For Bartlett?

Before we go any further let me get this out of the way, I do not endorse Dewey Bartlett Jr. With that said, I think I'm probably going to vote for him despite my overwhelming urge to sit this one out.  I have several problems with Dewey, not the least of which is support and love for Kathy Taylor.  Also, I'm convinced that he will be the same elite mid-town mindset mayor we have always had, and despite his claims, I do not believe he is a conservative.

I heard Chris Medlock, a man who I deeply admire, give a completely unconvincing argument, as to why we should get behind Dewey.  He essentially said that if conservatives don't get behind Dewey then he will have no reason to give us conservatives a place at the table if he is elected.  I'm not sure if he meant to say it or not but what I heard him say is that Dewey is not a real conservative.  If he was, what difference would it make whether or not we got behind him?  Real conservatives are conservatives no matter where the winds are blowing, and a real conservative mayor would have strong conservatives in his cabinet no mater what.  Chris cemented my belief that Bartlett is a  moderate.

That being said, I've heard Dewey say some things that do give me some hope.  He told me he was against at-large councilors, he pledged not to raise taxes, and I've become convinced that he might actually do a better job of getting us through this economic storm than the other candidates.

But truth be told, Tom Adelson scares the crap out of me.  I have an interesting theory that Adelson might actually be good for Tulsa, creating the Obama affect that we are seeing on the national scale.  It may be that an Adelson administration might finally push us toward the kind of mayoral candidate that I've been hoping for all along.  Or at the very least I think that he might be so polarizing with the council that he will accomplish nothing.  While it is an interesting theory, it didn't work with Kathy Taylor, and I quite frankly don't want to risk it. This guy thinks Obama is great, and I simply can't stand the possibility that he might become our next mayor.

Dewey Bartlet's wife Victoria cornered me at the KRMG Mayoral Smashup and asked me to get behind Dewey (I'm kind of scared of her by the way).  I've thought about it, and I've been thinking about it for several weeks.  This might not be the glowing endorsement she was hoping for,  but like I said, this isn't really an endorsement so much as it is a blog post for my readers who are interested in how I'm going to vote and what my thought process has been.

It has been along road for me, starting out  as the guy who categorically rejected the idea that he would ever  vote for Bartlett, to the the guy who has finally decided that he would. Alas, I don't think the road is long enough to take me to the place where I could actually endorse him.  Charlie Biggs sums up my thoughts on the subject best.

Dewey Bartlett might wind up being the best mayor we’ve ever had. But I have serious doubts. He was cozy with Taylor. Bartlett, who was endorsed in the primary by the liberal Tulsa World, has a history of entertaining tax increases and the expansion of government. Bartlett has pledged that he will not raise taxes as mayor or grow government.

My practice has been to take politicians for their word until I find out different. I am not as trusting as I used to be. Too many politicians say one thing during the heat of the campaign and then govern in the opposite direction.

I will not endorse someone that I am not sure about. Even though I am a registered Republican, I am a Christian, an American and a conservative first.

The people who read this newspaper are smart enough (and spiritual enough) to make their own decisions.

I've gone a step further than Biggs to tell you how I'm actually going to vote, however I suspect that the people who read this blog are smart enough (and spiritual enough) to make their own decisions.