Tulsa's issues are no mystery to the city's mayoral candidates — it's how the issues get resolved that they differ.
Mayoral candidates Karen Keith, Monroe Nichols, Brent VanNorman, John Jolley and Casey Bradford discussed their visions for the city at a panel Thursday night at the University of Tulsa. Candidates Kaleb Hoosier and Paul Tay were not in attendance.
Tulsa has a strong mayor form of government, meaning the mayor functions as an administrator and a figurehead for the city.
Tulsans will vote for their next mayor Aug. 27. Candidates will compete in a runoff election Nov. 5 if none secure more than half of votes cast.
Absentee ballots must be requested by Aug. 12.
Homelessness
Homelessness is top of mind for Tulsa's current mayor and city councilors, and it is for the mayoral candidates, too.
Tulsa County's point-in-time survey included 1,427 unhoused people this year. While chronic homelessness decreased from last year, it's by far the highest number since Housing Solutions Tulsa began tracking the numbers in 2016. On top of that, 73% of people counted in the 2024 survey reported first experiencing homelessness in Tulsa County.
Nichols wants to create a database to track the city's progress toward "ending homelessness as we know it" by 2030, and hiring someone to the mayor's office to oversee this goal. He also emphasized creating more affordable housing in Tulsa by adding 2,000 units per year.
VanNorman disagreed with Nichols.
"Homelessness is not primarily a housing issue. It's primarily a drug and mental health issue," said VanNorman, calling nonprofits like John 3:16 Mission models for addressing homelessness.
Other candidates focused on the well-being of unhoused people. Jolley said unhoused people have "got to believe in themselves" to succeed.
Keith mentioned well-being as a reason she supports tiny homes for unhoused people.
“We have to help create community for them," she said. "You can’t just stick them in a hotel."
Keith also said she wants to reconstruct the city's building permit process in her first 90 days as mayor. She said the lengthy process to get a construction permit deters developers from building affordable housing in Tulsa.
Bradford said allowing nonprofits greater access to the city and Housing Solutions would help address homelessness.
“A lot of resources here don’t have access to this system," he said.
TPS and Ryan Walters
As he has been for the last year in Tulsa, Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters was a prominent discussion topic among the candidates.
Walters in summer 2023 prompted Tulsa Public Schools' former superintendent to resign after threatening to lower or possibly remove the district's accreditation. He cited failing test scores and an embezzlement case that school officials reported to police.
Walters has since eased up on the district and even praised its improved performance under new superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson. Under Walters, the state board of education ordered Johnson to train educators on the science of reading, raise academic outcomes, and get low-performing schools higher grades on state report cards.
All candidates said Walters has not treated the district fairly except VanNorman, who said Walters "had to come in when he did." VanNorman later added that Walters' approach to TPS would work under his leadership as mayor.
“Let’s give people the opportunity to express themselves," he said.
Keith said TPS has performed well under Johnson — the district recently boasted a five-point overall jump in the Oklahoma School Testing Program.
But Keith also said she refers to Walters as "Voldemort," the primary villain in the Harry Potter book and movie series.
Jolley said Walters has made things tenser at TPS.
“My daughter goes to Tulsa Public Schools. I feel the pressure that these teachers are under, that the administration is under, and I feel the pressure that the kids are under," said Jolley.
When asked how the city should be involved at TPS, Jolley said youth need to have education tailored to their needs. Nichols highlighted his plan to create a city office of children and families to address youth needs and improve education outcomes.
Nichols also touted his record of publicly opposing Walters.
“When Ryan Walters attacked our school district, I was the only one on the stage who would say anything about it," he said.
Bradford said the district needs to remove itself from state politics as much as possible because Tulsa is "changing too fast."
"We have too many groups in the city that we cannot wait for legislation two, three, five years down the road" to address student performance, he said.
VanNorman said he would like a role on TPS' board, "even if just in an advisory capacity."
Police shortages
The culture of the Tulsa police department and the city it patrols were common themes when candidates discussed how to recruit and retain officers.
Panelists noted TPD is about 140 officers short of its authorized force of 943. Officers are required to have a bachelor's degree to join the force.
VanNorman said city officials need to reconsider the degree requirement. He said they could look at military experience as a qualification, or allowing candidates with associates degrees to complete their bachelor's degrees after they're hired.
He also said police in other cities could make good candidates, which Jolley and Keith also supported.
“If we have to go outside the city — which I think we probably would — there might be some great police officers who are probably disillusioned with where they are," said Jolley.
Keith said communities that don't appreciate police like Tulsa "would be ripe for recruitment," and will work with Tulsa's Fraternal Order of Police chapter to bring on new officers. She also said the city's crime clearance rates, real-time information center and new police headquarters make Tulsa attractive to new officers.
Bradford said the mayor needs to make TPD a place officers want to work and said the culture of the department starts with the police chief. Chief Dennis Larsen has taken over the department after former chief Wendell Franklin stepped down at the end of July.
Nichols said benefits like retirement will help with officer retention.
Nichols also promoted putting public safety "back into the hands of the community" through school programs, supporting people in the court system and helping people who get out of prison.
“Also, make sure police aren’t responding to calls they shouldn’t be responding to," said Nichols. He supported TPD's new integrated response team, which was created in 2023 to respond to mental health calls.
What else is on the ballot?
Every city council seat, councilors' salaries and the city auditor's salary are also on the Aug. 27 ballot.
The city council candidates are:
- District 1: Vanessa Hall-Harper and Angela Chambers
- District 2: Anthony Archie, Aaron Bisogno, W.R. Casey Jr., Stephanie Reisdorph and Rhene Ritter
- District 3: Jackie Dutton and Susan Frederick
- District 4: Laura Bellis and Aaron Griffith
- District 5: Alicia Andrews and Karen Gilbert
- District 6: Christian Bengel and Uriah Davis
- District 7: Lori Decter Wright, Margie Alfonso and Eddie Huff
- District 8: Phil Lakin and Chris Cone
- District 9: Jayme Fowler, Carol Bush, Lee Ann Crosby, Julie Dunbar and Matthew Nelson
Tulsans will also vote on a charter amendment to raise city councilors' salaries from $24,000 per year to $32,000 per year. They will also consider to raise the city auditor's salary from 50% of the mayor's salary to 75%, or $142,500 after council raised the mayor's salary to $190,000.
Neither charter amendment would raise taxes for Tulsans.
