Tulsa Mayoral Candidate Town Hall

e e e e or a place to stand wrap up those conversations it's 7 o'cl good evening everyone thank you for being here tonight for this mayoral candidate Town Hall that is being brought to you by the Riverview neighborhood association the Maple Ridge neighborhood association and Mogi media uh before I introduce the candidates I do want to take a moment to uh give some gratitude to our host tonight um Donnie Rich over here serving you up at the bar Mr Steve Liddell the owners of this fine establishment I can't say enough about these guys um they hosted uh Riverview neighborhoods um block party this past summer and they charged us exactly zero dollars um they're hosting this tonight they Char us exactly zero dollars um and they are they are folks that um believe in uh in in community coming together and they're they're assisting in that effort and I just want to say thank you to Donnie to Steve and to Shrine and uh Jeremiah back here on the sound thank you so much guys I want to say a word about our presenting sponsors um this uh you're sitting in the neighborhood just barely that's known as Riverview neighborhood and just to the east of this on at the Midland Valley Trail it becomes Maple Ridge and to then to down to the South is all Maple Ridge um and we are two neighborhoods that are uniquely positioned in Tulsa just right outside of downtown and we have um issues that are unique to our our neighborhoods and we wanted to kind of come together to to present to to you these candidates um for mayor uh because our our issues and the things that we deal with in this little pocket of Tulsa might be different than other parts of Tulsa and so all the questions that we have for the candidates tonight have been brought to to them by the neighbors um within Riverview and um Mapleridge with the exception of the other presenting partner which is Mogi media and I'm super honored and proud to have Mogi media that is right now presenting this live online um Mogi media is the Independent Media outlet that covers uh Mogi Creek Nation uh this land that we are on right now is is a creek allotment um and I came into relationship with Mogi media through some work that Riverview neighborh Association has been doing to try to preserve and protect and promote the creek Council Oak Tree and so I thought it was only fitting um as we're sitting on a creek alotment this this land with dreamkeepers park within our purview and um the the oak tree um that they would be the presenting media sponsor for tonight so we're super thrilled to have Mogi media here tonight as well well let me uh let me introdu the way this the evening is going to go I'm going to introduce the candidates they're going to give an opening statement and then we're going to have three rounds of questions presented by each of those presenting sponsors tonight Mr Kevin rice who's the president of the Maple Ridge Association will begin with questions that have been gathered from his um organization then Mr Braden Park Parker uh Bren Harper I'm so sorry Braden um we'll be uh giving 20 minutes of SE of questions from Mogi media Braden is the managing editor of Mogi media and then I'll come back up and give the last 20 minutes of questions concerning Riverview neighborhood association so let me introduce our candidates tonight welcome thank you so much for being here thanks for taking the time to come and interact with us and um and share with your with us your vision for Tulsa um I want to introduce first Mr Jamie Fowler over here all the way to my far left Jamie is a homegrown tulson Born and Raised by two Tulsa Public School Educators he graduated from Memorial High and went on to receive his bachelor's in finance and later earned prestigious accolades from the Wharton School of finance and Harvard Jaimie has built a successful 35-year career in the private sector gaining invaluable invaluable business experience solving complex challenges and creating jobs he is currently serving a second term as Tulsa City councelor from District 9 welcome Mr Jamie [Applause] fer here closest to me we have miss Karen Keith Karen is an experienced public servant who has served as Tulsa County Commissioner since 2008 she also served as a director of community relations and vision implementation for Tulsa Mayor Bill lefor Fortune playing a pivotal role in advancing and executing Tulsa's transformative Vision 2025 projects before her public service work Karen was an anchor reporting and exe uh reporter and exe executive producer and host of Oklahoma living a graduate of Oklahoma State University Karen is married to Patrick Malloy the couple count among their family Gala terova good job a former exchange student and her daughter Somaya who live in the Netherlands I did practice that that was good thank you miss Karen Keith and lastly we have Mr Monroe Nichols Monroe's family has a history of Public Service his grandfather was a pastor his father served as a police officer and his mother spent her career as a criminal justice and higher education professional Monroe played football at the University of Tulsa while studying political science and economics he later earned a master's degree in public Administration from the University of Oklahoma in 2014 Monroe confounded co-founded a nonprofit called impact Tulsa focused on helping students in the Tulsa area he also served on the Tulsa Technology Center Board of Education in 2016 he made history as the first African-American elected to the house district 72 in the OK Oklahoma State House of Representatives currently Monroe serves as the Director of policy and Partnerships for strive to strive together a national nonprofit working to eliminate disparities and improve outcomes for vulnerable Children and Families across communities Mr Monro [Applause] Nichols so candidates I'm going to give you some time um here to introduce yourselves we'll give you three minutes each to give an opening statement um this evening is uh particularly awkward for me because I have uh three children back home who um are really confused about what is going on here tonight because a year and a half ago I was elected the president of the Riverview neighborhood association and uh in their young minds they just think I'm like the ruler of the world and I told them I was going to come uh moderate a mayoral town hall and they said aren't you the mayor and I said well I I I I am and I'll make sure to keep them in line while I'm here so that's kind of my job tonight and these other moderators that will be up here uh we we have some set questions that we've already given to the candidates um but we we do want to kind of keep things in line and keep things moving because we'd like to get through all the the topics that we have chosen for tonight so um I will introduce or let them give their opening statements then I'll give just a few guidelines and we'll hand it over to our first um moderator for the evening so let me start with Mr Jamie F well Chris thank you and uh ladies and gentlemen a good evening and thank you for having us and uh Mogi Creek Nation thank you for uh for working on the the t uh The Telecast it's really interesting so I got here a little early and uh I think the gentleman behind the bar Dawn yeah he said no this is not the place it's it's moved it's gone somewhere else so uh and then Chris says you know you have some opening comments I go well great so here we go uh a little bit about myself and why uh number one is this is uh native to the city uh born and raised um I just dearly and deeply love this city and I've I've been blessed and so many people down through the years have helped me and uh the one thing I want to do is just just literally give back to the city have a Abiding Love for the city uh my mom and dad were uh Public School teachers they were uh public servants uh they instilled in me and my brother uh a servant's heart uh to love everyone and to make the world a better place um I left in the oil bust in uh in late '84 and came back in 2007 uh I've worked uh in Majors major Wall Street firms out of St San Diego Los Angeles New York and Houston uh I've lived in Charlotte Atlanta Dallas Birmingham got back here in 2007 um we've rebuilt the core of the city uh over the last Dozen Years and that's really really important um I think for the next as we go forward on the Arizon is that we really need to start growing the city and um you know we read about cities each and every day I think that we need to do it the Tulsa way I think we need to do it in a very prudent and thoughtful and responsible way as opposed to just simply unchecked unbridled growth and uh I think Tulsa's best chapters have yet to be written so really excited to be here tonight and thank you all for having [Applause] [Music] me thank you J next we hear from Mr Nicholas great well thank you so much I really appreciate the riview neighborhood association Mogi media uh the Maple Ridge neighborhood association for putting on putting this uh event on it's very exciting to be here um I do want to introduce before I go there's my bio there was a lot about my family and my mother is here somewhere I'm not exactly sure oh she's way in the back actually it's yeah okay there she is my mom [Applause] yeah my my mother and I'm just going to take a couple minutes because I do appreciate her so much and I'm glad she's here um she is the reason that I'm up here but she also plays an important role in life of this community she runs the workforce programs at tuls Community College which includes the prison education program working every day to give people a second chance and so I really appreciate her contributions to this community and it is that example uh that that brought me into public service uh you know I feel like um ever since the ever since I've been in this community coming as a college student in 2002 I've represented Tulsa in some way shape or form uh I had Tulsa on my chest as a football player I walked out of there walked right into City Hall working for Kathy Taylor working for the City of Tulsa I left there and worked as chief of staff at U Tulsa um then spent some time at the Tulsa chamber uh and found it impact tulson serving on the tulson tech board so so everything about the life of the city has been what I've DED dedicated my career to in public service and the name Tulsa has been