Mayoral Race Candidate Review

Sunday, March 5th 2006, 5:54 pm

By: News On 6

Tulsa voters will head to the polls next week to take the first step towards deciding the next mayor. Democratic and Republican primaries are Tuesday. News on six Reporter Ashli Sims breaks down the differences between the main candidates.

Candidates and their volunteers were out and about in Tulsa reaching out to those undecided voters and shoring up support.

Incumbent Mayor Bill LaFortune was out at the Tulsa R-V and Outdoor show meeting voters. He claims under his leadership Tulsa has made a full economic recovery, unemployment is the lowest it's been in almost six years, and the outlook for the future is bright thanks to Vision 2025.

Jeremy Moore, Tulsa Firefighter:"Its important that we see this through what we started with Vision 2025. And the great things he's already done. Now that we're in economic recovery let him finish the plans he's already started."

Three other Republicans will join LaFortune on the ballot but the stiffest competition is coming from City Councilor Chris Medlock and County Commisioner Randi Miller. If elected, Medlock vows to hire a city manager to run the day-to-day operations. He would also ask voters to reject the "four to fix the county" tax and instead vote in favor of several two-year sales taxes that would pay for more police officers and fire fighters.

Dale Leander: "he wants to put more police on the streets, fix the streets he wants to work on the infrastructure i dont think he's gonna be raising taxes he'll be a good man for the job."

Randi Miller pulled a big endorsement when the Fraternal Order of Police decided to back her.
She wants to get 200 more police officers on the street. She's also saying she would be the "do the river, now" mayor, pushing the Arkansas River Corridor Master Plan that she helped develop as a county commissioner.

Randi Miller, (R) Primary Candidate: "Tulsa needs a new direction, we've had the highest crime rate we've ever had, we've lost thousands of jobs, we have the ninth worst streets in the country and we need a new direction. And I felt and several constituents felt I am the person to lead the city."

The democratic field is slightly more crowded with seven candidates, including Prophet Kelly Clark, Accountablitiy Burns, James Alexander and James Desmond. But on Tuesday it will probably come down to either Kathy Taylor or Don McCorkell.

The race has gotten a bit nasty over the air-waves, with a series of attack ad's and counter ad's.
And the polls show McCorkell is trailing. He's campaigning on the basics: crime, streets, and schools. He wants to dedicate a tax source to hire more police officers and keep them... use technology to improve traffic congestion and launch a captial improvement plan to improve Tulsa schools.

Megan Hackett, Union HS Junior: "I believe in his views and values on education... I wanna go to college and I believe with his help I can."

Glenda Golden, Taylor Volunteer: "When I read an article on Kathy Taylor it felt like she was going to bring a breath of fresh air into Tulsa."

Kathy Taylor was Governor Brad Henry's Secretary of Commerce and bringing business to Tulsa seems to be her focus. She wants to grow development downtown, help improve education to attract businesses from out of state, and combat crime. On Tuesday voters will decide who will go on to the general election on April 4th. Ashli Sims The News on 6.