Just a reminder that Dr. Shadid's sprawl townhall will be TOMORROW night! All director-level department heads will be on hand to discuss how sprawl hampers their department's operations and the community meeting will seek to discuss honestly the cost of this sprawl and solutions to mitigate those costs. If you believe in urbanism and sustainability and you're not doing anything tomorrow night, you need to be there. I wish I could be.
You need to do two things. First, listen to this video, it is 20 minutes long. Then the second thing you need to do, if you have another 20 minutes on April 5th and live in Ward 2, go vote! If not, spend 20 minutes between now and then telling people who live in Ward 2 (generally OKC city limits from NW 23rd up to the other side of The Village, excl. Nichols Hills, etc.) about Dr. Shadid, who is exactly what OKC needs.
If you don't have 20 minutes right now, here are the most interesting points you would have gotten from the video.
1. Dr. Shadid talks about bringing a unique perspective the other 7 can't offer onto the "horseshoe" -- that of a physician. He talks about his insight into OKC's health and lifestyle problems, and how OKC needs to focus on not being dead last on almost every health index of major U.S. cities. Or even 500 cities in the case of walkability.. 2. Dr. Shadid talks about being an advocate for BUY LOCAL and truly supporting small business, not just throwing government money at big businesses in the name of "subsidies." He talks about the harm it does to the local economy and local business when we throw money and advantages at these out-of-state businesses and retailers (i.e., BASS PRO). He cites the difference of 70/30 and 30/70; the ratios of money reinvested locally when you buy local! That is refreshing for a candidate to proclaim because it is so true. 3. He says we need to "bring streetcar into the neighborhoods." He talks about how pushing the streetcar back risks millions and millions in federal funding, without which, we simply can not make ends meet, we will not have more than a downtown streetcar system anytime soon. He talks about the opportunity RIGHT NOW at last to get $60-120 M to really bring the streetcar system up to NW 23rd and beyond. 4. He talks about being a disenfranchised voter in the past and never bothering to vote in past city elections because of the pervasiveness of the good ol' boy network in this city. 5. He wants to frame the convention center discussion in the total context of the project, which includes an addition $50 M subsidy for a convention hotel that can not be funded by M3. He calls this intellectual dishonesty with the people. Well, it is. We have to have it now that we already passed the $270 M convention center, only, they didn't mention that at the time (it was just implied). 6. He calls out public transport for what it is right now. Busing as a temporary solution. How it is not permanent and unsustainable to rely on bus systems. He talks about the need for a transit system with lasting permanence, and how you can build a city around fixed-guideway transport. He talks about the true economic benefit of rapid transit in Dallas and Portland. 7. At 15:80 he describes how he got endorsed by the police and fire departments. He describes the irony of Swinton using that endorsement against him to paint him as anti-MAPS, when Swinton went before the public safety unions just as he did and made a pitch to them for his support. They simply likes his independent and pro-neighborhood pitch over the talk of Swinton.
...And if you should have even more time, and want to really be informed on the matter (and haven't already been to Doug's blog), you should most definitely check out Doug Loudenback's reasons for supporting Dr. Shadid. Doug, as usual, has put together a true resource on the matter. Complete with quotes, stances (or soft stances, in the case of Swinton), and more background info than you can get anywhere else.
I'm having trouble understanding the current Ward 2 council race right now. Has there even been such a big-money council race in OKC's history?? The total amount being spent on this one inner north side ward is in the ballpark of a HALF MILLION DOLLARS. The "Committee for Oklahoma City Momentum" has pumped $409,000 into the races, a disproportionately large portion of it ($166,000) on behalf of Charlie Swinton. Charlie Swinton himself has directly pumped $104,000 of his own money into his campaign, and raised other contributions as well.
That's $270,000+ for ONE candidate in this race. This coming from the candidate who earlier in the race said, "When you are in a race with someone who has unlimited resources, you've got to keep running, and I don't have those kinds of resources..." His opponent is local doctor Ed Shadid. Dr. Shadid's campaign has raised $78,000. Perhaps Shadid should have made the poverty plea instead?
Another bone to pick with Swinton. It is absolutely impossible to get in contact with him, and I'm not alone in feeling that way. M3 Streetcar Subcommittee member Jeff Bezdek attempted to get in touch with Swinton after he made some disparaging comments toward rail. Swinton declined to meet this esteemed community member, who has been a very important person in the MAPS 3 process. Others have found it impossible to talk to Swinton, unless you come with a check in hand. I haven't been able to even load Swinton's website, and on his Facebook he has no contact info. He is un-reachable.
