OKC City Councilman Ed Shadid

It came to light in the December 20th OKC city council meeting that OKC  is giving $7,200,000 to Continental Resources, a huge company that does fracking in North Dakota, money that the city does not actually have.

The CEO of Continental Resources is from Enid, and is moving the corporate headquarters to the old Devon building.

“I am personally heart broken,” Councilman Ed Shadid stated.  “We are borrowing $7.2 million to give for something that was going to happen anyway.  I think that I am powerless to stop it.”

Shadid asked why we are giving $7.2 million to a thriving company that was going to move its headquarters to Oklahoma City anyway.  He stated that this money is part of a bond issue which passed in 2007, during an  ice storm.  Shadid insinuated that the bond issue would probably not have passed had it not been for the ice storm.

Continental Resources is a multi-billion dollar company that is involved in a huge fracking operation in North Dakota.  The oil shale in North Dakota is much larger than anyone ever imagined.  Shadid stated that there are 24 billion barrels of oil.  The size of the company is tripling every 3 years.

According to Ed Shadid, Continental Resources  grew 40% in 2010.

“These jobs are going to be created anyway,” Shadid insisted.

The state is also giving economic incentives to Continental Resources.

Shadid stated that this economic incentive had nothing to do with this move from Enid to Oklahoma City.

“This $7.2 million is just a token,” he said.

Shadid further stated that OKC is giving more than we gave to Chesapeake or Boeing.

“Larger and larger incentives puts us in the race to the bottom,” the councilman asserted.

Shadid stated that the time to address this is a vote on the bond issue.

“I just don’t think that the majority of the public agrees,” Shadid continued. “You have to be a large company to get these incentives.  In the future, the bond issue needs to be reworded so that small businesses are the focus.”

Shadid reminded the city council that small businesses employ 90% of the workers in Oklahoma.

To see the video of Shadid’s statement, go to the following site.  Take the little green tab to the center and then pull is back 1/8 inch to see  Shadid’s comments:

http://www.okc.gov/AgendaPub/mtgviewer.aspx?meetid=1322&doctype=AGENDA

     This alliance, made up primarily of white, male elitists, purports to be a "social welfare organization", but looks at first glance more like a "corporate welfare organization".

     In an article in the Oklahoma Gazette entitled Strategic Alliance (http://okgazette.com/oklahoma/article-11444-strategic-alliance.html), Catherine O’Connor (an employee of OKC) stated:

"The effort is simply institutionalizing the city’s current practices and brings structure to an ad hoc approach given to complex issues."

     Ms. O'Connor is correct, for once.  A small group of white, male elitists has run Oklahoma City from behind the scenes for generations.  Now that the voters of OKC have elected Councilman Ed Shadid ( who cannot be bought or intimidated, and will shine the light of day on what happens behind closed doors), the fat cats are trying to legitimize what they have been doing under the table for decades:  making all the important decisions about how our tax revenues will be spent (usually for their own benefit), and leaving for the City Council the mundane issues like water and garbage, and the crumbs that fall from their table.

     This is just another of dozens of games the Gaylords and their elitist friends always have played, designed to assure that they get their cut of the OKC tax revenues off the top. 

     The members of the Alliance for Economic Development include Clay Bennett (who married into the billionaire Gaylord family), Larry Nichols (oil executive), Roy Williams (Greater OKC Chamber), and Ron Norick (former mayor).  Every one of these guys is a bloodsucker who has a clear conflict of interest.

     According to the Oklahoma Gazette, Larry Nichols' Devon Energy ignored calls from the newspaper last Friday.  Devon Energy is sucking our tax coffers dry, and participating in a scheme to avoid transparency.  Their spokesman, Chip Minty, avoided talking to the media.  Not even he can talk himself out of this one. 

     Jim Couch and Catherine O'Connor "serve" on this board, but as employees of OKC, they know that they will be summarily fired if they ever breathe a word of disagreement with anything the kingpins want to do.

     Pat Ryan and Meg Salyer also serve on the board, but they owe their jobs to these fat cats, so they are in no position to complain.  Ryan and Salyer know about all the dirty, under-handed schemes these fat cats have played over the years.  They are too weak to stand up for the taxpayers who voted them into office.

     So what is the point of having a OKC City Council, if it relinquishes all its power to a small group of rich, white males?  OKC City Council is a charade, it has always been a charade, and it will be an absurd pretense intended to create a pleasant/respectable appearance until we, the people, demand transparency and start treating these fat cats like the thieves they are.  They have stolen our tax revenues for decades, and now they want us to sanction their actions.

     It is encouraging to note that Councilman Ed Shadid has asked that a member of the Oklahoma Legislature request an Attorney General's opinion regarding the legality of the above.

    These fat cats believe that we, the people, are beneath them.  Jim Couch, Catherine O'Connor, Pat Ryan, Meg Salyer, and Mick Cornett are merely puppets on their stage.  The election of Shadid has given the people of OKC encouragement to stand up and fight for the honorable government we deserve.

    In the meantime, I will continue to call this group of elitists "The Alliance for Economic Deception".

Fannie Bates is a resident of Oklahoma City.