there every single step of the way I represent this community right now in this Oklahoma State Legislature and I'm ready to bring the experience of all those things that we've done together uh together we created 18 after school programs when I was at City Hall together we began the work of cutting the life expectancy Gap when I was at OU together we worked to create jobs at the at the chamber improve student outcomes at impact Tulsa and I'm ready to bring all that to City Hall I think I think this is a critical election one of the more important ones we had in a long time and it's it's so important that we are honest about the challenges that we have in this community we fully meet them because that is the way that we capitalize on all the amazing opportunities that await this community I'm looking forward to the conversation tonight and how we get there and I hope by the time this this this meeting is over uh that we can start to align around a vision for the city that puts Tulsa Second To None across the country thank you all for being here look forward to tonight and lastly miss Karen Keith thank you first of all thank you all so much for coming out because it is citizen groups like this that help inform all of us and what we need to do moving forward um and I absolutely love this city and I love that the Creek Nation is here today as we stand on the old reservation property and and I am so grateful to the Mogi Nation for all that they have done and are doing for this state so thank you all so much for being here a little bit about me yes I worked in broadcast for 26 years but that seems like a long time ago uh but it was an absolutely wonderful experience I got to travel all over the world and I was just talking to a woman who said hey have you ever been on a ride along with the police I said yes last week and it was a great experience she said were you scared I said no I've been in the Gaza Strip in the West Bank and I've been I've been all over Russia in the Comey region and I've been around so I've been around the block a bit but um I'll tell you what I have enjoyed so much in every single job that I've ever had and working for mayor Le Fortune I left broadcast to come and work for mayor of Fortune because I was concerned about what our downtown wasn't if you all remember when we did Vision 2025 I mean the streets were rolled up at 5:00 period and it was an honor to work with the community what do we want to do what do we want to invest in and I think all of us know that following Vision 20125 our downtowns came back to life we invested in ourselves and we dramatically changed the trajectory of all the communities in Tulsa County and I'm so proud that I got to work on that I mean we spoke to every single group if you were standing on the corner we were talking to you about why this thing needed a pass so every Rotary Club every Kanas you name it but it was a wonderful experience but what is fantastic is now 20 years later to look back and see where how far we've come but there's more obviously that we need to do and there are some topics that we'll be talking about tonight and I think we've all got some ideas on on how we can continue to move this forward but I can tell you this this job is not a stepping stone for me um this I've been 16 years at Tulsa County and I know there are things that really do need to be fixed for Tulsa County and I think I can put all of my experience working with other people collaborating across party lines to work for this city and that's what exactly what I want to do thank you all so much for being here thank you commissioner [Applause] Keith well as the candidates were doing their introductions they got a little taste of the uh of Miss Caris retherford down here at front she's our placard um she's my she's our Vanna White for the night is what I um gave her the title of and so when we give uh when you give your responses to the question the candidates will each have 90 seconds to answer the question and Caris and Lauren down here will be holding up um you're getting close you're really close you're done um little placards um and the moderators that will be leading through the the questions we'll we'll try to move that along so candidates I ask that you um limit your responses to 90 seconds to each question that's asked I would also ask that you would direct your responses uh to the audience that is gathered here to to hear from you tonight and not to each other um I think something that as we collaborated together that was important to us was this is an environment where we can openly discuss ideas and not get into a position of uh adversarial debate um that uh is just is not the fill we wanted to to have tonight so I would ask that you direct your responses to the audience that has taking the time out to to come hear from you uh particularly on these issues so the first uh moderator I want to Welcome to the stage tonight is Mr Kevin rice Kev Kevin is the president of the Maple Ridge Association and he will have 20 minutes to ask four different questions to these candidates this this is Kevin [Applause] rice thank you Chris I appreciate it so I had very little uh to do with putting the together I want to give a lot of credit to Chris um I think he was primarily responsible also John spillard from our neighborhood um he's recently relocated to Tulsa from Austin um and he had a lot to do with this as well so thank you John um I also want to thank Donnie and steo for hosting this at The Shrine um this is a great great place in in our city um real quick my name is Kevin rice I am the President of the uh Maple Ridge Neighborhood Association I a native Tolson um I left after high school went to Tennessee um moved to New York and back to Tennessee to North Carolina and my wife and I relocated back here in 2013 and about three months after that I got involved with our neighborhood and I've been involved since and been the president through uh I don't know if you guys remember Co I was involved I started right before covid so that was fun um but I love our neighborhood I love the the City of Tulsa and I love connecting people to Tulsa so I've been a lot of places lived a lot of places but nothing compared to this city also want to thank these candidates thank you for taking on um well first of all thank you for all your public service to this point um and and thank you for trying to take on this role of this great of our great city um I know it's not easy it's not going to be easy but all you guys seem very capable and I am going to try and hold you guys to the time but I have a great helper here to to help me with that um so without further Ado I'll go ahead and get started here with our questions um the first one is what do you as candidates feel are the best ways to address the widespread population of unhoused persons Beyond nonprofit work how can the city get involved and what can be done to protect citizens and businesses while respecting while respecting the Dignity of those who are un house and I will go ahead and start my far person here Mr Jamie Fowler Okay Kevin thanks U you know there was a lot there's a lot of questions in there uh so number one is this uh setting aside the work as far as the nonprofits mental health is a a big big component uh of driving uh I think uh the unhoused forward and and and really re rehabbing the city um we're making some really really big strides in mental health uh this year we're going to BR bringing on lauad at St Francis uh Grand Lake mental health uh OSU Tulsa the VA across the street from OSU Tulsa uh Indian Health a huge huge dir of of Mental Health Services we're going to bring start to bring those folks off the street I think that's very very important um as far as our Public Safety uh really I I'd like to see and we are seeing uh CRT teams uh paramedics police officers and mental health uh we we really want to beef those up even more and and really kind of start to transform and reshape what uh what a police force looks like as we go forward and then um um probably the last thing is this is that you really want to make sure the SI the city looks clean it's crisp and one of the things that we're working working hard and we want to continue to do is clean up the graffiti as we uh as we go forward and U make sure that the trash is really picked up and it's very very clean thank you um we'll just move closer towards me for this first question so um Mr Nichols will you take take it from here sure absolutely it's a great question I appreciate the question you know I I I think there's times we have this perception about the community that's not always backed up by data but this is one of those times where that isn't true um um you know don't have to tell you this but you know that homelessness has gotten worse by about 88.6% since 2021 and that family homelessness in particular has grown by 34% since 2020 um you know when we talk about education 900 kids at TPS alone are homeless today and a thousand of them are in families facing eviction uh so it impacts every aspect of life in this community and there was an outside poll done that said that 85% of tulson don't believe that local government can meet this Challenge and so we're ALS Al we're also facing a challenge in which we've lost the faith of people out there in the community it is for that reason back in February um I released a strategy on how we get to a place where we end homelessness As We Know It uh really by focusing on five things one appointing a senior adviser to the mayor to lead a city-wide strategy uh and an inter agency Council on homelessness two is the investment in Data Systems Outreach workers and case conferencing so we can not only make sure um you know that we know homeless is a problem but we understand the each and individual need of those folks facing it and make sure we can meet those needs the third thing is aligning our community Investments uh councel Fowler talked about a lot of them in mental health substance abuse and respit Care uh to address those underlying health issues of those out on the streets obviously we got to invest in our housing stock uh may have a long-term commitment to a low barrier shelter and create a flexible funding account to make sure we can meet the needs of providers and those who are homelessness the bottom line is the plan that we put out there will make