Only two of the three people who have announced intentions to run for Tulsa's mayor were present at Thursday night's town hall in Brookside, as Tulsa County Commissioner Karen Keith said via a statement she was out sick with flu-like symptoms.
That left Tulsa City Councilor Jayme Fowler and state Rep. Monroe Nichols to kick off the first meeting of the city's potential 2024 mayoral candidates.
The nearly 1.5-hour forum, held at Southminster Presbyterian Church, covered housing issues, pollution, economic development, tribal relations, education and the 1921 Race Massacre.
The event was not a debate. The potential candidates did not question nor directly push back on each other's ideas. In fact, several of Fowler's and Nichols' ideas overlapped as they discussed ways to address key issues asked by moderator Matt Morgan, a local pastor and community leader.
Homelessness & housing
Both Nichols and Fowler said homelessness was one of the biggest issues the city faced.
"The reality is the problems has gotten worse," Nichols said. "You see it every day in streets across this community."
"No one should have to ever live out on the street," Fowler said.
Both men said the process for constructing new affordable housing was flawed and needs to be streamlined. They also agreed a number of problems, such as mental health and substance abuse issues, permeate many unhoused groups.
Nichols spoke on affordable housing and evictions as the crux of addressing homelessness. "We are top 10, I believe, in evictions," he said. He emphasized a bill he's introducing in the legislature to increase the affordable housing tax credit from $4 million to $15 million.
Fowler spoke about mental health issues and people who have "embraced homelessness as a lifestyle." He emphasized the city's push for a low-barrier shelter and cleaning up 'clouded titles' or vacant properties around the city that could be turned into housing. He also emphasized manufactured homes as a solution.
Toward the end of the town hall, the men were asked via an audience question about resistance to affordable housing.
"NIMBY-ism is a real thing," Nichols said, referring to 'Not in My Backyard,' a term used to describe residents who push back against public socioeconomic programs in affluent neighborhoods.
"Those [unhoused] communities, when you put people in a better situation, they don't get more dangerous," he said. "We're doing it the dangerous way now."
Fowler emphasized the failures of highly concentrated public housing. "We've had high concentrations of public housing," he said. "It doesn't work, it never did." Fowler emphasized mixed-use developments to integrate lower-income residents with their communities.
Education
Both men agreed Tulsa needs a strong public education system.
Nichols spoke to the issue of chronic absenteeism, saying economic disadvantages, namely evictions, contribute to kids not being in school. He said the TPS superintendent and educators shouldn't be held responsible for the city's socioeconomic issues.
Fowler emphasized the greater number of students in the district over the decades while the number of high schools has remained the same, but did not endorse any specific changes that needed to be made.
Tribal relations
Both men said strong relations with tribal communities were important in their future visions for Tulsa.
"They should be treated as great partners,” Fowler said, emphasizing treating the tribes with "respect" but not going into specific policies.
Nichols expressed his frustration with Gov. Kevin Stitt's relations with the tribes, calling the surrounding Native nations "the single greatest economic advantage that we have over every other city." Nichols said he did not want the city to litigate post-McGirt issues in the courts.
"This ought to be the center of Native culture across the country," he said.
Pollution
Nichols said there needs to be more transparency from city officials about pollution and hazards affecting the public.
"The folk that I've talked to, their chief concern is that 'we don't know' as we begin to dam up a lake in the middle of the Arkansas River how safe the water is," Nichols said. "When folks have questions, we need to have answers."
Fowler said he would have "no tolerance" on illegal dumping into city water. He also said he'd like the city to be better partners with the EPA and also the Department of Transportation to reroute hazardous materials that come through Tulsa via freight train.
Beautification & development
When asked about how to beautify the city more, Fowler spoke on "sweeping" homeless camps and enforcing trespassing laws. He also talked about exempting commercial property owners from flood plans, as a large chunk of Brookside is in a floodplain.
Nichols spoke on listening to individual communities about beautification. He also agreed with Fowler's point on vacant properties.
Tulsa Race Massacre
Both Fowler and Nichols reiterated their stances on a transparent city government when speaking about the investigations into the 1921 Race Massacre.
Fowler said Mayor Bynum's efforts had already been transparent and that the investigations should be "closure" to the descendants.
Nichols spoke to the issues of properly teaching history in Oklahoma, noting how many Tulsans had been unaware of the massacre. He said the descendants of massacre victims should be "in the driver’s seat" when it comes to the city's investigations.
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The town hall was hosted by the Brookside Business Association and Brookside Neighborhood Association.
Candidates can file for Tulsa's municipal elections in June.
You can watch the full town hall via Southminster Presbyterian Church's Facebook page.
