Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum took his gospel on data-driven policy to the nation’s capital.
As part of a talk about reducing partisanship in local government titled "Why Partisan Rhetoric is for Losers," Bynum retold the story of his Tulsa mayoral election victory over Dewey Bartlett. Bynum said despite being cast as a Democrat in the nonpartisan race while Bartlett sold himself as a Republican’s Republican, he relied on data-driven policy to win by 17 points.
"Now, why is that story and that approach so novel? Why do we always allow ourselves to fall back on philosophical disagreements that ultimately lead to division?" Bynum said.
"The conventional wisdom is that to win an election, you have to dumb it down and play to your constituency's basest divisive instincts," Bynum said. "And when somebody wins an election like that, they win ... but the rest of us lose. And so, what we need to do is think about how can we change that dynamic."
Bynum’s underlying message was rather than being an obstacle to it, data is an engine for creative problem solving.
"When you're focused on a goal and you can test different strategies quickly, the sky's the limit," Bynum said.
Bynum said using data to guide policy encourages collaboration. The City of Tulsa is applying data to everything from public safety to closing a racial gap in life expectancy.
Bynum was among 15 speakers at a daylong TEDxPennsylvaniaAvenue forum in Washington, D.C. The event aimed to tell leaders what the nation can do together within 10 years.
