Tulsa Topics

Local politics has it's many ups and downs, ebbs and flows, and victories and defeats. It's political season here in Tulsa and emotions are running the complete gambit. One of the most disheartening issues to me, would be how little we actually know about the candidates chosen to represent us, the citizens of Tulsa. Even more disheartening is the voter apathy that seems prevalent in our city.

Before the primaries take place I can already anticipate the voter turnout. A small percentage, compared to the overall population, of citizens that live in Tulsa will care enough to vote. I'll refer to that group as the voting public. It doesn't matter if you are Republican or Democrat, all that's required to be a member of this group is that you vote.

Hopefully if you are a member of this "voting public" group, you have researched your prospective candidates. There are umpteen questionnaires, multitudes of candidate forums, debates and a constant slew of mail from each candidate that voters can use to help them in their choice.

After attending more political events, reading more questionnaires, and untold garbage cans worth of candidate literature, I think I have put in a reasonable amount of time researching the candidates running for public office. I must admit that some of the questionnaires are pretty probing and seem somewhat personal in nature, but if you want to be my representative, I think I have a right to know where you stand. It's not like you are going to invite me over for coffee and get to know me one on one. If a person wants to become a candidate, then they have opened up their stance on various issues to public scrutiny.

A sizeable chunk of the voting public will consider reading the Tulsa World as research; I beg to differ. Our local paper of so called record gave up their objectivity a long time ago when the powers that be decided to become players in the political process. That's why independent research is so crucial. Nothing beats personal experience..... period. I urge each voter in the upcoming primary elections to research their respective candidate.

In the process of doing my own research, I heard a statement from a prospective City Council candidate that gave me heart burn. The candidate made a statement that he didn't respond to a number of questionnaires that were sent to him because he thought a Councilor needed to come to the table with an open mind. I have an issue with that particular stance. The candidate will be representing me and I want to know a candidate's position on issues. If a candidate doesn't feel the need to respond to questionnaires then they really have made a choice and in my opinion, not a very wise one. A saying that is near and dear to my heart that I believe applies would be - "facts which are not written down have a habit of adjusting themselves to fit the theory of the moment." The alternative to NOT taking a stance "on the record" should earn you the moniker of a waffler.

All that being said, I received the following email today -

Attached please find a list of 31 questions the Tulsa Area Chapter of the Oklahoma Republican Assembly e-mailed to the Republican Tulsa City Council candidates. Also attached is a 2-page "grid" with the candidates' responses, and in some cases, their lack of response. Many of the questions asked deal with Judeo-Christian values. The questions also reflect many issues the Tulsa City Council has dealt with and will continue to deal with.

Here are the questions that were asked in PDF format: Survey questions.pdf, and here are the candidates answers: Survey answers.pdf.