Not only does Dr. Shadid have contact info on his website which is perfectly accessible as well, but Shadid actually emailed me last month. He wanted to have a chat over coffee about issues facing the city, and talk about issues of urban planning, walkability, sustainability, and quality of life I assume. Not only did he say he was interested in these issues but he said he likes my blog. OK, well that was awfully nice of him, although I imagine he is way too busy right now to spend time reading a blog for crying out loud. I don't even know if Shadid really does read this blog, but given the way I see the "real" issues facing OKC, even if he just saw the blog and contacted me I think that says a LOT about how he sees the issues facing OKC.
So while Swinton is un-reachable, Shadid is extremely reachable. That's good in someone who is running for council. If you can't even reach a candidate, imagine how they will ignore the citizens once they're in office?
A third bone to pick with Swinton: Mudslinging. Shadid has ran a campaign arguing for more sustainability and actually producing innovative ideas. Often they are ideas about how to improve OKC's sustainability. Swinton has meanwhile used this to portray Dr. Shadid as some Green Party terror activist-extremist person, "Too extreme for Oklahoma," and the works. A very typical, unimaginative, and tired campaign line. Dr. Shadid is none of these things. In fact, Swinton took a $1,000 check from the esteemed State Representative Al McAffrey, the only openly gay representative in the state house. The Campaign for OKC Momentum is a chamber front whose goal is move the convention center up the list of MAPS3 priorities at the expense of other projects. Just calling a spade. If anything, Swinton is "too extreme for Oklahoma." And I like McAffrey, he's a cool guy that just represents his district. I like the Chamber a lot, their hard work moves OKC forward. Just pointing out how hypocritical Swinton is with his politicizing of the ward race.
Maybe that's just a poster you don't want to stand in front of, but I think it's refreshing to see someone actually "stick up" for the greenies. I would also point out that the outgoing Ward 2 councilman, Sam Bowman (who is extremely well-respected), also has a picture taken in front of a Sierra Club poster. Was Bowman "too liberal for Oklahoma" ?? What does that even mean for a CITY COUNCIL race?
It's just sad that politicizing these things often works. Look at how Mayor Mick won his first election, in a race that was Jim Tolbert's (Full Circle owner, Bricktown developer) to lose. Cornett blasted him as being an "old liberal crank" and surged to victory. This plays out time after time...
It was said recently in the Gazette that Ward 2 councilman Sam Bowman will not be running for reelection, and that is a loss for this city. I did not know Bowman, but I did know of him, and I could tell he was a difference-maker in Oklahoma City. He championed the causes that might be considered politically unpopular in Oklahoma and his district, the north side from the Paseo up to NW 122nd, triumphed for it. Bowman is a resident of the Cleveland neighborhood, a great neighborhood (that you don't hear a lot about) north of 23rd between Villa and May avenues.
The times that I took my issues to the City Council and spoke before them, and even the times I have gone just to listen, I have grown to like some of the councilors and dislike one in particular. That said, Bowman has been my favorite and it's clear that his priority is to keep the heart of OKC healthy. He often brought his anecdotes from functioning urban cities before the council, and when councilors react to public comment, would defend most anyone (including me) who went before the council with blistering urban planning criticisms of this city. When others like to mitigate the harshness of the reality of our maniacally sprawled city, Bowman was willing to face it head-on and be an honest broker of solutions. His frankness, his vision, and his outlook will be missed on the horseshoe.
I am certain that whoever fills his shoes in Ward 2 will be of the same high caliber of public servant that he was. This is something to look forward to, because that bar is set pretty high. If you go through history, it's actually these neighborhoods in Ward 2 that have been a gold mine of great public servants, from Edgemere Park denizens like OKC's first woman mayor Patience Latting, to Crown Heights residents such as Judge Gene Matthews and Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony. All got their start as Ward 2 Councilman.
I present to you, a ward map that makes sense. There aren't really any wards that traverse major boundaries and each area of town is given a great sense of autonomy by these districts. They also, for the most part, have smaller wards than we do. Tulsa, a city of 389,000 in the 2009 estimate, has 9 wards at about 44,000 each. Oklahoma City, with about 570,000 in the 2009 estimate, has 8 wards at about 71,000 each. This would tend to suggest OKC needs more wards in order to have as representative a body as Tulsa, and I would argue that 44,000/ward is still high. Also consider that Tulsa pretty much has 4 wards that represent the inner city. 2 for Midtown and 2 for North Tulsa. OKC's inner south has no ward that represents it, whereas North Tulsa has 2 that represent it.
Calgary is also redrawing lines in its 14-ward City Council. Here's a great map drawn up by a Calgary blogger..the color fills represent the new wards, the black lines represent the old. This redistricting is supposed to ensure a more representative council. So apparently it can be done by just redrawing lines. I would also mention that Calgary has a ratio of about 75,000 citizens to 1 alderman. You'll see that the UC area (Ward 7) and inner-north side of Calgary is being consolidated into one ward. Presently it's a lot like Capitol Hill--an area broken up by 3 or 4 wards depending on how you geographically define it.
