Red Fork Rumble Report

...(this post has been updated and edited by my lovely wife)...
I attended, along with about 50 others, a debate between Sally Bell and Karen Keith at the Red Fork Church of God last night. It was set up by the Southwest Tulsa Ministers Alliance, to which my pastor is a member, and was moderated by KTUL’s Cindy Morrison.


I don’t have a fancy audio recorder like Michael Bates so I can’t offer you the audio of the debate, so my notes and observations will have to do. Let’s review the questions and answers of my favorite moments in the debate. (I’m going to leave several questions out. Some I thought were lame questions, or the answers were of no consequence, or they agreed and that’s boring)

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First, and probably my favorite of the night dealt with the River Tax and why it failed.

Karen said that the tax package was developed over a short amount of time, and that it wasn’t inclusive. I think she hit the nail on the head with the remark about it not being inclusive. The other communities outside of Tulsa resoundingly said no as did North Tulsa who felt very left out. She probably should have stopped there but thankfully she didn’t.

She went on to say if they were to do the tax package again it would be different and would pass. I worry that when she said “if they”, she really meant, “when we.” One of the overwhelming themes I went away with last night is that Karen Keith loves taxes, and she doesn't particularly think that our taxes are too high. I’ll touch more on this later, but again, she probably should have stopped there, but again, thankfully she didn’t.

She went on to say that, during the campaign for the River Tax, the Expo Square was all torn up and the BOK center was not complete. Her point being that we were spending a lot of tax money with not a lot to show for it. And this was absolutely my favorite part, she said that the BOK center wasn’t complete and it had not yet been announced that Celine Dion was coming to the BOK center. AHH HAA it was Celine Dion’s fault! If only Tulsa County citizens knew that she was coming to Tulsa, the river tax would have passed. Ohh the humanity! Well Karen, lesson learned. Next river tax package we should absolutely get Celine down here to sing a commercial or something. Priceless!

Sally got it right when she said the people were just fed up with taxes. She went on to say that with 2025 funding, plus state and federal funding the dams would get built and that development would happen on the river, but it would be private.
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I tendered the following question: When should the South Tulsa bridge across the Arkansas be built? Should it be a toll bridge?

Karen said, “I would like to see it built.” She wasn’t sure what the best way to get it done if not via a toll bridge, and then apologized for not being as familiar with the topic as she should.

Again Sally was spot on, when she said the reason it was controversial was that it would have dumped on a two lane road, and would have been a safety issue, but even more concerning was that it was based on a 75 year no-bid-contract that would have given tons of money to a private enterprise. She said that she thought, that the bridge would eventually come but that it should not be built until the infrastructure on the Tulsa side was ready for it. Excellent.
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Who do you hold responsible for the state of Tulsa Streets?

Karen said it was failed tax initiatives, so basically it’s your fault for voting no to streets.

Sally said, “We are the highest taxed county in the state.” She holds our elected officials responsible for not putting streets first.
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What are your three biggest issues?
Sally: 1. Limited government and lower taxes including no re-up on Vision 2025 and 4 to fix.
2. Public Safety.
3. Infrastructure.

Karen: 1. The Juvenile Justice Center.
2. Roads and bridges.
3. The Health department. She said that the millage rates* are such that they could be adjusted to help the under-funded health department. *(property tax increase)
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The last two segments of the night I’ll lump together with my paraphrased summation of what the candidates said: What is at stake in this election? And the five minute conclusion.

Sally: Everything I do is based on my belief in God. I’m a limited government, low tax person. I believe that entertainment should be a private enterprise. I have a business background which I want to bring to the office. Small businesses are the foundation of economic stability, and lower taxes encourage and attract small business. I don’t owe anyone anything. This election boils down to which direction we want Tulsa County to go. Do we want it to shrink and run more efficiently? Or do we want it grow?

I’d just like to say that there is a cloud over county government. The two other commissioners are working to try to change that. I was a tenet of the fair ground for 56 years; I’ve seen things in county government that need to change. I’d rather talk to you than the other leaders.

There is not enough money to pay for things by raising taxes. Government can not create prosperity. They can only take things. I want to work hard. I’ll go to work every day, and I’m going to frame my campaign promises and hang them on the wall. I won’t lie.

Karen: There is a dramatic difference between us. Look at what less regulation on the federal level has gotten us. Look the 700 billion dollar bail out. (She made a comment about HB1804 and how it affects the hiring of small business but I’m not sure what her point was or how to fit it in here but I figured it was worth at least pointing out) Let’s partner our tax dollars with other tax dollars and other sources of money. There are creative ways to fund the projects and it does not always require that it be done on the back of the tax payers. (It is interesting that she tries to link Bell’s small government stance with the economic turmoil we are currently experiencing)

One penny is what you pay for projects in Tulsa County. It has transformed Expo Square and downtown. The County millage is lower than Oklahoma City, and our sales tax in Tulsa County is lower than other Oklahoma counties. Are our taxes too high? Maybe, but what is too high is the federal taxes.

We need efficient government; it’s easy to say that Tulsa County has the overall highest taxes, but it’s not exactly true. Tulsa County is not getting its fair share. 4.5 cents goes to the state and I will work to try to get some of that back. (She went on to talk about taxes and I kinda tuned out, all I heard was tax tax tax tax tax) Quality of life is more than just a few projects, it’s public safety and roads.
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So what did I learn last night? Karen Keith thinks it’s Celine Dion’s fault the river tax didn’t pass. She doesn’t know enough about the South Tulsa bridge issue, it’s your fault the roads are in sad shape, and not only are our taxes not too high but Commissioner Keith will be ardently pro-tax and pro-misguided tax projects.

Sally Bell will work to clean up and shrink county government, lower taxes and attract small business. She understands the South Tulsa bridge issue, and believes that private enterprise should be on the hook for development and not tax payers.

Sally summed this race up perfectly with he following question, "Do we want it(county government) to shrink and run more efficiently? Or do we want it go grow?" I only wish I lived in District 2 so I could vote for Sally Bell.

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