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.

by Sarah Taylor, with apologies to Clement Clarke Moore

‘Twas the night ‘fore Election Day, and all through the City,
voters were pondering the “Momentum Committee.”

Their mailings received and their robo-calls gotten,
and the feelings they left, they were something quite rotten.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars they paid,
to squash the momentum the “veggie” had made.

The “drama” of hybrids, the “evils” of solar!
We were seeing the fear in our City’s high rollers.

“He’s backed by the Unions! We think he likes disco!!”
“He’ll turn our fair City into San Francisco!”

If it wasn’t so serious, you’d think these were jokes!
But our own City’s future is tied to this, folks!

They spent all this money to muddy the truth,
and try to persuade you in the voting booth.

But tomorrow’s your chance to show the “Big Shots.”
Let the “Momentum” folks know that your vote can’t be bought!

Stand up for your future! Your voice must be heard!
The will of the people shall not be deterred!

So I leave you to ponder this one final note:
It’s all about our neighborhoods, now GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

Published with the permission of the author

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.

Shadid, who is the New York Times' Beirut bureau chief, has risked his life repeatedly so that we can know what is going on in the Mideast.

His large extended family here in Oklahoma, along with thousands of other Okies, are breathing a sigh of relief now that he has been released and is back on friendly ground.

Shadid will be coming home in a few days to see his parents and his many other relatives, including Dr. Ed Shadid, who is currently running for the OKC City Council.

Anthony Shadid is a national hero and an internationally acclaimed journalist.  It seems only fitting that he should receive a red-carpet welcome when he arrives back in Oklahoma City.

Dr. Ed Shadid is running against Charlie Swinton, a banking lobbyist who identifies closely with OKC Mayor Mick Cornett. The question is whether Mayor Cornett and the Oklahoma City Council have the dignity and intestinal fortitude to put their petty partisan political preferences aside long enough to give this hero the welcome he deserves.

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.

There are a lot of fake telephone surveys that go on in Oklahoma that are intended, not to obtain information, but to spread misinformation.

For example, the questioner might ask:

"If I told you the (INSERT LIE HERE), would you still support this candidate?

"If I told you that (the candidate you said you like) was a card carrying member of the ACLU, would you still vote for him?"  (They didn't say he was.  You have just been fed a lie.)

This is going on right here in Oklahoma City, right now.  And it has been going on for years. 

Whenever you take a telephone survey, if the questions sound questionable, write down one question that seems shady, then ask the surveyor to repeat the name of the company paying for the survey and his/her own name.  Then hang up and email this information to me, so we can compile data on these phony survey companies and their backers.

I believe that Brian Walters must have been a thorn in side of the fat cats who are pulling the strings of Mayor Mick Cornett.   Somebody spent a lot of money to boot Walters out of the OKC City Council.  And that same anonymous entity has pulled every dirty trick in the book to keep Dr. Ed Shadid from being elected to the OKC City Council.  Walters and Shadid are a threat to the fat cats who have been sucking OKC dry, because Walters and Shadid think for themselves.

--Fannie Paschall Bates is a resident of Oklahoma City.  fannie_bates@yahoo.com

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.

Gwin asked Swinton how much he expected to spend to win the council seat.
Swinton responded, “We are raising more than (others have raised in the past).” But he seemed to be somewhat recalcitrant about saying just who he meant when he said “we”. I gathered from the overall conversation that “we” is Charlie Swinton and an unknown number of anonymous millionaires/billionaires who want to make sure the OKC tax money keeps coming their way.

Swinton alleged that Ed Shadid was opposed to MAPS, but Shadid later refuted that claim. Shadid stated that it was Swinton who had publicly stated that he would support postponing the transit portion of MAPS 3 for several years.  According to a poll, OKC citizens strongly support expansion of local transit.

“The leaders who are supporting me supported MAPS,” Swinton said.   But he did not mention one single name as a supporter. Swinton did say “the mayor and a former mayor” are backing him, but he didn’t mention Mick Cornett by name or say who the “former mayor” was. As for Mayor Mick Cornett, he was almost defeated in his last election by an unknown, so I am not sure how much political capital he has to lend to Swinton.

“People who are supporting my opponent (Ed Shadid) were opposed to MAPS 3.” I guess he is talking about the firefighters and police, who voted unanimously to support Shadid. [Editor's Note: Charles Swinton aslo sought the endorsement of the firefighters and police.]

Gwin asked Swinton how important he thought endorsements are. Swinton didn’t actually name one single endorser. It is obvious that he really doesn’t want us to know exactly who his backers are.

Swinton went on to say that “No known, quality folks are backing Shadid.”  Wow. Swinton wants us to believe that a bunch of anonymous fat-cat businessmen who are backing him are good solid citizens, but the Sierra Club members, firefighters and police, who are backing Shadid are not “known, quality folks”.  So I guess that means that Swinton thinks that our police and firefighters are neither known nor quality folks?

Charlie Swinton takes heart in the fact that all the other candidates who have won so far were supporters of MAPS 3. So he thinks maybe he will win, too. But those other candidates were not running against Ed Shadid.

