James Cooper and JoBeth Hamon are anxious and excited to take their city council seats April 9. After winning their respective elections without a runoff, Ward 2’s Cooper and Ward 6’s Hamon have had time to participate in forums and orientation meetings. “My campaign manager kept telling me, ‘We won; no runoff.’ And I was […]
Meg Salyer
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Building history
City council members brought forth resolutions to acknowledge the historic and cultural significance of two properties. One resolution was approved, bringing two organizations together in compromise, while the other was deferred for a month. Merging support After being deferred three times, Ward 7 councilwoman Nikki Nice’s resolution on Brockway Center and Child Abuse Response and […]
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Suite perks
Oklahoma City adopted a complimentary ticket policy in 2002 that allows the mayor and members of Oklahoma City Council two free tickets per event at Chesapeake Energy Arena, Civic Center Music Hall and other venues. The ticket policy states the official must use one ticket and a guest could use the other; tickets cannot be […]
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Community investments
After living in Oklahoma City’s sixth ward for about 20 years, Jim Holman said his name is a familiar one among neighbors. He hopes it carries a good reputation, and if the past few months have been any indication, he believes it does. “Asking for help is not the easiest thing to do,” Holman said. […]
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Drawing MAPS
For the hefty price that it takes to fund a Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) plan and for the awe effect that such projects can have on Oklahoma City’s residents, mayor David Holt admits that the process behind choosing a project is fairly simple by comparison. “Since the inception of MAPS in 1993, the responsibility to […]
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Election penalty
The Nov. 6 election night results were cause for many across Oklahoma, including 38-year-old winner Nikki Nice, who won the open Ward 7 seat on Oklahoma City Council, to celebrate. However, no more than 24 hours later, Nice found herself the recipient of bad news as her former employer, Perry Publishing & Broadcasting Company, fired […]
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Balancing act
Oklahoma City’s 36th mayor, David Holt, said 1993 is the year everything changed for Oklahoma’s capital city. That year, almost half a million people called Oklahoma City home, and some undoubtedly were reluctant. State historians agree that downtown was virtually vacant and the economy was suffering. Oklahoma City was on its way to becoming Detroit, […]
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Midtown move
The liaison Thirty-six-year-old oil-and-gas business owner Nathaniel Harding does not deny his privilege. The son of an oil-and-gas tycoon, Harding learned early in life that there are things money can buy and things that can never be paid for. Money couldn’t, Harding learned, cure his mother, Margo, of a rare brain disease that took her […]
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House rules
Oklahoma City council members addressed issues of home-sharing Sept. 25 amid a crowd of advocates and adversaries. Community members from historic neighborhoods Edgemere Park and Heritage Hills requested amendments to a city ordinance that, if passed, would allow for home sharing businesses throughout the city to operate with relative ease. The amendments would, in theory, […]
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Chicken-Fried News: Lucky No. 7
Oklahoma City Council is rich in diversity and proudly mirrors the community it represents, more or less. James Greiner, representing Ward 1, is a conservative voice on the council whose appreciation for the arts is evident by his time spent as a graphic designer for Hobby Lobby. Arab-American doctor Ed Shadid represents Ward 2, while Larry […]