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PrintChanging of the guard
A new Tulsa mayor takes office today.
Today is the day that Dewey Bartlett Jr. will be sworn in as Tulsa’s 39th mayor.
“And so you see I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true
I stand alone, without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.”
The above verse from “Kathy's Song” (How perfect is that?) by Simon and Garfunkel is a slightly more dramatic expression of my many mixed feelings about today’s departure of Mayor Kathy Taylor and the future of downtown Tulsa.
Forget the partisan bickering, the soap opera-like City Council meetings and the rest of it. In regard to downtown Tulsa, Mayor Taylor has been a fierce advocate. Granted, many of the things that have come to pass during her tenure (BOK Center, Centennial celebration) were hatched before she was sworn into office, but the execution of an idea is often more difficult than coming up with it in the first place. There can be no arguing that the downtown of late 2009 is a far more vibrant and optimistic place than it was four years ago. The mayor did not do these things alone; in fact, most of the progress can’t even be traced directly back to her. But the hope and ambition that fills the young local entrepreneurs is something she has championed strongly. And that isn’t a conservative or liberal trait.
I’ve talked in a few previous columns about my worries. I don’t think Mr. Bartlett has any ill will in regard to downtown. I’m just not sure there’s a will in the first place. But this will be my last comment on these matters for at least a year. I want to give the new mayor time not only to tell us his vision, but I want to give him some time to show us as well.
Mr. Bartlett, Tulsans of all stripes need you not only to blaze new trails, but also to continue doing the good work that’s already under way. But it’s also more than that — more than the city streets (which we all know are and should be a high priority); more than the baseball park or other big-money project. We simply need you to inspire us to stay here, work here and continue to make this a more perfect city.
So, good luck, Mayor Bartlett.
And goodbye, Mayor Taylor.
I think I speak for the vast majority of the city when I wish you both the best.
