Perspective: 'No' campaign on why Muskogee should reject strong-mayor form of government

On June 30th, voters in Muskogee will be deciding on a City Proposition that would change the form of government from the current "council-manager" system to a "strong-mayor" system. I reached out to both sides of this issue and asked them to submit an op-ed. You can view the 'Yes' side's argument here. Below is an op-ed from former Muskogee mayor John Tyler Hammons on behalf of the 'No' campaign:

Why You Should Vote No on the Proposition to Revoke Muskogee’s City Charter

By John Tyler Hammons, Attorney 

The topic of structuring local governments isn’t all that fancy, but the voters of Muskogee will soon vote on a proposition to effectively rip up Muskogee’s constitution, our City Charter. A vote yes on the proposition removes the power of Muskogee’s people and gives it to the state.

Here’s why I urge my fellow citizens to vote no on the proposition.

Cities such as Chicago, New York City, and Baltimore – three cities that have adopted a “strong-mayor” form of government, see radically high crime rates due to poor leadership. The only way to replace the poor leadership is through an expensive election process which costs taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. A strong mayor form of government is most common among cities with populations exceeding  500,000 citizens.

Unfortunately, those mayors are also wanting to defund the police as we’ve seen in eecent news, and when they have no check and balance from the people, they run away with their radical Policies to defund police, fire, & rescue.

Currently – Muskogee’s government is a “council-manager” form of government. This form of government means we, the citizens of Muskogee, can immediately fire a bad city manager at the next council meeting If the manager is not meeting the expectations or fulfilling his or her duties.

In a strong mayor form of government, we, the citizens of Muskogee, would not be able to fire a bad manager – instead, it would rest in the hands of a Mayor – one person, with political ties, that influences every decision a City Manager would make.

According to Title 11 of the Oklahoma Statutes Citationized, if Muskogee switched to a strong-mayor form of government, we would be effectively abolishing the police, fire, & rescue agreements with our local servicemen and women. We would also be removing ward voting and we would be giving the Governor veto power over our city charter if he or she did not “like” what was in it. That’s just wrong on so many levels.

A government closest to its people, most connected to its people, is the best possible form of government.

We elect our leaders to hire an efficient and responsible manager with our tax dollars, and if they don’t run the city properly, we fire them at the next meeting. A government that is ruled by one person, as the “Vote Yes” campaign is proposing, one without a check and balance, is a dictatorship.

Muskogee changed from that style of leadership in 1920 for a reason. I will be voting no on June 30th for this proposition and respectfully encourage the people of Muskogee to visit www.savemuskogee.com to learn more information about this proposition.

Respectfully,

John Tyler Hammons
Attorney

Gary Jones endorses Pemberton for SD9

State Auditor Gary Jones has endorsed Senate District 9 candidate Dewayne Pemberton.

"State Auditor Gary Jones, Oklahoma's no nonsense watchdog, supports Dewayne Pemberton for State Senator. We need more citizen legislators that bring common sense and life experiences to the Oklahoma State Senate." - Gary Jones, State Auditor


For recent news on the SD9 race, click here.

Faught endorses Pemberton in SD9, Stevens in HD13

In the race for House District 13 (map), State Rep. George Faught (R-Muskogee) has endorsed Al Stevens in the Republican primary:

"It is my privilege to endorse Al Stevens for State Representative for House District 13. I have known Al for many years in both a personal and professional level. Al has vast business experience working in the community through his employment with OG&E and his years of service on numerous boards and committees in our local community. Al brings both the experience and common sense ideas that are needed in promoting economic development and accountability to our state government. He and his wife of more than 43 years, Sandy, a former public school teacher, create a great partnership and will serve this community well. Join with me and support a qualified leader - Al Stevens for State Representative in House District 13."

Stevens is facing off against Republicans Avery Frix and Leah Todd in the primary on Tuesday. The Republican nominee will face Democrat Wayne Herriman in the general election. The seat is currently held by Rep. Jerry McPeak (D-Warner), who is term-limited.

In the race for Senate District 9 (map), State Rep. George Faught has endorsed Dewayne Pemberton in the Republican primary:

"It is an honor for me to endorse Dewayne Pemberton for State Senate District 9. Dewayne has unique qualifications that make him the right choice to be your next Senator. With more than 30 years experience in Education as a former teacher, coach and high school administrator, Dewayne knows what needs to be done to help our schools succeed. Our next Senator needs to have the life experience and wisdom that comes with age, along with the proven conservative background to solve the many tough decisions facing Oklahoma. Dewayne will fight for the values of traditional marriage and protecting the unborn and he will be a champion of Education. He understands the role of government and will work to unleash the free enterprise system to create quality jobs and a prosperous economy. It is without hesitation that today I ask you to join me in electing Dewayne Pemberton as our next State Senator."

