Muskogee Mayor-Elect Outlines Plans For The City

Muskogee’s mayor-elect says he has big plans for the city. The former city councilor decided to run for mayor with two main goals in mind.

Voters overwhelmingly chose Patrick Cale in this week’s election after current mayor Marlon Coleman decided not to run again. While the title is new, Cale is no stranger to Muskogee after living in the community for more than 50 years.

His hope for younger people is to also stay in Muskogee.

“With all the potential we have right now, I want to see kids graduate college, come back to Muskogee and go to work and live here,” said Cale.

Cale says potential is why he decided to enter the race. He wants to make sure Muskogee is taking advantage of all industrial opportunities but also thinks it is time for a major facelift.

“We’ve all seen 50-year-old houses that haven’t had anything done to them,” he said. “They just rot away. That’s where we’re at in the city; I mean, we’re literally rotting away.”

According to Cale, you don’t have to look much further than downtown Muskogee to find aging facilities. He says the police department and city hall are in need of upgrades.

Police cars, public works buildings, and the Civic Center are just some of the other areas that need help. Cale believes the only way to make drastic changes is for voters to pass Muskogee’s first bond in 51 years.

He says Muskogee is at a disadvantage with similar communities, like Broken Arrow, which frequently passes bonds to make improvements. Cale is hopeful these changes could leave a lasting legacy.

“If I could be so lucky as to say this is what I did economically, this is what we brought in the industrial park and this is how we improved Muskogee and got it back on its feet, it would tickle me to death,” he said.

The bond proposal is still in the early stages and will have to be approved by the city council before Muskogee voters can decide on it. Cale is hopeful it will be on ballots sometime this year.