Former Tulsa Mayor Jim Inhofe Remembered For Key His Infrastructure Projects In The City

Long before Jim Inhofe was a ranking member in the U.S. Senate, known nationally for his conservative views, he served as mayor of Tulsa from 1978 to 1984.

It was during Tulsa's commission form of government when the mayor had less executive authority and needed to find more common ground to get anything done.

Current Mayor G.T. Bynum said despite that, “He's regarded as one of the most effective mayors in the history of the city.”

During Inhofe's tenure at City Hall, he made the deal to build the first low-water dam in the river, started the first city-wide trash pickup, helped launch 911 service, and argued for the first of Tulsa's third-penny sales tax votes, which had considerable opposition.

“For a long time, if you saw sewer, waterlines, park improvements, those were because of the third-penny sales tax that Jim Inhofe got started when he was the mayor of Tulsa,” said Bynum.

Inhofe often said his time as mayor was the hardest political job he ever had, but that it helped him know what was important in Washington.

Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith, a Democrat, said Inhofe was a willing partner on projects to improve Tulsa.

“Senator Inhofe worked very hard to make sure we got everything we could get,” she said. “I think if you look at any of the major highway projects, Jim Inhofe's fingerprints are all over it, and if you look at the levee project, he led the charge to get us that $137 million.”

The levee and the funding to replace Tulsa's airport control tower were among Inhofe's last legislative accomplishments.

“Even in his very last year, he secured $40 million for our new air traffic control facility at Tulsa International. Infrastructure was a great passion of his, I think because he knew it benefits everyone,” said Bynum.

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