Pemberton is aiming to beat John Tyler Hammons in the GOP primary. The Republican nominee will face whichever of the three Democrat candidates emerge from their primary: Stephen Highers, Jack Reavis, or John Uzzo. This seat is currently held by Sen. Earl Garrison (D-Muskogee), who is also term-limited.

Bob Coburn, Arthur Hulbert endorse Hammons for SD9

John Tyler Hammons, former mayor of Muskogee and a Republican candidate for Senate District 9, has released endorsements from Muskogee Mayor Bob Coburn and former HD14 representative Arthur Hulbert.

Bob Coburn:

"John Tyler Hammons and I were competitors but then we became friends. We've worked together to improve our community. It's a testament to his faith, his character, and his ability to work together to bring about positive change. He's a hard worker, diligent, and smart. I am pleased to endorse John Tyler Hammons to be our next State Senator.




Arthur Hulbert: 

"John Tyler Hammons is a conservative Christian who shares our values and who works hard to defend them. He's the kind of young leader who does what is right even when nobody is looking. I got to know him when I was State Representative and I am pleased to endorse him to be our next State Senator."



Hammons is facing Dewayne Pemberton in the June 28th Republican primary for Senate District 9. Pemberton recently retired from a 36-year career in public education, which included being principal at both Hilldale High School and Muskogee High School.

Senate District 9 covers north and east portions of Muskogee County (excluding the Fort Gibson area) and southeast and central portions of Cherokee County. The heavily-Democratic seat is currently held by Earl Garrison (D-Muskogee), who is term-limited. Two Democrats are running - Tahlequah city councilor Stephen Highers and former HD14 candidate Jack Reavis.

Republican John Tyler Hammons announces for SD9

Former Muskogee mayor John Tyler Hammons has thrown his hat in the ring for the GOP nomination in Senate District 9. He joins fellow Republican candidate Dewayne Pemberton, and Democratic candidate Jack Reavis. Reavis has twice run unsuccessfully for House District 14, while Pemberton is making his first run for office.

Hammons made the announcement official with a Facebook post this afternoon:

Hammons was elected mayor of Muskogee in 2008 at the age of eighteen, making him at the time the youngest mayor in the nation, and was reelected in 2010. In 2012, he left office to pursue a law degree. He passed the bar over the summer, and currently works as an assistant attorney general of the Cherokee Nation.

Senate District 9 covers portions of Muskogee and Cherokee counties (including the cities of Muskogee and Tahlequah), and is currently held by Earl Garrison (D-Muskogee), who is term-limited.

Coburn wins mayor, three council races go to runoff

In last night's Muskogee mayoral contest, Bob Coburn defeated David Ragsdale with a resounding 69% to 31% margin. Coburn, cousin to the U.S. Senator, vacated a city council seat to run to succeed Mayor John Tyler Hammons.

Three council wards will be having runoff elections on April 3rd. In Ward I, Lee Ann Langston (49%) and Gary Cooper (42%) will face each other again. In Ward II, incumbent councilor Shawn Raper (47%) and Dan Hall (34%) are in a runoff. In Ward III, Derrick Reed (41%) and Dale "D." Boots (33%) finish out the runoff matchups. Wayne Johnson defeated Ron Venters 58% to 42% in Ward IV.

All three ballot propositions passed, with ward-voting receiving 57%. Proposition 1 (moving election date to comply with state law) took 79%, and Proposition 3 (moving swearing in date) got 88%.

Hammons won't seek reelection

From the Muskogee Phoenix:

Mayor won't seek new term

Hammons plans to attend law school

Mayor John Tyler Hammons said Thursday that he would step aside next year at the end of his second term to pursue a law degree.

Hammons dispelled speculation that he might run for the House District 14 post held by Rep. George Faught, who is seeking the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District race.

Hammons said he made his decision after he received law school scholarship offers. He hopes to attend the University of Oklahoma or the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

“We’ve done a lot of good things since I’ve been here, and I’m proud of that,” Hammons said. “I’m looking forward to going back to being a private citizen. ... It’s time to seek other opportunities.”

Read more from the Muskogee Phoenix here.

Must-Attend City Council Meeting Tonight

If you are from Muskogee, you simply do not want to miss tonight's City Council meeting.

New councilors Randy Howard and Kenny Payne will be sworn in, and the council will decide on a replacement for Bob Luttrull.

Luttrull submitted his resignation last Tuesday. Hammons nominated Craig Koele, who happens to be Hammons' mother's employer, to replace Luttrull, while Luttrull nominated Bob Coburn.

