This almost goes without saying. This blog has chronicled Chris Medlock's stalwart efforts in support of fair treatment for homeowners.
Chris Medlock is the clear choice in this race. We need him, and more like him, on the City Council.
I got to know Chris Medlock through the county Republican organization. He and I served together on the platform committee, and I appreciated his quick mind, gracious manner, and sense of humor.
We need people on the Council who bring to the job some capacity for independent thought and judgment. Chris Medlock excels in that regard. He is a voracious reader, particularly of books on public policy. He devotes himself to studying and understanding the issues before him as a councilor. When he has something to present to his fellow councilors, he works to make his case in a logical and compelling fashion. This diligence was evident in the presentation he made regarding the unfair treatment endured by the 71st & Harvard neighbors in the handling of their protest petition.
Sadly, we still have too many councilors who seem to look at the job as a lark -- show up for a couple of hours a week, accept what the bureaucrats tell you at face value, enjoy the salary and benefits, and don't rock the boat. These intellectually lazy councilors resent the effort Chris Medlock puts into his job, and they've tried to characterize him as difficult and contentious. Several objected loudly when he raised very reasonable concerns, in a very respectful way, about how the funds for city-related Vision 2025 projects would be managed. When Chris tried to find out if the Mayor was appointing any Vision skeptics to the oversight committee, Councilor Art Justis felt compelled to apologize for him. Someone should apologize for Mr. Justis taking up space on the Council.
You can expect to see the Tulsa Whirled trash him in their news pages and editorial pages this weekend. They don't like councilors who think for themselves and ask tough questions.
Would you rather have a City Council filled with docile sheeple or one filled with creative, energetic, and intelligent councilors?
Chris's primary opponent is John Ogren, recently retired purchasing manager for the City of Tulsa. There was some concern that Ogren was recruited to run against Chris, but so far Ogren has not done any campaigning. He did not file a contribution and expenditure report. There is still time for Ogren to mount a last minute negative ad blitz, so we'll need to be on guard.
Chris Medlock deserves to be returned to office with an overwhelming majority. Please turn out Tuesday to vote for him in the Republican primary, and volunteer to help him if you can.