homelessness rare brief and nonre occurring and end in it as we know it thank you and I I just want to say that um we're running on a tight schedule here um but you first the first two candidates have done a great job of sticking to that so thank you um and I I really appreciate that and I know it's tough to get what you want to say out in the time we've given you so um with that being said um Miss Keith can you uh uh answer the first question yes I think I think we all agree that absolutely no one should call our streets home but we are faced with what we are faced with at this point and I believe there's kind of a three-prong approach that we can take to helping solve this and that is cutting the red tape for developers who are working to build affordable housing and missing middle housing it's not easy to get this work done through the city there are all sorts of barriers that come up and slow the work down make it more expensive that has to be fixed that's something the city can do and I will have somebody appointed to help me work through that uh because we've got to tackle that uh number two the mental health care getting everybody working from the same page and today I got to go through uh parksite and see the work that they're doing and I'm so appreciative of it because you know I'm I help get the juvenile facility out of the ground and they are now helping with some of our juveniles that have issues we simply didn't have enough care for juveniles you got Grand mental health who's working now and they actually have a van that if you call them they will come down if somebody's in psychosis on the street and pick them up and they know how to deal with them uh and they been it's really working I'm so excited about that but lots and Jamie kind of pointed out some of the other mental health groups that are coming online we get the new VA hospital and the mental health hospital those things are all going to play into this and help so we need to work with those mental health agencies as a city uh and kind of keep everybody working together and then law enforcement let's support our law enforcement and we've got teams now that are working with mental health providers on the streets so there's really some good things happening what don't give up I mean I really think we're on a trajectory to make this work so we'll get it done thank you we will talk a little bit more uh in two questions about U mental health um but thank you for trying to stick to that that time um we'll go ahead and move to the next question and we'll start with you if that's okay um part uh our roads are in bad shape and seemingly always under construction what are some innovative solutions to fix our crumbling streets in the short term and long term well this is a doozy um when we come down poror we go that's a third world street because it's so bad in certain points but we need to get the industry experts together with our street department and try to come up with the most innovative ways that we can to get our street work done and I will tell you it's a similar issue with housing there are problems trying to get the work done we pay the contractors we're very slow to pay them nobody wants to bid to do our street work and what does that mean for us it means that we have fewer people bidding that means that the projects are costing more so anyway those are some things that have to be worked out and again I'm going to have somebody who is hyperfocused on this issue to help us bring these streets in line and over the over time what we did was we built new things but we didn't maintain the old and that's how come we've gotten in this shape a lot of money has been p over time to help bring our streets back up to snuff but it it it's going to be a process and I'd like to say you could just fix it magically overnight but we do have to do everything that we can to make the processes easier and more efficient to get the work done we can't have these contractors uh work say they come upon a problem they have to email in order to get an idea of how they can move on because they found a an errant pip uh 75 days to wait on an answer so we have to do things better and I plan to work on that thank you all right um real quick I I apologize this is no sign of disrespect but I'm a firstname type of person so if you guys don't mind for the for for the future of this next 10 minutes if I could use your first name Monroe can you move on to the your answer to that second question oh Monroe move on yes uh well no thank you for that I mean I I think you know we we have a obviously a process Improvement issue at the city that needs to be cleaned up uh you know I've served on the house Transportation committee for a couple years back when I was in the mayor's office we passed a $450 million streets program and uh the thing that we always told people remember is when you're frustrated in traffic remember the cone is actually a job so remember that just as to help you out maybe a little bit but I do think that there's a couple things like I'm I'm not going to come up here and promise you the world but I can promise you three things one is to have complete transparency on projects I know those projects not only are they a challenge for traffic but if you got a business or something like that having that torn up in front of you impacts your business and so having full access to real-time information on a project that's right out in front of you impacting your commuter impact impacct your business timeline the contract of the cost who to contact at the city if you need uh information on that project there one one immediate step we can take and do it all by QR code so you don't have to go to www. City of tulso back all the things right uh so so transparency on those projects some new internal processes so when we rip a street up making sure that everybody who has an interest in what's underneath that street uh is at the table so make sure we don't have to rip some up and rip it up again uh and then the first 100 days in office we'll spend some time really evaluating the public works department and coming up with uh the things that we have to do over the long call to make sure that department works well so I'll say with my last 15 seconds in the short term can certainly promise transparency in the medium term we promise process Improvement in the long term I can promise we'll be more efficient the city money and make sure we have a better project out there on the roads awesome thank you Jamie well I I've visited with a lot of small contractors uh over the last say three years and really got to know them and understand some of the issues and some of the concerns I have and then listening with constituents also and um there's a a lot of moving pieces to uh to to fixing the streets but sometimes every once in a while there's just simply literally a small detail and I'll kind of walk you through one of those small details that is a big big uh Quantum issue is that on every street project there's what we call a 5% hold back on the U on on the value of the project so if something is not right there's this 5% holdback so if you're a small business contractor and you're being assessed this 5% holdback then you know what uh you're not going to bid on it and you also have to do what we call a shity bond and that's standard in the industry so what happens with this 5% hold back is that small business contractors um just simply will no longer bid on Street business so here's what happens and this is very important to use as far as the taxpayers so if there's less less bidding there's less competition if there's less competition the the price the cost of the project just goes up and that really really eats into uh to the city's budget and the taxpayer dollars so the first thing I want to do is very easy just simply eliminate the 5% hold back it's that simple so there you go Kevin thank you thank you appreciate it okay um we've got I've got two more questions in about uh eight minutes so you guys are doing great on time um the the next question and if you guys don't mind I'll I'll go ahead and start with Monroe because he hadn't started with one yet um uh it's partisanship seems to be on the rise while mental health is declining how do you plan to unite our city and improve the mental health of its citizens yeah thank you for that question I'll say this is a point where I would commend mayor bham for appointing a mental health director at the city I think that's a great step uh great step for the city but there's no doubt and we'll see a lot of it this year I don't think so in this campaign we'll see lot in this year where uh we see the ugliness associated with uh really our Civic public life and I remember there was this guy named Eric Lou who worked in the Clinton administrational bomb Administration he said the number one question we got to ask ourselves in a civilized society is how we're going to live together and so I do think the mayor's role is one of unity but I think it's also reminding us of who we are the greatness of this community the Oil Capital world the center of black wealth what we are now in the context of being the largest city uh on Indian Reservation and although all those stories come with the booms came with the bust the the center black wealth came with the massacre uh we still are working to make sure we do right in standing for tribal sovereignty but when we think about who we've been the people have come through here this city has an amazing story to tell and I think talking about you know how we begin to tackle the challenges we we are going to be going over tonight and getting people to believe that we can do it is one good way the other thing most more specifically about mental health if you look at the data Tulsa's local data there's direct impact on mental health and Economic Opportunity uh lower income folks in this community are twice as more likely to have 14 or more days bad mental health days right and so the work that we have to do to close the economic Gap in this community is actually going to lift us up from from a mental health standpoint and so we may say oh there's not a whole lot we can do about that that's not true the day doesn't say it's true and we know it's not true so I think remind us of who we are and then meeting those challenges that we have out in front of us is the