Michael Bates

Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 3

6/10/2020

I will be updating this entry as new information becomes available. Two more candidates have filed for mayor this morning: Gregory Robinson II, a Democrat, who was introduced at his Election Board press conference by Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, and Craig Immel, an Independent, who was the lead plaintiff in the battle to keep park land on Riverside Drive from being turned into a shopping center that...

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Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 3, Click the headline to read this full article,
Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 3, at BatesLine

Where are Tulsa's candidates?

6/10/2020

I've made this plea repeatedly on social media, on Pat Campbell's show on 1170 KFAQ, and here on this blog. And yet I look at the list of candidates after two of the three days of the filing period, and I am amazed to see so many unopposed candidates. Four of the city councilors do not have opponents, nor does the city auditor. It's especially surprising after a fortnight that has put the...

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Where are Tulsa's candidates?, Click the headline to read this full article,
Where are Tulsa's candidates?, at BatesLine

Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 2

6/9/2020

At the end of the second of three days of candidate filing for the 2020 City of Tulsa elections, the incumbent mayor, auditor, and seven of the nine incumbent city councilors have filed for re-election, with Mayor GT Bynum IV drawing three opponents and District 4 Councilor Kara Joy McKee drawing two opponents. Six council seats and the auditor's office have only one candidate each. Incumbent...

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Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 2, Click the headline to read this full article,
Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 2, at BatesLine

Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 1

6/9/2020

At the end of the first day of filing for the 2020 City of Tulsa elections, the incumbent mayor, auditor, and five of the incumbent city councilors have filed for re-election, with the mayor and two city councilors drawing one opponent each. Six council seats and the auditor's office have only one candidate each. No one has yet filed for the District 2 seat, currently held by Jeannie Cue....

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Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 1, Click the headline to read this full article,
Tulsa Election 2020: Filing Day 1, at BatesLine

2020 City of Tulsa candidate filing period

6/8/2020

In addition to the high-stakes presidential race, the City of Tulsa has its own high-stakes elections this year. All nine Tulsa City Councilors and the Tulsa City Auditor are on the ballot every two years, but in presidential years, the Mayor's office is also up for grabs. Filing period begins Monday, June 8, 2020, and ends Wednesday, June 10, 2020. Candidates file in-person at the Tulsa County...

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2020 City of Tulsa candidate filing period, Click the headline to read this full article,
2020 City of Tulsa candidate filing period, at BatesLine

Time for protesters to run for office; time for Tulsa to read the Riot Act

6/2/2020

A young friend of mine was incensed at the attitude of older folks about the incident on the North Elgin overpass of Interstate 244. "The point of a protest is this: How does it feel to be powerless?" So it was fine, in the eyes of this homeschooled, Christian young adult, for people to wander off of the planned demonstration route (on Elgin under the I-244 overpass), block traffic on a busy,...

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Time for protesters to run for office; time for Tulsa to read the Riot Act, Click the headline to read this full article,
Time for protesters to run for office; time for Tulsa to read the Riot Act, at BatesLine

Council to change tax ordinance to enable Gilcrease demolition

5/22/2020

Back at the beginning of March, we reported that Gilcrease Museum would not be renovated and expanded, as Tulsa voters were promised in April 2016, but would instead be demolished and rebuilt as a smaller facility, with the help of funding from the University of Tulsa and other donors. The change is substantial enough that the new plans will not fit within the broad language of the "Brown...

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Council to change tax ordinance to enable Gilcrease demolition, Click the headline to read this full article,
Council to change tax ordinance to enable Gilcrease demolition, at BatesLine

Tulsa redecorates Golden Driller begs for Tesla

5/22/2020

It's cringe-worthy. Some persons, apparently with the permission of the Tulsa County Public Facilities Authority, painted the Tesla logo on the chest of the Golden Driller, and painted the name Tesla on his belt buckle, over the word Tulsa. If that weren't bad enough, used some kind of wrap to cover the statue's face to turn it pale, almost white, to try match the appearance of Tesla chairman...

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Tulsa redecorates Golden Driller, begs for Tesla, Click the headline to read this full article,
Tulsa redecorates Golden Driller, begs for Tesla, at BatesLine

Did being "Phillipsburg" stymie Bartlesville's growth?

5/18/2020

Rita Thurman Barnes, a Bartlesville local historian and newspaper columnist, recounts a Tulsa conversation that rubbed her the wrong way. We made a very early trip to Tulsa this morning to get a belt for hubby's lawn mower. We left before breakfast so we could get there when the dealership opened and home to mow before the rain. On the way back about 9:30 we stopped at a bakery and got a...

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Did being "Phillipsburg" stymie Bartlesville's growth?, Click the headline to read this full article,
Did being "Phillipsburg" stymie Bartlesville's growth?, at BatesLine

66% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were sheltering at home?

5/15/2020

There ought to be a law that all social media posts about CCP Bat Virus must begin with the word "Aha!" Quite a few posts on the topic are there not so much as information, but as vindication for whatever theory or policy prescription the poster wishes to offer. I've heard this stat in the title quoted a dozen different ways, by people who want to prove that lockdowns are useless, and by people...

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66% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were sheltering at home?, Click the headline to read this full article,
66% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were sheltering at home?, at BatesLine

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