Who Owns Tulsa? is a non-partisan citizen's rights coalition endeavoring to increase goverment accountability, and ensure citizen input by unifying neighborhoods, businesses, churches and other concerned citizens. As partners in the process, Who Owns Tulsa? is committed to identifying solutions that involve all citizens equally.
Non-Partisan Citizen's Rights Coalition
Who Owns Tulsa? is a model of true non-partisanship. Our members represent most of the political spectrum — Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Libertarians. We learned through our trials in city government that political affiliation is virtually irrelevant in local politics. Leadership, professionalism, respect, dedication to duty and honesty are virtues that inevitably come down to the individual, regardless of political affiliation. Working as neighbors first, we have set aside our politics to make sure that the city and our representatives become more transparent in their actions and more responsive to their constituents. We are Tulsa's rightful owners—you included—the city's hard-working and taxpaying citizens, students and voters.
Increase Government Accountability
"Who Owns Tulsa? It's a Question of Equal Representation." Good citizenship demands that voters do their part to maintain a general awareness of local government. In a representative republic, however, average citizens should have the freedom to focus on the hard work of daily life without fear of what their government might do while their back is turned. Unfortunately, that is not a luxury Tulsans can enjoy. The current political climate requires that all voting citizens take on the moniker of watchdog. This movement was born out of our frustration at the lack of protection we received from the city government against unelected influences over which we, the individual voter, had no control. Our views were not represented by the councilors whose duty it was to care for us in just such a circumstance. Beyond a genuine concern for the views of constituents, political representation also means showing equal respect to all citizens, demonstrating calm and wise leadership in times of tumult and taking proactive steps to assure that constituents are aware and included in the business of the city. Our experience taught us that accountability is sorely lacking and an issue that simply must be improved upon. Who Owns Tulsa? will endeavor to work personally with city officials, community leaders and candidates to help them communicate better with citizens. We will also act as an advocate to citizens who feel their concerns are not adequately or fairly represented.
Ensure Citizen Input
Freedom of thought, speech and expression—and the political representation there of—is a dream as old as our nation. It was the very genesis of the Boston Tea Party and the drive behind the Selma-to-Montgomery marches. As post-civil rights Americans, we have a rightful expectation that our voices will be heard and our concerns will be seriously considered by our elected officials. Facilitating input and providing a free and non-judgmental forum for redress is an obligation of elected officials. Who Owns Tulsa? will engage violations of this sacred trust to ensure every citizen has a voice.
Unifying
It's not difficult to imagine Tulsa's electorate as a tumultuous ocean of political discontent. We believe we can harness the power of this sea by unifying the electorate behind our common concerns. A more positive management of redress will, we believe, transform the obstructionist view of Tulsa's political discourse into a powerful and unified organization that simply can't be ignored. Who Owns Tulsa? will work as an inclusive alliance of neighborhood associations, homeowners associations, civic clubs, churches, businesses, PTAs, and other community interests to bring volume, focus and specificity to the concerns of Tulsan's who feel under represented. We believe that our unified voices will help establish a specific citizen-friendly agenda that is strong and clear enough to reshape Tulsa's political landscape. We will establish a badly needed forum for information sharing and neighborhood collaboration. And we will do it with a voice that turns anger into action and distrust into partnership.
Partners in the Process
There can be no doubt that Tulsa has problems getting things done. Even the most promising initiatives face almost certain failure. Stagnated progress is generally blamed on the deafening clamor for government accountability instead of the lack of accountability that is generating the clamor. A decade of poor public relations, questionable priorities and heavy handed methods like the "Vote as you're told or you don't get my money" tactics of the River Tax have given the general public a deep rooted suspicion, if not an outright distrust, for Tulsa's governing philosophy and the elite class of politicians and citizens who influence it. The truth of the matter is that the City of Tulsa is in the midst of a decade long public relations catastrophe. As if symbolized by the rotting condition of our streets, the size and scope of the problem is clearly more obvious to the people than it is to the leaders. Who Owns Tulsa? believes that the solution to Tulsa's stagnation is to strengthen the voice of average Tulsans by providing a forum to our various citizen action groups (neighborhood associations, preservation groups, churches, business, etc.) that will help them unify as a powerful umbrella organization that will be strong enough to facilitate a healthy discourse, bring civility to public redress and get city leadership working with the electorate. We believe the solution to Tulsa's stagnation is not more money, higher taxes, outside marketing firms, and more philanthropy. It's partnership. Pure and simple.