best way that we can work through what is partnership across this country and show people people who Tulsa truly is thank [Applause] you Karen so I think again I believe there is hope on the horizon and one thing you have to be assured of is that on the local level you don't have as much partisanship as you see even at the state and certainly at the national level so we are we are blessed in that respect that here locally we know that you know problems with our streets are not red or blue problems mental health issues are not red or blue problems um so all of these things can be addressed if we are working together and having citizens come together like you're here tonight is one way that we begin to tackle some of these issues um and I just I you know I know how to work with people to try and get these things done I'm so grateful the Senate recently uh gave me an additional of appropriated $50 million to help finish the levies I got 137 million from the federal government so I'm excited that the state is pitching in to help but I know how to work with other people work across party lines because that's what I do and that's what we have to do in local government and that's how you get things done we have a great group of City counselors but it's imperative that the mayor work with those City councilors if you want to get anything done so um I think when you see your local government working well together you're going to feel better about government in general but just look to local government to feel better about how things are going because it is better than state or national thank you so much thank you Jamie Kevin thanks uh you know the city needs really Common Sense policies that Foster a safe place for small businesses for for families safe neighborhoods and vibrant Parks all those things add up to uh a a real big positive uh Karen talked about uh the the lack of uh of ranker and and just this bitterness uh as far as the the politic here at the local level and I I really want to Echo that and uh one of the great things is this is that um you know we've really gotten to know Karen and Monroe and myself we've really gotten to know number one you all but also uh I had a great time visiting with Monroe uh after a few days after our last uh Gathering and we really uh kind of shared some of our experiences uh you know he worked he works in at the legislator as a minority and he really got to know the other people on the other side of the aisle he figured out you know what these people have a lot of the shared issues concerning concs and common experiences that that we do and I can say that also is that um you know when you work down at City Hall you find out that it's not US versus them but you know what um it we're all working together and we've all got a lot of a lot more commonality than uh than differences and uh I think that's very important the last thing I'll mention is uh Echo what Karen says is that it's great to have a director of mental health right in through there so I'll turn it back over thank you okay um we got one more question here and this one is it's a softball but it's also a really fun one hopefully you guys can uh um uh kind of encapsulate why you love Tulsa and so I'll start back with you Jamie if that's okay just because there's only three of you if there was a fourth thatd start here uh so it's describe your perfect day in Tulsa so you know what it's it's really a Sunday is a fun day and uh so the first thing I do at 4:30 a.m. is uh uh my dog why we've we Sandy and I my wife we've got two dogs uh bo my golden doodle will bang on the side of the bed he said it's time to get up so I go I go downstairs I let I let B out and I fire up the coffee pot and uh he comes in and I'll give him his his three his three biscuits uh you know what and we'll kind of progress through the the morning and we get ready for church s and I and we attend a little church uh 56 in Harvard Harvard Avenue uh Avenue uh Christian Church great great church uh sa and I serve as deacons there at the church and we' love to greet everybody uh after church launch at the Blue Moon Cafe harly if ever miss a Sunday it's it's a ritual uh we'll walk the dogs at uh on a at Manion Park uh we'll often times Grill up the barbecue and then uh we love detective shows and we'll watch uh our favorite is Bosch so there you go awesome hey that was uh less than a minute and a half nice job um so we'll move over one more to mon row and we'll let Karen finish this off so go ahead sure yeah well I'll say um on the occasion that I wake up at 4:30 the first thing I do was roll over and go back to sleep uh so I commend you for the early start there uh you know since since uh since he was 5 years old I have a 15-year-old son uh so you talk about mental health issues um for me but but but since he was five like the per my perfect day was probably something some sporting event that um he was involved in he's you know he's in high school now but there's nothing like watching somebody you love a kid or you know a nephew or a niece or whatever do something that they love and so that that was that's always been a perfect day even though we were talking earlier about the weather sometimes it's not cooperate but those are still really good days uh but I will say there's nothing like patio weather in Tulsa Oklahoma and we're getting very close to it uh so I I'm really excited about maybe a few hitting a few patios you know drinking some non-alcoholic drinks all that kind of stuff you know um but really the the best the best time just very consistently and it may draw back to my first a here in Tulsa was going is going to a tu football game tailgating seeing your old friends people coming back like oh my goodness Tulsa is awesome now cuz they've moved on other places and so and so that's always a lot of fun showing people around and us talking about you know oh what building used to be right there it was that one and arguing about stuff to show show our age um but it's it's it's a it's it's always great fun to have people on campus at Tu I represent Tu in the legislature so a tail getting day cheering on your favorite team even when we lose is always a good day great thank you all right so this Karen you close us out here before I pass it on to Bren so just about every day I wake up is a great day I don't know what's wrong with me but I really have fun every day and I it it's always been like that for me so if if I'm thinking about my work week I enjoy going to downtown and work with the county folks my colleagues because they're absolutely wonderful and I have great constituents yeah some of them get a little but it's okay um I'm used to it uh at this point um but after working I love to come home you generally will walk the dog and he was very anxious he was not happy when I headed out tonight he's like let's go I'm like sorry not tonight um but then we like to grill in the backyard but if it's been a late day or anything like that we just live right next to all these great restaurants and so we'll just wander up there and by gol have a wonderful meal so um and if I can just since we're since we're right here normally when we're in here were there like last time we were here zingo was playing it was great the bartenders they were great too not that I had anything but um and then have you all been to Bishop Quigley oh my gosh I love it I feel like I'm in Ireland somewhere but anyway it was it's just fabulous we have so many great things to do and explore in this community and I just love all of it so anyway that's lots of great days for me awesome thank you Karen um that's going to conclude my time as moderator I will say that um last two candidates talked about drinking whether it's non-alcoholic or alcoholic and again I want to thank Donnie and steo for hosting this um you can be either in this town so you can be mocktails are getting big so you can do cocktails and mocktails but I want to introduce Bren Harper from Mogi Creek uh media um he's gonna take over for me come [Applause] on you said kind of hen sto Bren Harper Jos managing editor for the MSI media hello everyone I just like to thank everyone in this room tonight being out here on this beautiful Monday evening um thank you for being a part of the Democratic process here with our candidates uh candidates thank you so much for your time today um a little bit about our um uh media Department um we are uh the Mogi media the independent free press for the Mogi Creek Nation um so yeah without further Ado we'll dig into the questions um candidates first of all I just like to say that it is an honor to be here on the stage with you tonight so we'll dig into the questions um I'll start here open it up to uh Miss Keith here on my left uh my first question is the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the City of Tulsa does not have jurisdiction over Municipal crime committed by Native Americans uh that are tribal citizens within the City of Tulsa if elected do you intend to comply with this decision and how so all right I am absolutely committed to following the rule of law um and there are other ongoing cases arguing jurisdictional issues but this decision means that now more than ever we have got to work with our tribes City of Tulsa and our tribal Nations to resolve these questions as they linger um you know we should be able to work through if you get a traffic ticket can we share in the fines and you know we've got to work through those issues and I'm confident that both the Nations and the citizens of the City of Tulsa everybody wants this to be a safe City and the only way we can do that is by working to together I respect tribal sovereignty uh and the rule of law and I recognize that we are all much better off when we are working together because what we want is a safe and prosperous city thank you Miss Keith uh Mr Nichols sure thank you thank you for the question I mean you know when you get elected you uh swear and oath to uphold the Constitution and this is part of that oath and I'll say take a little bit a step further uh late last year actually uh released a strategy on how we co-o with tribes I think moving forward given that this is the largest city as I mentioned before uh that rests wholly on uh Native reservation I think it's important that we don't just think about this one Court ruling in a vacuum but