On meeting Mayoral Candidate Monroe Nichols, it is easy to see how he has gained traction in this election contest. He is personable, knowledgeable, and intelligent. But even in casual introduction, it was obvious we hold vastly different perspectives on public policy.
Question:What do you want to accomplish for Tulsa different from other candidates?
I launched the campaign after being in the Oklahoma Legislature for eight years. I could have served four more years before terming out, but looking at this community, we have crisis we see every day.
Updated: A report on Tulsa Mayoral Candidate Brent VanNorman apparently angered Candidate Karen Keith so much that she ran from this reporter in public. It was sad. We have been associates for over twenty-years in media, on stage together in several Gridiron Shows, and co-workers when I served as Public Information Officer for the now complete Tulsa County Vision 2025 program approved by voters in 2003. Keith should have known; refusing an interview only makes reporting more likely to be critical.
After noting that Keith did not attend a nonpartisan Women For Tulsa event, the June 23 story continued, “Demonstrating both command of municipal history and the current failures of the Bynum Administration, VanNorman provides a dramatic difference with Keith who has publicly supported open borders, public health lockdowns and LGBTQ(+whatever) agendas.”
When crafting those words, I mistakenly believed Keith’s media background would inform her that those topics would be reviewed during the campaign. Her reaction, however, was that of just another thin-skinned ego-driven politician dedicated to avoiding substantive coverage. However, citizens of Tulsa expect more from candidates for mayor and regular readers have concerns about Karen Keith.
The Home Builders Association of Greater Tulsa reports in a release today a slight decline in housing starts across the Tulsa area for June 2024, continuing a trend observed over the past few years. Housing starts in June 2024 were down by 3.4% compared to the same month in 2023. This follows a 4.0% decrease in June 2023 compared to June 2022.
In the photo below, Machinist Mate 3rd Class Darren Dale, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, combats a class bravo fire in the main engine room aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) during Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2024. This is the same type of ship and annual RIMPAC exercise featured in the science fiction movie “Battleship.”
Twenty-nine nations, 40 surface ships, three submarines, 14 national land forces, more than 150 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC in and around the Hawaiian Islands, June 27 to Aug. 1. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2024 is the 29th exercise in the series that began in 1971. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class R. Ezekiel Duran)
Construction Coverage, a website that compares construction software and insurance, just released a new report on the largest cities that have seen the biggest increases in housing inventory. Tulsa enjoyed the 5th largest increase in America.
The current housing shortage—which is now estimated to be between four million and seven million homes—can trace its beginnings to long before the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 10 years following the Great Recession, the United States constructed fewer new homes than in any other decade since the 1960s.
