funding source creates. The ceiling is much higher with sales tax than with property tax.

What I mean is, if lots of people are spending lots of money in Tulsa, we’ll have more money than we have things to spend it on. While we’re currently subject to large “down swings,” that has to also mean that we’re capable of large revenue gains during the “up swings.”

If our leaders were running the city more like a business, they’d see the opportunity. Understand, they’d still have to be smart and learn to set some money aside during the prosperous times to cover costs in the slow times, but surely they can handle that. Yeah?

If people from around the metro area were spending more money in Tulsa and less online and in other cities, we’d have significantly more sales tax revenue with which to operate. These tough times should be forcing us to be creative. Instead, our leadership is working diligently to figure out how to cut costs. That’s cool. It’s necessary. It’s a part of dealing with tough times. The failure is in failing to do the second part. Where is the campaign to promote shopping locally?

I’ll tell you where it is. It exists.

Did you know it exists? It’s called Shop Tulsa. Right now, our city council is running a program designed to educate Tulsans about the benefits of shopping locally. As you can imagine, they don’t have much budget for it and resources are limited, but the idea is there and it’s a good one.

Some of our councillors and council staff came together to help create Shop Tulsa. I love it. I love that in the midst of the bickering and negativity we’ve read about at city hall lately, there’s a glimmer of hope.

Shop Tulsa, at the very least, has the right intentions. Let’s be positive. Let’s promote what Tulsa has to offer that’s special and unique, its local businesses. Let’s give Tulsans a simple, memorable reminder of what they can do to help solve this problem.

When you patronize a local restaurant, more of your dollar stays in Tulsa. At Joe Momma’s, for example, we don’t send any money off to our corporate office in Scottsdale. Our profits go to Tulsans who then turn around and spend their money in Tulsa, thus perpetuating the cycle of local sales tax revenue and a stronger local economy.

If those running the city throughout the past several years would have spent the same energy promoting local spending and attracting out-of-town visitors as they do on the other aspects of running the city, I’m confident that we wouldn’t be in our current situation. It starts with revenue.

I maintain that many Tulsans just haven’t thought about the importance of shopping locally. How many Tulsans drive across the river to Jenks to spend money? How many are shopping in Bixby or Broken Arrow? How many Tulsans haven’t eaten in a local restaurant in months, but frequent the 71st Street chains on a weekly basis? We can change the culture of our city. We can be a city that prefers local business.

We can be a city that attracts visitors from other cities. We can be a city that attracts conventions. The positive effects of having a large and successful base of locally owned businesses are significant. See Austin, Portland or Denver. The cities that we’re constantly looking at as the ones that set the standard for a successful and thriving 21st Century American city all have one thing in common. Their citizens are proud of their hometown and its unique local businesses.

Joe Momma’s is two blocks from city hall and I swear, I can feel the stress oozing out of that building. Few things are more stressful than a bad economy. I’ve been in the restaurant business for years, and things weren’t always as good as they are these days. I know what it’s like to sit in the office looking at the numbers wondering how to make ends meet. I can’t help but think that the lessons I’ve learned in my business apply to our city’s troubles, just on a much different scale.

We’ve (Tulsa) got to get out there and promote the business. We’ve got to attract visitors and increase spending locally. We can solve this problem with creativity and enthusiasm better than we can with drastic measure cost cutting and political bickering.

My encouragement to you all is very simple: Follow the lead of our city council in this instance. I won’t ask you to make major changes to the way you live your life. Go out to eat, just do it in town with a local restaurant. Shop like crazy, just try a local boutique. The best thing you can do to help build a better future for our city is easy. Shop Tulsa.

For more information about the Shop Tulsa program visit shoptulsa.org or call the city council office at 596-1990.

Categories: Uncategorized
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