really think about how do we covern with our tribal Nations and to that end the one thing that I committed to way back then maybe the first thing I ever said as far as a policy proposal for the mayor's for this for this campaign aign and certainly my Administration was the appointment of a senior director of tribal policy and Partnerships to have real Authority in how we are addressing issues to make sure this is the safest big city in the country I've had conversations with Chief Hill Chief Standing Bear and chief Hoskin and I think we all are agreed on one thing uh we want Tulsa to be a safe City they want their respective reservations to be safe for all citizens we are all aligned on that uh the technical and the legal challenges that we have to figure out those are things that we don't you know I think we can pull some of that out of court we can sit around the table of partnership and get it done it starts with respect it starts with making sure that as they are fighting every day to maintain tribal sovereignty that we fight right there with them why uh because we are inhabitants of that of their reservation and our Administration will make sure that we not only respect tribal sovereignty but we will co-gn with tribes from day one thank you Mr SCH uh councilman Valor Bren thanks uh you know the since Circuit Court made made the ruling uh and that's where we currently stand so yes I would would we'll definitely comply and make sure that's a that's job number one our only solution is to have Tribal agencies excuse me T tpd in the mayor's office really streamline the processes uh negotiate processes and really make uh really strive to make our our community safer uh and make it work uh not only for our tribal brothers and sisters but also our citizens also we all work together when we all work together it's much better outcomes um the negotiations aren't always easy and they always need to be done out of respect uh for everyone involved and uh you know as your mayor I I really want to make sure that that process is very thoughtful and respectful for not only our citizens but for our tribal brothers and sisters also thank you thank you councilman so uh my second question and councilman I'll start with you if you don't mind uh currently the Mogi Creek Nation has a civil lawsuit in the US District Court against the City of Tulsa that is seeking to permanently enjoin Tulsa from exercising Criminal jurisdic over tribal citizens absent Express authorization from Congress if elected how do you plan to resolve this lawsuit well the city's responsibility is to maintain communication with uh the tribes in um the Oklahoma AG the Oklahoma attorney general um this suit largely covers the state courts and the prosecution which is uh the City of Tulsa has no active in involvement in this uh the city of Tulsa will always be involved in uh the enforcement of the laws uh and will always detain those uh that are are breaking the law uh if the tribe wants to detain a person for a prosecution and then that they can be transferred to their court if not then that person will be uh given the to the state for prosecution thank you councilman U uh Mr Nichols thank you thank you I mean I think this is somewhat coveted last uh answer and you know so I you know it may sound like a broken record uh I do think that you know look you know the city filed suit against the tribes the tribes have followed have followed suit and that's what happens when you don't have a relationship built on trust uh where you don't have a relationship built on understanding where you don't have a relationship built on respect uh so I do think with the co-gn strategy that we've put out there it sets an important reset we talk about our shared goals for the city and making sure that we are working to not only uphold tribal sovereignty but also are concerning ourselves with the full rights of every tribal citizen living in this community while we protect Public Safety the reality is this is not an easy thing to work through uh but it is also not something that has to be this difficult and this adversarial uh and so again you know look I've watched over the last four years 5 years as the relationship with the tribes has completely deteriorated between the tribes and the governor those are mistakes that I will not make as mayor in fact we will start as I said before day one a day one thing there's not an accident that talking about co-gn with the tribes was the first thing that I talked about in this campaign because I absolutely believe not just when it relates to Public Safety but it relates to job creation what relates to Us ending homelessness relates to us meeting our education goals this co-gn work with the tribes is one of the great advantages Tulsa has yeah we got some some technical challenges to work through we got some public safety issues to work through but it is the way forward for Tulsa and I look forward to to Leading thank you Mr Nichols Miss Keith well I'll be anxiously following what happens in the courts I think we're all interested to see how that comes out and then I just think it's critically important that we work with our tribal partners and I look forward to a Cooperative relationship with the tribes and not a litigious one and I think um having those relationships as Monroe said matters and I know the the leaders of our three nations very well I have great respect for the Nations and this their Sovereign governments and I will be working directly with them I won't have a liaison because I have such great respect for these leaders that I feel like as the mayor of this community I need a one-on-one relationship to work with them uh so I I really look forward to that I and I will tell you at Tulsa County um they've helped us with road projects and I've watched as they've worked with health in their own communities and education uh and doing great things for their seniors our tribes are investing in the right areas and so we have much more in common than not and all of our area leadership with the Nations they want a good relationship with the City of Tulsa and with the state of Oklahoma and they want to work together because they understand as we work together we're all that much stronger and I really look forward to day one being able to work well with the Nations and working through these technical issues which we will have to do thank you Miss Keith uh for my next question I'll start with you again uh Miss Keith um this is a little bit more simple bit more of a yes or no um have you met with any tribal leaders concerning your campaign and have or have any tribal governments endorsed or donated to your campaign yes and yes so yeah absolutely um and I will continue to work with the tribes as a partner um and again I've watched them invest in housing and safe roads Healthcare and education they're doing important work around the state in Tulsa County uh and in uh our region so I have met with the Region's tribal leaders and I have a good working relationship with them they know that I have deep respect uh for the history and for the work that they are doing so on day one I will be working in lockstep to address issues that all of us are facing in Tulsa with our tribal Partners thank you Miss Keith uh Mr Nichols Yeah Yeah I have uh certainly met with all the leaders of um the tribes here uh on on on the res reservation but also in addition to that I think I'm the only maybe the only person on the stage who met with uh the leaders of the Five Civilized Tribes at the intertribal council executive meeting and in that we defin that we can move Tulsa forward together and so having those conversations about the pathway forward has been critically important and so I have gotten some investment from the Osage Nation and that is not just built on a relationship started when I ran for mayor it's a relationship started before I was ever in the legisl and it's built on years and years and years of standing with tribes no matter if it was a very popular issue or is a very difficult issue uh and that is because you know uh part of my service from the very my very first day in Tulsa uh has been in close collaboration connection with with tribal citizens who were my friends and the leaders became my friends and folks who have dedicated their lives to serving their nation in many ways like I've dedicated my life to serving serving Tulsa so you know for me it's been not just about hey uh I want to talk to you about this campaign It's You Know Chief Hill Chief Standing Bear Chief Hoskin let's talk about how we move Tulsa forward together and how do we partner to make this the very best place in the country for Native Americans native tulson Native Oklahomans and everybody who wants to experience native culture because of our unique uh our unique situation here as the largest city in the country on a reservation thank you Mr Nicholls councilman F uh I have I have not yet sat down with the tribal leaders yet I'm really looking forward to to sitting down and uh and having that open dialogue and finding out the issues the concerns and the opportunities that uh that are on the horizon um would I accept uh donations U uh from one of the tribes I would not and uh I just think that is a very serious uh conflict of interest so uh I think you always want to work with people at Arms link with uh with no hidden strings attached and I think that ethics are extremely important and uh when you do things at arms length without any uh Financial Ren numerations I think that's very very important um I'm always open to dialogue uh I have yet to lose a relationship uh that I've listened to much uh I really deeply believe in just simply listening and some of my City Council meetings I I will never say a word I mean I can go almost like a whole day and never say a word and you know here we are talking at Great length but finding out in listening and understanding the issues I I think that's very important and uh I I look forward to sitting down and having that dialogue thank you thank you councilman f um I have one last question this one's a little bit breezier um so I'll start with you councilman Fowler uh the Creek Nation the historic Creek Nation Council Oak Park just a few blocks up the road uh is in need of restor restoration and Service uh do you have any ideas on how to revitalize the city owned Park then would