The last item on the council's agenda is to vote on Luttrull's replacement. You won't want to miss this city council meeting! The meeting starts at 7:00pm, in the council chambers on the 3rd floor of City Hall in downtown Muskogee.

I will be tweeting from the council meeting - follow the action on my Twitter account here.

Hammons' Nominee is Mother's Boss

Multiple sources have told Leif Wright (with MuskogeeNOW.com) and myself that John Tyler Hammons' nominee to replace Bob Luttrull on the city council is actually his mother's boss.

Craig Koele, Hammons' choice, is the CEO of Solara Hospital, where Kathy Hammons is apparently an employee.

MuskogeeNOW was the first to report on this, but was unable to get comments from either of the two Hammons' or Koele.

We were told that there have been instances of sexual harassment at Solara, and that Koele did nothing to take care of the situation.

If these stories are true, and given the close relationship between Hammons' and Koele, it would be a huge mistake for the city council to vote in Koele as Bob Luttrull's replacement.

Vacant Council Seat Nominations

Recently re-elected Muskogee Mayor John Tyler Hammons has announced his choice to fill the city council seat being vacated by Bob Luttrull, who resigned Tuesday afternoon for health reasons.

Mayor Hammons Nominates Local Businessman to Council Post

Muskogee, OK – Mayor John Tyler Hammons today announced his nominee for Ward I City Councilmember to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Bob Luttrull.

“I want to thank Mr. Luttrull for his work and dedication to the City Council,” Mayor Hammons said. “His family will be in my thoughts and prayers.”

To succeed Luttrull, the Mayor has nominated Craig Koele, a Muskogee businessman and hospital administrator who has served as Chief Executive Officer of Solara Hospital-Muskogee since 2006.

“I have known Mr. Koele for many years and have found him to be fair and honest in all his dealings,” said the Mayor. “He has demonstrated excellent leadership and business skills and possesses an impressive academic background. I look forward to working with him to address the issues facing Muskogee.”

Koele has been a Muskogee resident since 2007 after becoming the head of Solara-Muskogee. Koele has over twenty years of experience in the private sector as a healthcare administrator. He has previously served as the President of the Tulsa Area Mental Health Association in 2003.

"I appreciate the confidence that Mayor Hammons has expressed in me. He has made it clear that promoting job creation is a top priority of his second term, and I look forward to helping him with that effort," said Koele.

Koele, 53, is married to his wife, Kathi, and together they have one son: Quin, 15.
Mayor Hammons will official announce the nomination of Koele to the vacant City Council post on Monday, April 12, at the City Council’s regular meeting.

On the other hand, Bob Luttrull has nominated Bob Coburn as his replacement. Coburn came in second in the mayoral election that took place on Tuesday.

The city charter is vague on the replacement process; all it states is that the vacancy must be filled by a majority vote of the council. It does not say who nominates the replacement. In the past, it seems that the retiring councilman has nominated his choice, and the council has approved that replacement.

The vote to replace Luttrull will take place this coming Monday (April 12th). This will be a city council meeting you won't want to miss.

Fallout from Hammons' Reelection? Councilman Resigns

In a surprising announcement this evening, sitting councilman Bob Luttrull (Ward I) has resigned. Luttrull stated that the resignation was for health reasons; however, the timing is suspect.

It is well know that Luttrull did not get along well with Mayor John Tyler Hammons, who was handily reelected this evening. If Luttrull's health issues were dire enough to merit resignation, why didn't he resign before the filing period, in order to give candidates a chance to run for office?

A replacement councilor will be recommended by the mayor, and must be approved by the city council. Given the suddenness of the resignation, there is no indication from the mayor as to whom he might recommend.

UPDATE: The announcement was made in the afternoon, before the polls closed, essentially proving that it was not made due to election results. There has been no further elaboration on the particulars of why.

Hammons Wins Reelection, Incumbent Councilors Defeated

John Tyler Hammons has done it again, this time without a runoff. The young Muskogee mayor has won his bid for reelection, with a large enough margin of victory to skip a runoff.

Hammons was first elected in 2008, after winning the runoff race. This time, he didn't need it. He received 51.4% of the vote, or 2531 votes. Runner-up was Bob Coburn, with 29.4% (1447 votes), followed by Chris James with 17.8% (877 votes) and Teresa Garris with 1.4% (67 votes).

