You Decide 2024: Tulsa mayoral candidate Karen Keith speaks with FOX23 ahead of November runoff

continuing our UD tode coverage this morning we are talking with the two Tulsa mayoral candidates headed now to a runoff we told you Karen Keith and Monroe Nichols will be back on the ballot in November because neither one received 50% of the vote last night joining me live in studio now is Karen Keith thank you so much for being here thank you it's nice to be here first thing in the morning yeah after a late night so we appreciate it were you surprised by how close the race was well I think you saw three three teams working very hard and you know it was it was a third a third a third and um and it everybody kind of surged there at the last and I was kind of the punching bag from both sides uh but we're ready to move forward and be positive and really talk all all the great things about Tulsa when did you decide you wanted to run for mayor um well you know it it been something in the back of my mind forever and when GT decided he wasn't running I had a lot of the development Community coming to me to say we there are some things that need to be fixed and I think it's something that I'm uniquely positioned uh to do and I'm excited about working you know with our amazing employees that are at City Hall but to make uh a better permitting process so that developers can get affordable housing out of the ground and that missing middle housing that's so important because you have to when you lean into some of our issues with the homeless that's part of the problem and so we've got to fix that uh just takes too long costs too much money so some of the stuff isn't even affordable anymore so we're really leaning into that have uh an incredible group of individuals who are going to help uh with ideas and and ways for us to fix it would you say that's your top priority development it is my top priority because it leans into the homeless issues and certainly I I know a lot about that we have a family shelter at Tulsa County you know I've worked with the day center for the homelessness Salvation Army John 3:16 all of these groups I know them all well I've done the point in time count so I'm well aware of a lot of the issues and as a county we've invested more in that point in time count because we understood there were people not really being counted that were behind the levies so we're you know we've been leaning into that war and you know we've got a big announcement uh for our family shelter uh expanding uh services for healthcare that we're pretty pumped about so so can you tell us more about that do you want to hear more about at this well it's about to be released so oh well first here on Fox but yeah we uh Good Samaritan is coming in to our facility and we're really excited that they will bring their services to our population in West HSA where we also have this amazing Pharmacy that has been replicated around the world because we take meds we recycle the meds and make them available to those who need them and can't afford them it is a complex issue would you say that that's the biggest challenge that our city is facing I I I think it's it's a it's hugely important that we address that but we also have to stay on top of Economic Development what is next for this city um and those are things that I also love to work on I mean I when I went to work for Bill of Fortune I left broadcast because I was concerned that our downtown was dead and there was a group of us who went to Oklahoma City how did you do maps we talked with mayor noric and then when I came back and there was an opening with uh Mayor Bill of Fortune I beg for the job I got it and I was able to work and you've seen the transformation in downtown Tulsa and but also in Broken Arrow also in Jinx and aaso everywhere and that's because we invested in ourselves so what's the next great thing you know for the Tulsa region and I I want to be a part of helping make that happen as well so those are just things I love and I think you know I'm kind of uniquely positioned in terms of collaboration bringing everybody together certainly with my uh colleagues at the county I'll be it'll be wonderful to uh work with them and with our regional partners because as chair of incog the last six years that's what I do and so I think there's it'll be a it'll just be such a joy to uh work as mayor for this city and and mayor bham has done a lot of great things and he's left you know he's left a good footprint for who comes next why should voters Choose You what makes you different from I think I am uniquely positioned because I'm about collaboration I'm not partisan you know I'm not on the left I'm not on the right I like to get the work done and I going to tell you potholes don't care whether you are a republican a Democrat or an independent we just need to fix those and and I think that's what I bring to the table is that I know how to bring people together and get the job done Karen Keith thank you again for being here again Karen Keith and Monroe Nichols head to a runoff election that will be held on November 5th