Maybe what's interesting is that the redistricting in Calgary is taking place now that the overwhelming majority of the inner city has been gentrified. You're just as likely to see minorities in the burbs now as you are in the inner city, the only different is that the ones downtown are much more affluent and the ones in the suburbs got bumped out by the high rent in the Beltline (south of downtown). So basically the modus operandii while the inner city was fragmented and poor was to gerrymander and split it up into a dozen different districts that made no sense as long as each had a different area of town to counterbalance the minority votes. Now that the inner city is gentrified and affluent, the modus operandii is to go back and draw lines that make a little more sense. So does anything really change? OKC will probably follow the same trajectory. We won't do it this time just yet, but next time this comes up in 2021 we probably will finally get around to some wards that make sense. Lookin at you, Capitol Hill.
Redistricting is coming up soon, as dictated by the city charter. Census numbers come out next year and the wards will have to be drawn within one year after the numbers come out. Groups are already mobilizing to have their voice heard. In this week's Gazette, Capitol Hill-area activists say it is imperative that we get the inner south side its own ward instead of breaking off bits and pieces hear and there and lumping it with other wards in order to marginalize the inner south side. I would argue that's not what's at play, and you can just look at voter turnout which is pretty paltry. Still, it gives the impression of something fishy when you see the ward map itself.
Some have suggested, as Pete White did when he called it ridiculous how Capitol Hill is split into 5 different wards, that we need to expand and add more councilors in order to expand representation. This seems like a no-brainer to me, but it's not the only good argument. Then others such as Sam Bowman want to just see better-drawn wards without expanding the Horseshoe because there are advantages to having fewer councilors, that it's easier to get everyone in a room and find compromise than have publicly-waged debates involving political capitol and things you see in places like...Tulsa. And then there's Brian Walters, who wants no change, except that he wants every councilor to join his and Mayor Cornett's crusade for family values.
I think the most likely positive scenario is what Bowman suggested, by just drawing better lines next time. City charter states that each ward has to be relatively equal in population. Here's my suggestion that I drew quickly that I prefer because it keeps certain parts of town together without mixing entirely different areas too much:
Oh look, City Council is hiring another consultant. For the convention center, go figure. Maybe this consultant will tell them what they want? Either they must be really really hesitant to make a stance one way or another, or they just don't like what the last..7..consultants have had to say about the convention center.
I think OKC is becoming the consultant capital of the world. Might be a good business to get into, for anyone looking for a job. Does anyone else think this is ridiculous?
Earlier this week, the OKC City Council approved a $480,000 (half a million dollars) contract with Hargreaves Associates for design and construction models of a new downtown park. The item on the City Council meeting agenda passed unanimously with very little discussion. In fact, on the docket I believe it was referred to as "landscape services for a prospective downtown park." This, ladies and gentlemen, will be the architects of our new downtown park. Hargreaves Associates is a prominent architecture firm at the forefront of landscape architecture with offices in San Francisco, Boston, New York, and London. They've been commissioned for landmark green spaces in cities across America, from San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, to Portland and Seattle, to Chicago and Louisville, to Dallas, Houston, and Oklahoma City, to New York City and Hartford, to name a few of the cities they've done projects in.
What Oklahoma City projects am I speaking about? I am glad you asked. I'm talking about two new exciting parks being developed along the Oklahoma River that the City of OKC has had very little (so far) to do with. One is the AICC, the other is the Waterfront Park proposed as a part of Grant Humphreys' Downtown Airpark redevelopment.
Here are some renderings of the American Indian Cultural Center & Museum project, on the south banks of the Oklahoma River where I-35 crosses it. The site is a 280-acre former oilfield, land that has now been reclaimed by the Native American tribes. The AICC is a Smithsonian-affiliated institution that features a museum, extensive landscaping, as well as hotels and a conference center. It is under construction at the moment.
Waterfront Park, the vital centerpiece of Grant Humphreys' Downtown Airpark redevelopment project known as The Waterfront, was also a Hargreaves project. The 15 acre park serves as the front lawn for the large scale mixed-use development, and will be anchored by the Santa Monica Pier ferris wheel that Grant Humphreys recently bought off eBay.
The South Waterfront Neighborhood Park in Portland, Ore is a 2-acre, tightly-knit civic space in the heart of a growing mixed-use area south of Downtown, surrounded by residences, businesses, and the Oregon Health Sciences Center. The park also provides scenic views of the Willamette River corridor. This project is on a $2.8 million budget, set to open October of this year. More information on City of Portland's website.
