Intentional Bias – Part I

Tulsa’s Citizen’s Commission on City Government

and the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals

by Amanda Teegarden
April 2006

 

Tulsa’s ‘Citizen’s Commission on City Government’ (CCCG)[1], handpicked by former Mayor *Bill LaFortune, and an organization called the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals have a lot in common.

 

Out of this 25-person commission, one-fourth of its members share membership in another organization –

 

The Oklahoma Academy for State Goals. 

 

(In this article an *by a name denotes membership in the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals, hereafter referred to as the Academy.)

 

The Academy goes back to about 1985, holding annual, by-invitation only, Town Hall conferences, the focus of which is public policy and ‘what to do next in Oklahoma.’

 

The 1995 focus was the “Restructuring of State, County, and Local Government”. 

 

The charge of the members of the Citizen’s Commission on City Government was to study Tulsa’s city charter, review the governmental structures and make recommendations for change.

 

Q:  A coincidence? 

 

*Ken Levit, (OU-Tulsa, pres.), *Hans Helmerich, (Helmerich & Payne), *Thom McKeon, (TCC, pres.), *Gary Trennepohl, (OSU-Tulsa, pres.), *Steadman Upham (TU-Pres.), *Howard G. Barnett, (TSF Capital, LLC) were each appointed to the Citizen’s Commission by former Mayor *Bill LaFortune in December 2005. 

 

Six members of the CCCG are also members of the Academy.[2]

 

A few other individuals in the Academy are *Bill LaFortune, *Roger *Randle, *Susan Savage, *Ken Neal, *Susan Ellerbach, *Margaret Erhling, *Steve Turnbo, *Jay Clemens, *David Boren, *Kirk Humphries, *Mick Cornett, *Jeff Cloud, *Michael Turpen, *Scott Meacham, and Rep. *Ron Peters – all headline-making names.[3]   

 

Of these, *Susan Savage, *Roger Randle, *Kirk Humphries, and *Jeff Cloud have all been guest speakers at the CCCG monthly meetings.

 

So, Mayor *Bill LaFortune, six (6) members of the Citizen’s Commission on City Government, and four (4) of the guest speakers are colleagues and all belong to another organization together; and yet this commission was touted as a ‘broad-based citizen’s group.’

 

A:  Not a coincidence

Oklahoma Academy for State Goals

The Academy has been busy implementing public policy over the last few years:

 

–       The infamous House Bill 1017, a piece of legislation sold to the public as a way  to ‘fund’ and ‘reform’ education, but which cost our state over 1.3 billion dollars to implement and brought in the current ‘multicultural’ and ‘dumbed’ down curriculum

–       The DARE program in schools

–       Creation of the Department of Commerce (new Mayor Kathy L. Taylor’s old job)

–       The promotion of ‘regionalization’ 

–       Connectivity, including “air travel between the coasts” (Great Plains Airlines anyone?)

–       Adoption of a statewide lottery to provide additional financing for the state

–       A tax for bridges and roads

–       Implementation of Sustainable Development

 

This is only a partial list of the public policy recommendations of this unelected organization – recommendations that are “frequently incorporated into progressive legislation and community action.”[4]

 

A little background on the Citizen’s Commission

In the fall of 2005 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after the recall of two Tulsa city councilors failed, a relatively small group of people formed an organization called ‘Tulsans for Better Government’ (TBG).[5]

 

TBG described itself this way - “Tulsans for Better Government is a bipartisan group whose goal is to fix Tulsa’s flawed city council system in a democratic way – by amending the city’s charter.  The group is made up of citizens from across Tulsa who want to restore balanced representation for the neighborhoods and the city as a whole.”

 

TBG filed an Initiative Petition with the city of Tulsa on October 20, 2005, seeking 16,000 signatures in the petition drive, hoping to cause the city and Mayor Bill LaFortune to call for an election. A vote on the desired charter amendments was to take place some 60 days after the January 20, 2006 petition drive cutoff.

