TULSA — Karen Keith enjoyed a long and successful career in television news, working her way up from operating a studio camera to anchoring the evening news, but she left it all behind to get involved in local politics.

“I left broadcast to do...because of Vision 2025, because I was so sad about our downtown,” she told KRMG Monday.

[Hear the KRMG In Depth Report on Tulsa mayoral candidate Karen Keith]

A lifelong Democrat, she sought a job with the Republican mayor at the time, Bill LaFortune, and to her surprise, got hired.

She went on to help promote and pass the Vision 2025 package, which has been transformational for the city of Tulsa, but also has helped spur growth and development in many other metro communities.

She showed from the beginning, she says, that she knows how to rise above partisan politics and make things happen.

“I think it’s important that you work across party lines,” Keith said. “You know, this is not a partisan job - it is simply not. And if that’s what you’re going to do, you’re going to get nowhere. And I think you look at the other two candidates, and they’re partisan - both of them.”

She was referring, she said, to the two candidates beside herself that she thinks is viable.

Keith says voters ask her consistently about the unhoused, and how she plans to address that issue.

“I do think that’s one of the first things I’ll have to tackle, and that is a true, low-barrier shelter,” she told KRMG. “So that individuals, you know, during really cold snaps - and super heat like we’re having right now - have a place they can come in off of the streets.”

She spoke about changing the city’s permitting process, saying she’s heard from any number of developers that it’s too slow, too costly, and a barrier to building affordable housing.

She said some cities are pre-permitting certain housing plans - like those used by Habitat for Humanity - which greatly expedites the process.

“Can you imagine how much time that would save, and money?” she explained. “And so that, you now, we can get this housing - much-needed housing - out of the ground. So that’s something I plan to try and get going immediately.”

Making affordable housing more available would potentially help alleviate homelessness, she added.

Keith says she feels good heading into Tuesday’s election, and believes she may even be able to eke out an outright win, which would require her to get fifty percent plus one vote.

However, there will be seven names on the ballot - so she’s prepared for a November 5th runoff if necessary.