The southern half of Lake Union Park (Phase 2, final phase) in Seattle is a planned park taking advantage of an area with an industrial past, and a lot of maritime heritage. The park is actually a conservation project, restoring some wetlands, and reclaiming land that was formerly a landfill. According to Seattle.gov, construction began September 2008 with a $15.6 million budget for both phases (they weren't just moping about the Sonics at the time).
Parkview West is a 1.75-acre green space recently completed at the base of the Navy Pier, and one block away from Lake Michigan. The park is designed to resemble Origami, actually, and was built as part of a development, with a 48-story condo tower at one end, and a 24-story one at the other, like bookends.
Hargreaves also did the framework for the revitalization of Grant Park, including Millennium Park. Grant Park is a 320-acre waterfront park, wedged between the Loop and Lake Michigan. Planning on Grant Park's main attraction, the smaller Millennium Park, began in 1998 and construction was finished in July 2004, $475 million later($270 mil of which was paid by the city). It should be noted however that Hargreaves merely did the framework, or the masterplan.. the Jay Pritzker Pavillion was designed by none other than Frank Gehry. The Cloud Gate was designed by World-renowned artist Anish Kapoor. And so on. In 2006 Forbes named ZIP Code 60602, which surrounds Millennium Park, the hottest ZIP code in the nation in terms of property appreciation. You can read more about the park here.
The Discovery Green is the nation's 4th largest city's answer to Millennium Park. The Discovery Green is a very busy park bordered on one side by Houston's huge convention center, the Hilton Americas, and opening up into Downtown Houston on the other. The park manages to say "Tejas" and "urbanism" at the same time, for example, the Crawford Promenade serves as the pedestrian spine of the park, and is shaded from the skyline and the sun by massive live oak trees, lined with cafe dining. The completion of the $81 million park has prompted several new residential high-rise towers along the park edge.
Belo Garden is Texas' 2nd largest city's response to the Discovery Green. In Downtown Dallas green space is something that is sorely missing. This 1.5-acre park provides a small amount of green space to break up the concrete jungle. The namesake is from the company that donated half of the cost of the $6 million park.
First of all, I'd like to thank Councilman Brian Walters for responding to my email, which I posted for you guys, earlier. Mr. Walters outlines his concerns that the proposed streetcar is too expensive, going against principals of fiscal conservatism. He argues that college graduates won't stay "simply because we have a streetcar or other cool amenities."
Mr. Roberts, my number is [removed] and you can call anytime. My optimism or lack of has nothing to do with whether a street cars is cool but how it gets paid for. Everyone wants great things for OKC but reality is someone has to pay for it. $120,000,000 is real money and someone works for that. Public transit is not a right. I will challenge your assumption that college graduates will stay simply because we have a street car or other cool amenities. I think OKC should be the best it can be without changing what makes it OKC, we will never be NYC or LA and I do not want to be. I chose to stay and think this is a wonderful place to raise my family regardless if there is a street car or not. But please feel free to call if you would like. Councilman Walters
I realize you're not going to change the opinion of someone who is as strongly opposed to rapid transit in downtown as Mr. Walters, but surely it has to help to be showing that there is support for it, even within his own district, far South OKC.
By the way, if anyone wants to watch my speech to the City Council advocating for investing in downtown streetcar, go here. You'll have to fast-forward to the last five minutes..although I think people should listen to the discussion on the declining sales tax revenues, and the crazies that spoke before me.
Your typical OKC enthusiast..who's not always enthused. My mission is simple, just to agitate and provoke movers and shakers into considering the urban ramifications of public policy in Central Oklahoma.
A third bone to pick with Swinton: Mudslinging. Shadid has ran a campaign arguing for more sustainability and actually producing innovative ideas. Often they are ideas about how to improve OKC's sustainability. Swinton has meanwhile used this to portray Dr. Shadid as some Green Party terror activist-extremist person, "Too extreme for Oklahoma," and the works. A very typical, unimaginative, and tired campaign line. Dr. Shadid is none of these things. In fact, Swinton took a $1,000 check from the esteemed State Representative Al McAffrey, the only openly gay representative in the state house. The Campaign for OKC Momentum is a chamber front whose goal is move the convention center up the list of MAPS3 priorities at the expense of other projects. Just calling a spade. If anything, Swinton is "too extreme for Oklahoma." And I like McAffrey, he's a cool guy that just represents his district. I like the Chamber a lot, their hard work moves OKC forward. Just pointing out how hypocritical Swinton is with his politicizing of the ward race.
I would argue that's not what's at play, and you can just look at voter turnout which is pretty paltry. Still, it gives the impression of something fishy when you see the ward map itself.