 

The main changes the TBG Initiative Petition was seeking are:

 

1. Reduction of the number of Election Districts from nine (9) districts to six (6) districts, each represented by a city councilor, and adding three (3) at-large city councilors.
2. The appointment of a three member Election District Commission for the purpose of adjusting the election district boundaries to six (6), said boundaries to become effective for the general election in the year 2008.
3. The number of years served for each city councilor would be 2 years, with the three (3) at-large city councilors serving two years in the 2008 general election, and thereafter, starting in 2010, serving 4-year terms.

 

Supporters of TBG

A few of the key members and their financial support to the Tulsans for Better Government effort are:

 

• A.H. ‘Chip’ McElroy II, Co-chair - $3,000
• Ted Sherwood, Co-chair - $1,000
• Len Eaton, Treasurer - $3,000
• *Howard G. Barnett, Jr., Advisory Board - $ 3,000
• George Kaiser Family Foundation - $5,000
• *The Tulsa World, the largest financial contributor - $10,000[6]

 

NOTE: *denotes membership in the Oklahoma Academy for State Goals.

 

Another Group Forms - TDD

In response to the TBG group, another citizen’s group formed, also ‘bipartisan’, called Tulsans Defending Democracy, (TDD), whose stance was that the current city charter and representation – presently nine (9) city council election districts – was worth defending.  See endnotes for TDD website.[7]

 

The Mayor forms a Commission

In December 2005, Mayor *Bill LaFortune “constituted a diverse group of citizens to review Tulsa’s government and its structures and to recommend any changes deemed necessary to improve its operation.” 

 

“This group will be called the ‘Citizen’s Commission on City Government,’ and I have appointed *Hans Helmerich and *Ken Levit as co-chairs of the Commission.” 

 

[- Definition of a Commission -]

 

• The act of granting certain powers or the authority to carry out a        particular task or duty.
• The authority so granted.
• The matter or task so authorized: Investigation of fraud was their commission.
• A document conferring such authorization.
• A group of people officially authorized to perform certain duties or functions

 

The Mayor continues…

“There has been a lot of talk in recent months about our form of government and a group has even mounted an initiative petition drive to change the structure of the City Council.,” he said.  “This tells me it is time to take a careful look at the issue.  To ensure it is done the right way, I am appointing a broad-based citizens group that will represent the entire city and its various interest groups.”

 

Both groups, Tulsans for Better Government and Tulsans Defending Democracy, supposedly appeased by the creation of this broad-based citizens group, each ended up with at least one representative on this 25-member commission.

 

The Citizen’s Commission on City Government was to meet once a month, beginning in January 2006, and present their recommendations to the City by June 30, 2006.

 

The TBG petition drive halted in December 2005.

 

The Citizen’s Commission on City Government Members: (*denotes member of Oklahoma Academy for State Goals)

 

1. *Ken Levit, OU-Tulsa President
2. *Hans Helmerich, Helmerich and Payne
3. *Thom McKeon, Tulsa Community College President
4. *Gary Trennepohl, OSU-Tulsa President
5. *Steadman Upham, TU-President
6. *Howard G. Barnett, TSF Capital, LLC  (first meeting only)

 

7. Bill Schloss, C.O.O. Warren Clinics
8. Sandra Alexander, Attorney
9. Jerry Goodwin, Goodwin & Grant
10. John Goodwin, Sinclair Oil Corp.
11. David Kelley, Magic Circle Neighborhood Association
12. David Pynn,  St. John Medical Center
13. Reuben Gant, Greenwood Chamber of Commerce
14. Tom Padalino, TPS Principal, Thoreau Demonstration Academy
15. Nilda Reyes, TPS, Diversity and Equity
16. Mouzon Biggs, Senior Minister, Boston Avenue Methodist Church
17. Becky Darrow, Syntroleum Corp.
18. Risha Grant, Xposure Magazine
19. Mark Lewandowski, ORU Business School
20. Jane Malone, TPS/Chamberlain Area Neighbors
21. Joe McGraw, McGraw Davisson Stewart Realtors
22. Laura Chalus, YP Tulsa
23. Michael Covey, Syntroleum Corp.
24. C.S. Lewis III, Attorney, Riggs, Neal, Abney, Turpen, etc.
25. Stephen Schuller, Attorney, Gable & Gotwals
26. Sharon Daugherty, Pastor, Victory Christian

 

Note: * denotes membership in the Academy.

