Tulsa Mayoral Debate: Main Goal With $1 Billion Budget?

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.

This year the city passed a $1 billion budget for the first time. Mayor Bynum said his main goal was to give the new mayor a good place to start. What will be your main goals for the budget in your first year as mayor?

Keith: Well again, I want to work on the permitting department and at the same time that will impact homelessness. So we, I want to stand up another low barrier shelter. We have to have it. The city has not had one. We have all these amazing shelters that you know, John 3:16, the day center for the homeless. We've got our family shelter. You've got IronGate, all these groups that are working in that front but we need low barrier shelters because there are individuals on the street now who will not and cannot go into some of these shelters because they have issues. A low barrier shelter allows somebody who -- doesn't matter what condition they come in, and if they have a dog or any of those things, they can go there and be taken care of, and get them off the streets. The negative impacts on our businesses and on our neighborhoods, are very destructive, and I would also, and I know Supreme Court rulings are inhibiting this, but we need to get individuals off of our medians who are soliciting because it is dangerous. I've been saying this for months, and now we just had somebody get killed. I want that fixed.

Nichols: Homelessness has been at the top of my list for me from the start. So that will start there. Secondly is making sure we're investing in our police department so we can get a jump start on getting more officers on the street, and get rid of our backlog on rape kit testing, which is critically important for the safety of people in this community. I also think we have to make sure that we're getting on top of this blight issue. In our affordable housing plan, there have been calls for a 60% reduction in blighted properties. We have to make sure that we're investing back in neighborhoods, that we're doing it in a way that actually gets outcomes, and that we're turning these blighted properties in those places where folks can have affordable housing, become a first-time homeowners, and change the complexion of neighborhoods, I think having some resources to do those things will be critically important out the gate.