Tulsa Mayoral Debate: How Will You Work With Police To Combat The Fentanyl Crisis?

The Tulsa mayoral debate between candidates Karen Keith and Monroe Nichols is currently underway. Monroe Nichols, a Democratic representative for Oklahoma House District 72, is vying for the mayor's seat.

Karen Keith, also a Democrat, is the Tulsa County Commissioner for District 2. Her jurisdiction includes Sand Springs, Tulsa, Jenks, and Glenpool.

How will you work with the Tulsa Police Department to combat the fentanyl crisis?

Keith: it's absolutely a huge issue for all of us, and that starts with more security at our borders. We have to do a better job controlling what comes across our borders and so, you know, and our police definitely, this is something that they're having to pay attention to day in and day out. It's education. We need to reach out to our young people, to our families, and let them understand it could take their life. I mean, this fentanyl epidemic it's real, and as your mayor, I will do everything that I can to educate but to also work to make sure that let people know we want the border more secure.

Nichols: Look, this is something I think about a lot. I have a 16-year-old son, and he and his friends are really good kids, and we've seen, oftentimes, really good kids either make a mistake or there's something in something that they didn't know, and it is out of control, it's dangerous. And for me, I've talked at the top about making sure that we're addressing the issue of violent repeat offenders, I think that that's also for those folks who are part of these drug cartels, who are in our communities, who are actually here in Tulsa. I think we have to make sure that we're doing everything we can to protect public safety here, using intelligence, and making sure that we have high punishments for those who would give these things to our young people who spread them across our community. And then we also have to invest in drug treatment programs to make sure that folks who maybe have fallen into it, or maybe folks who are at threat of relapse, don't do it. It can cost them their lives. We have to educate. We also have to enforce the law, and we have to treat folks in this community.