you be w w would you be open to working with other entities like River viiew neighborhood association or the Mogi Creek Nation to work on that as a matter of fact uh uh we we we had a a presentation from uh from the neighborhood uh from the tribes uh and I want to give a big shout out this evening to uh councel Laura Bellis and U one of the things that we we've really worked hard at uh during Co we worked very very hard at what we call leveraging leveraging the capital stack so one of the things that we'll do is that we'll take money from the city in this case the tribes uh and other sources and stack it and U councelor Bellis uh give a big wave there you go uh Council Bellis was so thoughtful to uh to to put forth uh uh a portion of her Community Development uh dollars from the city which the other counselors we do have to to to vote on and and approve but she's going to uh uh take uh a half a million dollars from uh from her Community Development dollars and put towards the park uh Cheryl CAU from the Cherokee tribe presented uh tremendous uh elevations etchings uh artwork about the Future Park it's going to be big it's going to be exciting and we're we're really excited to be a part of that so yeah thank you councilman fer uh Mr Nichols that's a great question and first of all I say Lord Bell is my city counselor thank you very much shout out to you um you know I'm I'm actually I'll say yes to your question would would certainly prioritize uh the park you know I'm a big believer though in the folks who are in the community helping Drive what the community should look like uh and so what would be my ideas for the park my question be what are your ideas for the park and holding me accountable and us as a city accountable for making the Investments to make it happen I mentioned uh the tribal policy that we put forth last last year in addition to the invest in the park we also talked about the establishment of a native Center uh that could be really the the the place where you go for culture and uh Economic Development and opportunity and to be able to really think about uh really Reviving the life of of of native tulson and Native Oklahomans here and so I think that this is an important part we should be um really the the welcome the gateway to Indian country and I think a part par absolutely thank you I think a park that's reflective of that is is critically important so you can you can count on it being a priority for me in addition to not just stopping at the park but leaning fully into making sure that this community when you come here it is clear where you at you're only reservation baby uh and so that's that's well I'll certainly prioritize it thank you Mr Nichols and uh last but not least Miss Keith all right I cannot wait to work with the Mogi Creek Nation and this neighborhood on that Park I'm very very familiar with it and I will tell you something I absolutely adore morning Prayer by Dan Brooke um that and if you haven't been to Council Oak go look at that it's it's just a magnificent piece of art and nobody hardly sees it so I can't wait to have it more visible but also needs to look a lot better and having Partnerships will make all of that happen we were doing the juvenile center I called Dan and I said Dan I love this piece of art I I would really like to maybe see what it would cost to have you do a piece for us it didn't work out but I had a great conversation with him and uh anyway here's the thing once we get that Park looking fabulous and then dreamkeepers Park uh with the great vision that's planned for that that node is going to become a a wonderful not just for the neighborhood but for the whole entire area and for folks who come into Tulsa it's going to be a place to be a place to stop and a place to come and appreciate Our Roots which are our native tribes who have done so much for our region so I'm all in on this baby and I am excited about the opportunity to work with everybody and especially you know the neighborhood has got to weigh in on what this ultimately looks like so thank you thank you Miss Keith well that about wraps it up for uh this segment of questions for tonight I've just wanted to thank you all again and thank you to the Riverview neighborhood association [Applause] mob thank you bra thank you Braden you guys also give it up for Jared back here on the camera running it I got a uh I got a a text while I was sitting down there and somebody was watching online and thought how cool it it was and so I'd share that with you Jared doing an amazing job you've got tens of tens of people watching onine um well we got a terrific job Kevin and Braden thanks for leading us through that time uh candidates also did terrific job how's everybody filling right ready for the last round yes all right we'll get we'll get in it we might not get all four questions in lightning round now or it's got to be lightning because we're we want to we want to be uh punctual and end at 8:30 and respect everybody's time um all right um as I mentioned uh I wish I would have written this down this this came from a neighbor in in town and I I'm I did not write his name down or her name down but this question is uh something that a lot of folks have been asking and and I don't know exactly when the timetable could happen that we we get to this point but when will Tulsa be ready to implement a more robust mass transit system because we feel like this is vital to the equable Equitable growth in our city uh we will start with you Monroe on this one I don't think you've started one yet sure hey you know I'm happy to start you know I I actually will say on our on our current on our current course I I can't answer like you know if all things equal now I'm not I'm not really sure um and I don't think that this you know I know we have a syst system that we would all say doesn't meet the needs of this community it would be easy to point the finger at a past administration or a person I'm not sure that's the case what it often seems like is that we uh have some peac Mill solutions that are pilots and the pilots never turn into you know systems change and I think what uh what I can commit to uh because I I'm I'm I'm not going to I'm not going to Pander make promises I can't keep is to really look and evaluate it to work with the counselors to work with our regional partners and figure figure out how we can have a comprehensive system that meets the needs of folks all across this community I can tell you this this shows up in places that you wouldn't necessarily always think uh my team and I met with the org an organization called Justice link which helped folks who are you know in vulnerable situations make their court cases and things like that right um they spent $25,000 in one month trying to get people to navigate around town to do that um that's not economically feasible for this community that's one or one small organization doing that and so what I can commit to is making sure that in the first term of office we will make sure we change the way we move City uh move move folks across the city uh I think it's going to take some time uh I think we have it within ourselves to do it I think there's been a lot of great ideas on how you get there but I do think it's going to take a mayor who's an implementer not just a mayor who just has a thousand ideas thank you thank you we'll move on to commissioner Keith okay so here's the deal we have new leadership at was was Tulsa Transit is now Metro Link his name is Scott Maher and Scott's been here for two years and when I first met him I'm like Scott why do we have these big buses going down our street and nobody's on them he got he like I'm going to work on that uh so he's created he's he's put together it's almost like an Uber system and it's microtransit and it's smaller Vans and you can they'll pick you up and take you to a major Hub so he's really um put people who really didn't have great access in the past giving them better access this man has fantastic ideas and he is working to move our system forward and then what here's what I I mean um I just love this guy the writers ship has doubled in one year using the microtransit writers ship has doubled so that that matters um and he has innovative ideas and suggestions and he did not make fun of me when I said why can't we have a a train that might connect from the Jazz Hall of Fame to jinx along that track he goes we can we just have to work together to do that okay thank you well how about this why can't we have a train from Tulsa to Oklahoma City a high-speed train like they have in Asia and other places I want it and he goes we can it's an 8020 match meaning 80% of the money would come from the feds and 20 from all of whether Oklahoma City tulson to State perhaps than you commission Keith okay anyway thank you I'm excited about Transit don't don't hang your head on low on this one meanwhile the Turnpike Authority is widening the the uh road all the way to Oklahoma City for more cars Mr Fowler well I'm goingon to Echo Karen and I I I've spent a a good bit of time with Scott also and and spot on so one of the things that you you you recognize when you're you know driving through the City of Tulsa and you spot one of these buses number one they're really really big and more often than not they're really really empty so I I you know to add more uh big big buses on big routes it's the reality that's just simply not the order of the day anymore and I'm going to Echo uh you know commissioner Keith uh the folks there at at uh at at met micro you know with the bus service is that they recognize is that they need to have small Nimble very very flexible routs uh very very similar to Uber and that you know what they can change change and move uh according to market conditions weather conditions whatever the issues they can move on a dime and what were once economies of scale where you need to be really big to do things things are now what we call dis economies of scale you need to be small you need to be nimble you need to be flexible so uh I'm going to Echo that and that's where we're we're going uh on the horizon and we're right on the cusp of of introducing that I can't see the time there we go thank you all very much yeah let me let me challenge the position just a moment to candidates to also consider that when we think of mass transit we also think about