 

For an analysis of all the members, go to CCCG members [8]

 

The Meetings Begin

First Meeting:

The Citizen’s Commission on City Government (CCCG) held its first meeting Friday, January 13, 2006 in the Executive Conference Room, at the Tulsa Convention Center. [9]

 

The Agenda was:

I.         Welcome and Introductions, Opening Charge by Mayor Bill LaFortune

II.      Panel:  The Structure of Government in Tulsa Today

·        Former City Councilor Robert Gardner

·        Professor and Former Mayor of Tulsa *Roger Randle

·        The Honorable *Susan Savage, Secretary of the State of Oklahoma and Former Mayor of Tulsa

·        City Auditor Phil Wood

III.   Processes and Subcommittees

IV.  A Path Forward

a.      Future Meetings

b.      Potential Speakers

c.       City Council Input

d.      Community Input

 

The opinion of one member, at the conclusion of this meeting, was that the presentations were a ‘confused history of the City’s form of government, with lots of rambling by the former Mayors.’ 

 

City Auditor, Phil Wood, described the city structure and the auditor’s position and responsibilities, and came down in favor of electing a non-partisan auditor.

 

Second Meeting:

The second meeting of the CCCG took place Friday, February 10, 2006, on the 11^th floor of City Hall, room 1101.[10]

 

The Agenda was:

I.          Welcome

II.         Discussion with Professor John Nalbandian, Ph.D., of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas

III.      Discussion of Next Steps

 

Professor Nalbandian presented  the pros and cons of Tulsa’s representative government, and the strong mayor/city councilors format.  During his presentation, he made the comment that Tulsa’s current form of government, its city charter, set the city up replicating our Federal government – separation of powers between the Mayor and the councilor, which created a built-in set of checks and balances.

 

Prof. Nalbandian implied this form was old-fashioned and leaned heavily toward a ‘professional city manager, appointed by the Mayor.’  He also favored non-partisan elections, with at-large city councilors, much like his home town of Lawrence.

 

The idea of City/County consolidation – or unification – was introduced at this meeting.  Facilitator and co-chair, *Ken Levit, asked the members “Is there an appetite for this?”  (Meaning city/county consolidation).  One member of the committee reminded the commission of the original charge by the Mayor and recommended that city/county consolidation was outside the scope of this commission and that the focus should be on the city and the city charter.

 

Volunteers for sub-committees were sought but not aggressively assigned.  Notes on the second meeting and sub-committees assignments appeared in a February 24 email signed by *Ken Levit and *Hans Helmerich, with sub-committees being:

 

·        Partisan vs. Nonpartisan

·        At-large vs. District

·        Elected vs. Appointed City Auditor

 

However, in an email from *Ken Levit, dated March 3, 2006 entitled “Sub-Committee Assignments for Task Force” the sub-committee assignments were as follows:

 

·              Role of Partisanship

·              Councilor Representation

·              Office of City Auditor

·              City-County Partnership

·              Civil Service Management

 

Added was the City-County Partnership sub-committee even though it was earlier deemed “outside the scope of this commission”.  Also added was a sub-committee on Civil Service Management.

 

(For another analysis of this meeting, read Kathryn Price’s comments at www.operationinformation.com), in an article entitled “Why the Heathen Rage”.

 

Third Meeting:

The third meeting of the CCCG, held on Friday, March 10, 2006, in the Executive Conference Room of the Tulsa Convention Center.[11]

 

The Agenda was:

I.              Welcome

II.           Discussion of Partisan v. Non-Partisan Elections

·        *Kirk Humphries, Former Mayor of Oklahoma City

·        Patti Basnett, Chair, Tulsa County Democrats

·        Jerry Buchanan, Tulsa County GOP (unable to attend)

·        Mary Jo Neal, League of Women Voters

 

*Kirk Humphries, former Mayor of Oklahoma City and former candidate for U.S. Senate, brought *Jeff Cloud, from the Corporation Commission, and spoke first.  [Humphries left his mayoral position to run for the Senate seat in 2004, which cleared the way for *Mick Cornett to be elected OKC Mayor that year.]