Not only will he be returning as mayor, but Hammons will be joined by two newly-elected city councilors. Councilman David Ragsdale lost the Ward III race to Randy Howard, 46.2% (2160) to 53.8% (2516), respectively. Councilman Jim Ritchey also lost, in Ward IV. Kenny Payne received 64% (3078), to Ritchey's 19.2% (923) and Cedric Johnson's 16.9% (812). In the school bond election, 70% (3031) of voters voted 'yes', and 30% (1300) voted 'no'.

Hammons has had a difficult time with the city council these past two years. With two new councilors, things may change for the better.

Congratulations to Mayor John Tyler Hammons, and councilors-elect Randy Howard and Kenny Payne!

Muskogee Election Results

Voting continues for the Muskogee municipal and school bond races - polls close at 7:00pm. If you have not voted, get to your polling place and vote!

I will be joining Bob Coburn at his mayoral campaign watch party, at the Indian Capitol Technology Center, and therefore will not be blogging the results.

However, I will use my Twitter account to update with election results as they come in. Keep an eye there for the results after 7:00pm.

Bob Coburn Files for Mayor

In a completely unexpected turn of events, Muskogee businessman Bob Coburn filed today for the Muskogee mayoral race. Bob is a cousin of U.S. Senator Tom Coburn. I had the opportunity to interview Bob this afternoon.

According to Coburn, people have been suggesting that he run for quite some time, although it wasn't until just recently that he started taking them seriously. In the past week to ten days, he began to pray about it, and felt that God was leading him to run. Circumstances and people in the past week kept confirming that. Yesterday, he decided to run for mayor.

When asked about his vision for Muskogee, he said that he would like to bring more cohesiveness to the city council through strong leadership. His goal is to work on a list of priorities as a council, and work toward common goals. Coburn said that he will begin to publicly flesh these thoughts out over the coming weeks.

Coburn has vast business experience, having spent about 10 years in manufacturing management with Coburn Optical, and has been involved in retail sales for about 15 years with Coburn Tuxedo's. He also operates four mini-storage facilities in the area, and has extensive commercial and residential properties across the city. He feels that this wide variety of business management is vital to leading the city of Muskogee, and that government should be run more like businesses have to (i.e. efficient, minimal waste, etc).

Bob and his wife of 38 years, Gwen, have attended First Baptist Church of Muskogee for over 25 years, where he is a deacon, Sunday School teacher, and leader in the Men's ministry. He has two children: daughter Jami [Coburn] Divelbiss and her husband Wayne (children Charlie and Carter), and a son, Joey and his wife Mindy [Parks] Coburn (children Kate and Rhett).

Also filing today was Teresa Carol Garris, also for mayor. Currently, only councilor David Ragsdale has drawn an opponent - councilors David Jones, James Gulley and Jim Ritchey have not.

The prospect of a Coburn candidacy excites me, as he is a respected member of the community, and someone with a great deal of business experience, which I feel is needed (and lacking) at City Hall. Stay tuned to this blog for the latest on the 2010 Muskogee mayoral race.

Muskogee Mayoral Race Update

Quite a bit has happened since my last post on the Muskogee mayoral race. The last I posted of, sitting Councilman Jim Ritchey announced for mayor on August 20th, and Mayor John Tyler Hammons announced for reelection on November 30th.

The past two days have added new developments.

Chris James, a local travel agent, announced his candidacy for mayor at an event on Tuesday attended by about 150 people, according to reports by the Muskogee Phoenix. James was introduced by former mayor Wren Stratton, who immediately preceeded Mayor Hammons.

On Wednesday, Jim Ritchey withdrew from the race, and threw his support to Chris James. Ritchey will instead run for a second term on the city council. James appears to be uniting the anti-Hammons segment, as well as some of the more "establishment" crowd in Muskogee.

James has a reputation for being somewhat... immature (he has quite a few pictures on his Facebook page many would consider obscene), while Hammons is perceived by some to only be looking for his political future, as he has stated in the past that he wants to run for Governor and President. It remains to be seen as to which of the candidates will be able to garner the support necessary to win this race, and whether or not more candidates will jump in. Filing for the April 6th election begins next week.

Hammons to Run for Reelection

Muskogee Mayor John Tyler Hammons said tonight that he will be running for re-election in 2010.

Hammons made the announcement at a press conference attended by about forty Muskogee residents at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Many in the crowd were members of local veterans groups, a testament to efforts Hammons made with their encouragement to fly both the American and POW flags at City Hall and the Civic Center. Others present included citizens who faithfully attend city council meetings, such as community activist Ivory Vann, a former city council candidate.

Jordan Stevens, former mayor of Oktaha, will be reprising his role as campaign manager, and Jack Harrison will again be campaign chairman. HammonsForMayor.com will be re-launching soon, according to the candidate.

