Tulsa's "Citizen's Commission
on City Government"

"Why do the Heathen Rage?"

Kathryn Price
March 14, 2006

The Word of the Lord says, Psalm 2:1, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, the rulers take counsel together against the Lord, and against His Anointed,"

Yes, this was written quite some time ago. Yes, many will think that it does not pertain to the issues of the day. Yes, this was written concerning our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, one of many prophecies telling of His coming. This prophecy still holds true today. In all levels of this prophecy it is alive and well in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Verse 1 states, "Why do the heathen rage…," The word 'heathen' in Hebrew means 'nations, peoples, kings, and rulers'. The word 'rage' in the Hebrew is 'tumultuous' or, as Webster Dictionary puts it, "disorderly agitation or milling about of a crowd usually with uproar and confusion of voices."

Can you hear the 'voices of confusion' from the mouths of the ruling elite causing 'disorderly agitation' in the midst of your city and at the cost of your representation? I say this is alive and well in Tulsa because I have listened in on the past two meetings of the Citizen's Commission on City Government, the CCCG. In their rage, the ruling elite of Tulsa are attempting to overthrow our current form of local government; a government whose founding is in the word of God. John Adams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, said on October 11, 1798, "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

The Tulsa elite have been given the power to change our local government while we citizens have been denied the right to vote our representation on this commission. Do you believe you are still worthy of such a government? Tulsa's ruling elite believe you are undeserving of this form; matter of fact; they believe it to be outdated. If the heathen rage against our Lord, taking counsel together, and setting themselves against Him, as Christians we should expect the same against us because of Christ within us.

The CCCG has been charged to study our current form of local government and to discuss changing it to something less representative, as guest speaker Professor John Nalbandian, Ph.D., of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas stated during the second meeting held February 10, 2006 on the eleventh floor of city hall. Dr Nalbandain stated our local government is unique, as it is an exact replica of our federal Constitutional form of government. He explained the office of Mayor represented the Executive branch and our City Council represented the Legislative branch of government. Both offices provide for checks, balances, and excellent representation of citizens. This form of government he termed 'Old Fashioned'.

Dr. Nalbandian stated the new form of government the CCCG is charged to explore has fewer districts, going from 9 districts to 6 districts, with 3 "At -Large Super Districts". Dr. Nalbandian's comment was that while this is less representative, and had fewer checks and balances, it would not tie councilors down by making them accountable to their districts only. He stated that it is a barrier to a "city moving forward" when a councilor is beholden to constituents of the district he was elected to represent. He said this "can also cause division among the councilors and the Mayor" as they try to best represent their respective districts. This alternative, new form of local government he termed 'Professional'.

For the remainder of Dr. Nalbandians presentation he referred to both forms of government by their new term, 'old fashioned' or 'professional'. The new terminology worked like a charm on many of the participants of the CCCG, persuading them to move away from the 'old fashioned' way of doing things. After all, who wants to be associated with the term 'old fashioned'?

Now you know why the heathen rage. They rage for power. The humble beginnings of this great nation and the freedom we enjoy can be found in the Declaration of Independence - "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness - That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes Destructive of these Ends it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

Three things you can count on becoming the 'consensus' of the CCCG;

· Non-Partisan elections
· The redistricting of Tulsa to allow for 6 councillors instead of 9 with 3 At-Large Councillors in Super Districts
· City/County Government consolidation

Wake up O' sleepy citizen! Those who wish to take away your representation in those key trouble-making districts are knocking at your freedoms door!

Links:

Mayor LaFortune Announces formation of Citizen’s Commission to study City Charter reform (THIS LINK IS BROKEN SHOULD BE REMOVED)

Citizen’s Commission on City Government: Agenda Detail

Using the Delphi Technique to Achieve Consensus: How it is leading us away from Representative Government to the Illusion of Citizen Participation