 

*Humphries, presenting from a one-page handout entitled “Key Issues in Structure of Government”, came down in favor of non-partisan elections, like the kind he helped initiate in Oklahoma City.  *Jeff Cloud concurred.

*Humphries sold non-partisan elections as elections that ‘increase voter turnout’, yet failed to mention the dismal voter turnout three days earlier, during the March 7, 2006 OKC mayoral election - only 13,636 people (6%) voted for mayor."[12]

 

The other speakers gave their viewpoints on the issue – Basnett against, Neal neither for nor against.  Citizens’ comments, including those from two city councilors, were a mixed bag of ‘in favor’ or ‘against’.

 

The citizens’ comments were duly noted.

 

Fourth Meeting:

The fourth meeting of the CCCG took place Friday, April 7, 2006 at the Greenwood Cultural Center. [13]

 

The Agenda was:

I.             Welcome

II.         Discussion of City Councilor Representation

·  Ted Sherwood, Tulsan’s for Better Government

·  D. Gregory Bledsoe, Tulsan’s Defending Democracy

III.      Sub-Committee Updates and Presentations.

IV.       Opportunity for Public Input

 

Ted Sherwood was late arriving, so the meeting went to presentations from the sub-committees.

*Gary Trennepohl, City Auditor sub-committee chair, gave an 8-point presentation on why the city should appoint the auditor.  These points included auditor qualifications (should be a CPA), auditor’s reporting hierarchy (report to yet another committee - a 5 person audit committee, appointed by the mayor), salary (market salary), as well as ‘who can fire’ (could be only for cause, determined by the 5-person audit committee) recommendations.

 

*Thom McKeon, chair of the Partisan v. Nonpartisan elections, presented in favor of non-partisan, saying, “In the spirit of cooperation - removing political labels could bring the city together.”  In addition, that they had “decided to really look at non-partisan elections, to look at the OKC model.”[14]

 

Ted Sherwood (TBG) and Greg Bledsoe (TDD) each spoke for about twenty minutes, giving background on their respective groups.

 

Sherwood, presenting first, offered this explanation for the TBG Initiative Petition drive, “After it became clear we could not get consensus from the current city council, we filed a petition.”   In summary, he was in favor of a ‘mixed system’ (city council districts and at-large combination), and the addition of 3 at-large councilors, since it appeared it “is not politically feasible to re-draw districts to six” (from nine).

 

Greg Bledsoe outlined the history of racism and charter change in Tulsa. He noted an overwhelming trend away from at-large systems of governance, saying district representation is important and discourse on a city council is good.   “The clash of ideas is America.” His comments, including a history of Tulsa’s city government, are available on the TDD website.[15]

 

Public Input

Comments from the public came at the end of the meeting, with the meeting abruptly ending after I made the following comment and asked this question:

  

“I was glad to hear you (Hans Helmerich) say that you “didn’t know of any smoke filled room of ‘good ol’ boys’ running things in Tulsa”, since the phrase ‘good ol’ boys’ is hard to define.  But I was wondering how unbiased this commission could really be, since so many of you - *Ken Levit, *Hans Helmerich, *Thom McKeon, *Gary Trennepohl, *Steadman Upham, and *Howard Barnett - all belong to an organization called the Oklahoma Academy for States Goals - an organization whose stated goal in 1995 was to ‘Restructure state, county, and local government’?  Could this commission, with so many of its members belonging to the same organization, with that goal, actually be unbiased and un-agenda driven?”

 

Meeting adjourned.

 

The next scheduled meeting of the Citizen’s Commission on City Government is Friday, May 12, 2006 at TCC West.

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