Published: April 02, 2009 10:40 pm      

Our vote for mayor

EDMOND — Tuesday’s mayoral election might seem like it’s only about two candidates. But if you look deeper, voters are potentially considering which voting block will control the City Council for the next two years. Voters are not actually voting for just one person, they’re potentially voting for a candidate and the opinions of the two council members likely to vote with that candidate.

Two years ago when Dan O’Neil ran for his first term as mayor, this community was vehemently divided and upset about the proposed Bridges at Spring Creek shopping development at 15th and Bryant. Two other council seats were up for election that year in Wards 1 and 2.

The three candidates didn’t start out necessarily as campaigning as a voting block on the council, but by the end of that campaign, it was clear to voters that if they chose O’Neil, Wayne Page and Elizabeth Waner, respectively, the three together would form a powerful voting block for change in how the council views commercial development.

It’s up to Edmond’s 52,582 registered voters to decide if they are happy with that 3-2 voting status on many important issues in our community or if they want the council to lean in a different direction. It comes down to what philosophy each voter believes will be in the best interest of the city’s continued development.

Do voters want micromanaged growth in which, for example, the mayor and a councilman do not like the sheet metal used on the infrastructure of a house construction project that had received city staff approval? That distaste for an unfinished product led to a citywide ordinance banning metal for exterior construction that O’Neil later said was misinterpreted, but has yet to be taken off the books. Or, do voters want controlled growth with the City Council trusting the judgment of its experienced city staff?

While a voting block determining the direction of the council is an important issue to consider when deciding how to vote, it’s certainly not the only issue to keep in mind.

For this Editorial Board, the decision to endorse a candidate ultimately was decided through the lense of how the two candidates said they would respond to a more severe economic downturn finally arriving in Edmond. Since the start of the national recession, Edmond and much of Oklahoma have been somewhat insulated, but signs are starting to appear that this will not much longer be the case. The city is likely to have to make some difficult decisions financially during the next two years that will impact the quality of life for everyone in Edmond.

Banker Patrice Douglas said she would handle this situation by noting that city departments already are budgeting fewer dollars for the next fiscal year. She said the last thing she would recommend doing would be to lay off city employees. Instead, she would first try to address any budget distress by doing less spending, setting clear priorities and sticking to those priorities.

Douglas has campaigned mostly on a theme of focusing on the city’s “needs instead of wants.” We believe this is the right time for that type of philosophy heading Edmond’s city government.

Another central issue in the campaign is that of leadership, particularly in regard to building a new Police Department facility. This board long has advocated for the need of a new facility, and it hopes that Edmond’s next mayor will navigate the city quickly to an acceptable solution to this community problem.

We believe Douglas has both the financial knowledge, partnership building expertise and leadership background to steer Edmond through what we believe will be a difficult two years.

No matter which candidate you choose, we encourage you to vote April 7.