Swinton said, “I’ve been in and around government all my life.” Now that seems very funny to me. I have spent hundreds of hours in city council meetings, county commissioner meetings, and at legislative sessions, and I don’t even recognize Swinton's face. I think maybe he was in a back room cutting deals with cold, green cash while we hard-working citizens were out in the front office trying to get fair government just by asking for it.

Swinton went on to say that he wants to make a difference. But I don’t see how he can make a difference on the City Council if he thinks just like everybody else on the council.

He claimed that job development is a key priority for him, but he didn't give any example of how he is going to create any sustainable jobs. Charging the taxpayers $50 million for another hotel downtown may create some temporary jobs, but most of them will probably go to construction workers from other states.

Gwin asked Swinton how he would support small businesses. He said that when people come in for a permit, he’ll make sure they don’t get the run-around. He is insinuating that the service provided by city employees is deficient, and he is going to fix it. I have gone to city offices many times for permits, and I never get the run-around. I get wonderful service. Charlie Swinton is blowing hot air.

Gwin asked Swinton his opinion about where the new civic center should be built, but he didn’t seem to have a clear-cut answer. You don’t think the people who are trying to suck up huge profits off of that project are funding his campaign, do you?

Gwin asked him if the City would use taxpayer money to build another big hotel downtown. He seemed to think that would be a good investment.

She asked him about the urban street car. He didn’t want to give a definitive answer, but he said that Debbie Blackburn thinks that this kind of transit projects are pie in the sky. So what does Debbie Blackburn have to do with this? Is she running? He doesn’t want to state his own opinion, so her quotes her!

“I've always been an advocate,” Swinton said.

I agree. Charlie Swinton has always been an advocate for the rich and powerful.

“I fancy myself as someone who is down to earth. Mainstream,” Swinton said.

Really? How many banking lobbyists do you see at WalMart? At the laundrymat? At the carwash?

Gwin asked him if the council has the right to change MAPS 3 projects. “The project has already been voted on,” Swinton replied.

I consider that a clear and intentional distortion of the truth. I voted on MAPS 3. The projects were not individually listed. We basically voted to give the City Council our money and let them spend it however they saw fit.

To sum it up, Swinton said  “I will continue like the mayor and others.” I wish he would tell us what “others” he was talking about.

The run-off election for the Ward 2 City Council seat is April 5. Find your polling place here.

Fannie Paschall Bates is a resident of Oklahoma City.
 

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.

This event is sponsored by the Oklahoma Sponsoring Committee.

Map: http://goo.gl/maps/IoCx

7pm - Mayfair /School

Map: http://goo.gl/maps/KOMw

THE WARD 2 RUN-OFF ELECTION IS TUESDAY, APRIL 5TH

Ward 2 dimensions roughly include:
Sante Fe (east) to Portland Ave (west)
NW 23rd Street (south) to NW 122nd Street (north)<!--break-->

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.

     "We are proud to support and campaign on behalf of Dr. Shadid," stated Susan McCann, former chair of Change Oklahoma.  "Qualifications- Excellent! Integrity- Unchallengeable! An independent voice who will force accountability from our Oklahoma City Council."

     Change Oklahoma is an organization formed in 2009 to encourage and support progressive candidates for polical office in Oklahoma.

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.

    Waldrop stated:

I had a long conversation with Dr. Shadid recently on the phone, and was really impressed by his long-term commitment to Oklahoma City and his understanding of the role that sustainability concepts can play in local government issues.  He would bring an important perspective to the city council that is presently lacking, and he is also opposed to the looting of the city to benefit the downtown special interests.

     Bob Waldrop is a fourth generation Oklahoman. He is the founder of the Oscar Romero Catholic Worker House (which delivers food to people in need who don’t have transportation), one of the founders of the Oklahoma Food Cooperative, and he served as the organization’s first president and general manager.  He served on the founding board of directors of the Oklahoma Sustainability Network, and previously served on the Migrants and Refugees Advisory Committee of Catholic Charities. He is the editor of Better Times: An Almanac of Useful Information, which is distributed free. The 5th edition may be viewed at www.bettertimesinfo.org/2004index.htm. He was a member of the Oklahoma Food Policy Council. He has also served as an Oklahoma County Master Gardener.

     Residents can vote Monday, February 28, at the County Election Board on Lincoln Blvd., North of the Capitol complex.

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.

According to an OKC Council member, the Chamber of Commerce calls the shots for the Council; and all of the deals are made before they ever come to a vote. So the Council stayed mute while the Union Station rail yard was destroyed.

We badly need medical doctor Ed Shadid, one of six candidates running to replace retiring Sam Bowman on the OKC Council. Shadid is financing his own campaign and will probably be hotly opposed because he is not bought and paid for.

That massive, unnecessary highway through Oklahoma City makes it apparent that oil and asphalt industries get what they want.  In fact, Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) Chair, Gary Ridley, was a former executive director of the Oklahoma Asphalt Paving Association.

OKC's MAPS 3 sales tax will fund the 70-acre front yard (called a "park") for Devon Energy's skyscraper.

OKC's wealthy get even richer and the poor help pay the bills through sales taxes. God help us.

This is an excerpt of an article originally published by Oklahoma Citizen.