we often think about that as a lowincome mode of transportation but what would it be to have a city where all income levels are relying on mass communication instead of their individual vehicles and what would it look like to have infrastructure that supports that so instead of talking about more micro micro micro smaller smaller smaller but what grander thing can we do to work together to save on uh the environment and save on all the the footprint that we put the carbon footprint we put in the air think about that for next town hall um with the completion of zinc Lake coupled with the plan development at crybaby Hill there is obvious much anticipation that Riverside from 11th to 31st will be a major recreational Regional attraction for Citizens current facilities there now if you've been recently uh especially down towards 11th Street and the pedestrian bridge there are in a state of blight due to lack of oversight and unenforced curfews do you have a plan to make this public safe this public space safe for all the public to you to utilize we'll start with Mr Fowler there we go well number one let's take an inventory the of the facilities and uh let's review if they need to be replaced then let's replace them um number two let's let's vigorously enforce the curfew laws so if you're if you're close to where where the where the parks are it they should be a positive and not a detriment to to to your life and and your family um let's make it accessible for all citizens uh the highest level of customer service if there issues or problems let's make sure that you know what uh people in the community they have access to communicate those issues and those problems that that we do we get them fixed very very quick um I I really think that we ought to have a uh a Ritz Carlton a Chick-fil-A level of service and it's very very important that the city is always responsive to issues concerns and needs and opportunities as we go forward thank you Monro sure yeah know this is a kind of important question from a personal standpoint for me I I mentioned I a 15-year old son so like Public Safety means a whole lot to me he's getting ready to start driving he's going to be going places and so making sure that that all these spaces are safe critically important especially places where kids and families families are going to go I do think that part of this is um us addressing uh that homelessness issue now I don't mean that to say that folks who are unhoused are just inherently dangerous or they're the the whole set of the public safety challenge um but I do think we have to make sure that we are addressing addressing those issues and making sure that we are certainly enforcing curfews but the other thing is I've spent um really the better part of the last four years than legislature working on this blight issue uh so I will say if you want to call uh your uh Senator tell them to help me get House Bill 208 2038 pass Al Senate Flor it's already been out of the house and that's going to be the most aggressive tool we'd ever have at the city to help address the issue of of blight I think the big thing is is that you know we certainly will always make sure that when we have something we've made a public investment that it is safe so we never have to trade safety for entertainment uh but I think overall uh the challenge is making sure the rest of the city is safe as well um I talk about making sure this is the safest big city in the country whether that is the opportunity to go enjoy something recreationally or just being in a neighborhood that folks feel safe when they are here uh we have some really big opportunities uh to draw people in this community for folks here to enjoy the quality of life uh we cannot have people feeling like they have to trade their safety for a good time and so I do think it does take aggressive action it also takes a city getting our act right on the those BL properties that belong to us and Beyond and so I I'm I'm very much committed to that thank you Mon and Karen okay well this specific area that we're talking about there's been uh a fight over is it OD do is it City of Tulsa so one of the first things that I'm going to do is sit down and work out a plan between those two entities to make sure that it's cleaned up because the lights are out there's cobwebs it's in bad shape so that I'm that'll be one of the first things that I'm going to do then I'm excited that crybaby Hill area uh the mayor's going to work to get a a boat dock down there and that's going to be great it's going to be themed I think of Crybaby Hill and that'll be in time for the Route 66 event so that's a good step in the right direction but I have been working for 20 years I've been talking about the Cyrus Avery bridge I would like to see that bridge fixed it is the single most important piece of Route 66 in this state because Route 66 would not have come to Tulsa without that bridge let's reimagine it you can Google Tulsa World and look at the renderings that we had doberry do for the Route 66 bridge and I think you'll get psyched about it uh but it's something here's the deal with you know with all the the medical Hub that's coming online on both the east side and the West Side they need restaurant and retail we can't add land there so that new re-imagine bridge is a place where you could do little restaurant and retail and really lift up that whole area but connect that medical Hub so I'm super psyched about what can be in that area but I need all of you all to look at that is this something you agree with would you be supportive of it and which which one of the renderings do you like best so I all ears please let me know thank you so much commissioner Keith super psyched I love that I love that uh term um collaboration we've got two more questions collaboration with other stakeholders including City Council Members Community leaders and businesses is key to effective governance how will you Foster collaboration and build consensus to achieve your goals for Tulsa we'll start us Ken okay well it's what I've always done my 16 years here at the county um I've been able to get a new juvenile center out of the ground I've been able to get working with the federal government with senator inh we're very politically very different but we worked together to get 137 million to repair the levies um and then just recently going to the Senate Appropriations Committee and talking with them about this issue uh and they're going to help us Shore up the uh cost overruns that we're experiencing because of inflation to get that project done uh I worked with the state uh and I mean it was we called it all the colors of the money but we did the Gil cre extension had been on the books for 60 years so that is a beautiful facility U and it's opened up all sorts of things in West alsoa so I do know how to work with people and I really don't care whether you're a republican a Democrat or independent I just like to get I like to get work done I have another way of saying that but I won't do that tonight so um but you know all these issues are not red and blue it's just let's work together let's do the work and find common ground on what it is we want to accomplish and then let's get after it and that's exactly what I like to do it's what I've demonstrated all these for all these years that I can do and I will continue to do this as your mayor councilman Fowler how would you build collaboration well uh you know sometimes it's in in in big big things and I I'll go back sometimes to I'll I'll reiter reiterate it again it's really often times just simply attention to detail and uh I've just visiting with constituents along uh pora from 35th to i44 uh Property Owners right in through there I found out that you really couldn't you really couldn't do much with the property because it was all in a flood plan uh flood plane uh so I sat down and we took a look at the the city flood plan and um we found out uh the models had been used since the early 90s and all that property in there the commercial property was from the models 6 F feet underwater and you really couldn't do a lot with it so I sat down with City engineers and you know what we used new 3D modeling and then we changed changed the flood plan the flood plan from 6 feet to 3 to six in and and it opened up hundreds of millions of dollars of new development just simply attention to detail we didn't ask for any tax dollars very very easy very straightforward so it it is very important to communicate to collaborate uh to work with Department people in departments people there in the county there at the state very important uh collaborate I think it's very important but it's also important to be accountable and often times when you collaborate you're not accountable so I think as a mayor you've got to be a leader and you've got to you've got to make tough decisions and I'm than you Mr want to do that thank you time is up lastly sure sure you know I mentioned a little bit earlier kind of the different stops along the way in my career uh everything from working to create those after school programs at City Hall I remember we got elected the bo Center which is a crowning Jewel of downtown was an over budget hole in the ground and was that I watched that come out of the ground then I watched the ballpark coming out of the ground when we moved City Hall I went on to Service Chief of Staff where we now have cut that life expectancy Gap about in half in this community created jobs at Career Tech uh certainly am proud of the work that we've done to improve student outcomes at impact Tulsa and I mention all that because that's all been done by folks of this community who came together and decided we want we wanted something different that it might be difficult but difficult did not mean it wasn't possible and not all of them were elected officials right there were folks who just showed up every day they cared about this community and I think we've done the work to change the face this community in a lot of different ways I think being mayor is very similar I got to the legislature and I work every day with like 81 people who I disagree with a lot but I found a way to work with them and we got affordable housing the affordable housing tax credit expanded to Tulsa we we did that because we knew that collaboration is more important and what happens in this