"Two years has been too short to accomplish what I'd like to get done," Hammons said, referring to various initiatives he has tried to pass, such as a campaign finance ordinance and several charter changes.

So far, his only announced opponent is sitting councilman Jim Ritchey. The election will be held on April 6th, 2010.

Hammons to Make Reelection Announcement

Muskogee Mayor John Tyler Hammons will be making an official announcement regarding his intentions for, or against, reelection in 2010 tonight.

The press conference will be held tonight at 6pm at the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee. Hammons was first elected in May of 2008; at the time, making him the youngest mayor in the nation.

The next mayoral and city council election will be held on April 6th. The filing period is February 1-3. City Councilor Jim Ritchey has already announced that he will be running for mayor.

Mayor Hammons Announces Goals at State of the City

Muskogee Mayor John Tyler Hammons announced his goals for Muskogee at his second State of the City address this morning, at a luncheon put on by the Greater Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce attended by over 300 business and community leaders.

Hammons' main goal was an education plan based off of 'Tulsa Achieves' - providing free college education to students who graduate in Muskogee County, and meet several guidelines (good grades, reside within the county, community service, etc.). "This is the next step [for Muskogee] to be competitive," he said. "Education is the only way to improve your way of life."

"Jobs and titles come and go, but your education is forever," he emphasized. He admitted that no funding mechanism had come to the surface yet, but encouraged public input to find the best plan.

He mentioned several other goals as well. He wants the City to implement environmentally friendly policies, such as switching some city vehicles to compressed natural gas, and setting an objective that by 2014 at least half of the paper used by the city be environmentally friendly. He also wants to see recycling programs expanded.

He called on the city council to form a Street Oversight Committee to, utilizing public input, work alongside the Public Works Department in prioritizing streets to be repaired. In addition, while praising recent steps taken towards making city government more open and accountable, he announced hope to "take [openness and accountability] a step further," by posting all proposed ordinances and resolutions on the city website before the council votes. He plans to bring this up to the council soon.

Hammons also wants to see the City assist renters buy homes, through grants to help with down-payments.

He spent the rest of his address discussing various highlights from the past year.

• No murders in Muskogee since August 2007 (ironically, a Tulsa World article in 2006 called Muskogee "Oklahoma's killing field", after statistics showed that Muskogee had a high rate of murders per 100,000 people; the article came at a time when Tulsa's murder rate was skyrocketing)
• Crime rate cut by 50% since 1995
• Muskogee EMS first in state to provide flu shots to the elderly and homebound
• Growth in building permits issued
• Least (1st) expensive transportation costs in nation, when compared with cities of relative size
• 4th lowest housing costs in nation, when compared with cities of relative size
• 12th lowest cost of living in nation, when compared with cities of relative size
• 35% increase of events at Civic Center (2010 events to include the Harlem Globetrotters, and the ESPN Bass Elite Tournament)
  

Hammons intends to announce his intentions regarding intentions for a second term at a press conference in a month or so; signs indicate that he will seek reelection.

Mayor to Announce Reelection Plans at State of the City

Muskogee Mayor John Tyler Hammons plans to announce his reelections intentions at his State of the City address next Thursday.

Hammons was first elected in the spring of 2008, when he was 19 years old, defeating long-time former mayor Hershel McBride, who was attempting to reenter city politics. At the time, this made Hammons the youngest mayor in the country, and his election drew significant media attention.

According to the Muskogee Phoenix, Hammons stated "I will be announcing whether I will be running for re-election as well as another thing that will be affecting our economy. I've been meeting with various other players, who I can’t identify at this time, who are on board with the idea and we'll be taking it to the public."

City Councilor Jim Ritchey has already announced his plans to run for mayor. The election will be held on April 6th, 2010.

I fully expect Mayor Hammons to run for reelection, mainly because he has not been able to accomplish much of what he originally set out to do - campaign finance reform, term limits, ward voting, et cetera.

Hammons will be delivering his State of the City address at the annual Chamber of Commerce luncheon at 11:30am on october 1st at the Muskogee Civic Center.

Jim Ritchey to run for Mayor

City Councilor Jim Ritchey has announced his intention to run for Muskogee mayor in next April's election.

The seats that will be open for election next spring are Ward I (David Jones' seat), Ward II (James Gulley's seat), Ward III (David Ragsdale's seat), Ward IV (Jim Ritchey's seat), and the mayoral seat (currently held by John Tyler Hammons). The other seat from each ward is up 2011.

Ritchey's announcement means that at least one city council seat will be up for grabs. Rumor has it that Ward I and Ward II may be open seats in the next election as well.

You can read the Muskogee Phoenix's article here.