Question: What is your primary reason for service as Tulsa City Councilor, District 7?
“I have seen Tulsa’s infrastructure neglected in my district and others over the last twenty years. We must reverse that pattern.
[Updated] The Tulsa Public School District’s (TPS) functional failures and controversy has evoked paranoia, hysteria, propaganda, and scurrilous behavior from educational establishment minions, but now, after two and a half years of observation, your editor is overjoyed to report collaborative problem solving has occurred.
The Problem: Oklahoma accreditation standards require one half-time library assistant in schools with more than 500 students and one full-time library assistant in schools with more than 1,000 students. TPS does not have the staff to comply. It needs a waiver from the State Board of Education.
Further, as of that September 16, 2024, school board meeting, the position “library assistant” had not even been posted! School librarians and the Tulsa Classroom Teachers’ Association are more than annoyed.
Calling all singers! Applications are open for Signature Symphony’s concert and vocalist competition “Tulsa Sings! Open Mic Night”. If you’re interested in joining the Signature Symphony and professional vocalist Scott Coulter on stage for the sixth-annual “Tulsa Sings!” competition, submit an audition video now through Oct. 14.
Selected finalists will work with Coulter, a New York City-based vocalist, and will perform with the professional orchestra in residence at “Tulsa Sings! Open Mic Night” on March 8, 2025.
In a release late Tuesday, the Brent VanNorman campaign backs the election recount outcome.
“After the largest recount in Tulsa County history, the razor-thin results of the August 27th Tulsa mayoral election have been certified. Each candidate lost votes due to ballot errors, but not enough to make the difference. The VanNorman campaign also learned of several opportunities to strengthen election integrity, particularly as it pertains to early voting. While we are continuing to inspect absentee envelopes, at this time, the campaign supports the verified outcome and expresses its deepest appreciation for everyone involved in ensuring a transparent and accurate process,” the team wrote.
Brent VanNorman said, “While the overall outcome didn’t change, the recount has played out fairly, and we stand by the results.”
Following the extremely close results of the August 27th mayoral election, Brent VanNorman’s campaign team announced late Thursday plans to request a recount. In the historic and razor-thin race, Brent VanNorman finished just a few hundred votes behind Monroe Nichols and Karen Keith, who advanced to a runoff. In total votes, Monroe Nichols received 18,729, Karen Keith 18,457 and Brent VanNorman 18,019, of the 56,585 vote total reported to the State Election Board here.
Despite the close overall numbers, Brent VanNorman won the most precincts of the top three finishers—69 precincts, compared to Monroe Nichols’ 49 and Karen Keith’s 30. Given this strong showing and the unprecedented closeness of the results, there has been a strong groundswell of support from Tulsans encouraging the campaign to ask for a manual recount.