community is far more important than what may divide us at the capital and so I think it's built on trust and at the end of the day Jamie mentioned accountability a mayor has to be someone who doesn't change their mind because the last person who talked to them convinced them to do something different it is about being consistent it is about being Resolute and it is about making sure at the end of the day we are all joined by our shared vision of where this community can go and the accountability for making it happen thank you okay I'm going to ask candidates that we keep their response to 45 seconds time keep deeper 45 seconds so very short um so we can respect everyone's time uh the question is it is no secret there is huge obstacles to overcome on our public education system at the moment especially here in Tulsa what initiatives do you have to improve education outcomes support teachers and ensure every child in Tulsa has access to Quality education representative Nichols we'll start with you 45 seconds please 5 seconds on an issue that is not that important right no um look this is an area where I've spent my career uh I found an impact Tulsa as I said I work at strive together now it's involved in this work and this can be a little bit quick for me because we I released a plan on how we're going to redefine the mayor's role in education that's going to be anchored by the creation of the mayor's office of children youth and family so we take a comprehensive look on how we're serving folks particularly those who are vulnerable I mentioned earlier 900 kids at TPS are homeless a thousand of them are facing evictions right now we have to make sure that as a as a city and as mayor I'm not asking the school district to deal with my affordable housing problem but not holding myself accountable for their literacy problem and so the reality is it's taking ownership of this issue redefining the role of the mayor and we've put out very specific ways that we can do it and since this is a short answer I'll make sure I get it to you all so everybody at this meeting can see what that plan looks like very good thank you councilman fer ah education it's near and dear to my heart uh my mom and dad dad were career Public Public School teachers Sandy my wife out in the audience uh uh many years with Tulsa Public Schools also uh I read on Thursday afternoons I'm a reading partner uh to a a girl uh second grader at Lewis and Clark deeply deeply believe in that um I established a teacher of the year award a $100,000 endowment uh for Marshall and McClure for the teacher of the year award and that will go on in perpetuity let's roll that across the City let's really build it out let's do it for the rest of the city we've got to reimagine our high schools and you know what uh it's going to take a lift from everybody here uh we're going to have to reimagine our schools Corp corporate engagement corporate dollars philanthropic dollars tax dollars to rebuild vibrant high schools that are college preparatory and then also trade schools to get our kids ready that uh would like to have a trade and uh it's a wonderful virtuous thing to have a trade thank you councilman you thank you Council and lastly commissioner Peace So I come from a family of Educators and I have spoken with the administrators here in the Tulsa Area Teachers and parents and I know a lot of the concerns we've all heard some of the negative rhetoric coming out of the state and as mayor I think the mayor needs to be a champion for education and talking about the great things that our Public School schools are doing and they are doing great things the headlines tell a totally different story but we do have amazing teachers um but all this negative rhetoric is making it much harder uh to recruit teachers and we need to make sure that Tulsa is a place where people want to come and these teachers want to come here and live so as a mayor I'm going to be a champion for our Educators for our students and for our schools lifting them up and celebrating all of the wonderful things are doing wonderful thank you guys thank you for your thoughtful answers all night for your consideration in being here tonight to share your vision uh we want to give each candidate uh two minutes now to uh kind of wrap up the evening with their closing statement uh to earn your vote U to share anything that you wish you would have said earlier this is your moment you've each got two minutes and we'll just go from this end from that end to this end we'll start with you councilman Fowler well there we go uh number one is this is that uh I am not a politician and U we have spent the last Dozen Years building the infrastructure and if you want to if you're building the infrastructure you need to have someone that's deeply embedded and understands government on the other hand the next day going or the next 10 years going forward we're not going to be so much working on infrastructure yes we are we will but we've got to grow the city it's imperative the city hasn't grown in 30 years you're going to need a different kind of Mayor you're going to need a mayor that understands economics and how to grow how to grow the city it's very very important um deeply deeply love and care for the city and its citizens uh whatever however whoever you are love you very much and uh I just really think that Tulsa's best chapters have yet to be written and I'm I deeply believe that very very much thank you all for coming out tonight appreciate it yeah I'll Echo the thank yous for the organizers of this event also it's always great to see you commissioner Keith and councelor Fowler my man yeah yeah yeah um and and I think you know at the end of the day I'll say this I think this community has a really difficult choice to make there's folks who deeply love this community who are competing to be your next mayor uh and as we go through the campaign there'll be some maybe some clear differences in this race and we'll have to point those out but I do respect the service of the two people on the stage with me and and I appreciate not only them being here tonight but what they've done on behalf of ciens across this city tonight we've talked about a lot of issues we've talked about homelessness we've talked about tribal uh relationships ship we've talked about education there's only one person on the stage that has released any plans specifically about how they'll address any one of those three issues and I've done all three of them um we have talked about the rhetoric from what we hear from the the state as relates to education all these things there's only one person on the stage who's made any public comment and pushing back against those things not because I like to always Wade myself in the things that are controversial but because values matter this community matters to me and so as I think about where we're going to go as a community we're going to go wherever we want to go I got asked at a at a at a town hall one time what was my signature thing that I want what's my legacy project for a c for a city and I told him I remember seeing a picture of Nashville from 2020 the skyline for 2012 and the skyline at 2022 and it was completely different it was clear that that City had figured out how to clean its processes to speed up development it figured out how to make sure that kids are meeting their academic outcomes and it figured out how to make that City safe as it develops and I see that for this community but it won't happen if we simply choose to elect somebody who we may have known the longest or we simply elect somebody who may be reflective of our political party this has to be about a Clear Vision for the future and I look forward to building that Vision with each one of you as we move throughout the campaign and commissioner Keith WB up tonight I think I've demonstrated over my years of public service that I'm not afraid of the tough stuff and I also recognize that relationships are critical to moving the needle forward and that's a strategy that I will use throughout my Administration I will build relationships with our city councilors because as mayor you you can't do very much if you're just setting yourself up on a pedestal you've got to work with the our city councilors who are kind of the boots on the ground and we have some really good ones here so I'm I'm excited about that I do want to tackle the issues of homelessness and I am absolutely targeting a a way that we fix permitting and help our developers do the work that they want to do I want to see our streets fixed and I know what the issues are in those areas so yeah I mean maybe I look like the old guard here but I've been around I know how things work and I also know how to fix them and that's what I want to do for this community that I love dearly and um our city should be on an upward trajectory and of course I believe that it is can we make improvements absolutely let's continue that upward trajectory let's continue to se celebrate all our successes and then with everybody here weighing in what is it we want to do next you know how do we fix our bus system how do we get others to ride it I know we're we're going to have more we have more electric buses coming online I celebrate that we have somebody in that position now who is really looking to the Future so we have so much to celebrate a lot of work to do but I am up to the challenge I think I've demonstrated that over the years and I just appreciate all of you being here the organizers putting this together and letting us just tell you what our vision is and I do want the Cyrus Avery Bridge fixed thank you so much ladies and gentlemen one more time councilman Jamie Fowler thank youling representative Monroe Nichols Commissioner Karen Keith thank you uh I was chatting with a friend before we started tonight and I he had all three pamphlets laid out in front of him and I said well you know who you got to vote for he goes do we have to decide tonight you've got some time elections are in August but what your next mayor very well could be on this stage and we appreciate them being here we'll uh we uh we'll be up for a little bit we'll be up for a little bit Donnie yeah hey tip the bartender get a drink on the way out consume it here and then leave but give them your thanks if nothing else for hosting us tonight you all be good we'll see you around