It's not a surprise to any of us when we hear the Tulsa city council and Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett are at odds. The two sides have been, at best, testy with each other on almost every issue. But some heads whipped around here at KRMG when we heard that the Tulsa Metro Chamber had decided to get involved with elections and the council by forming a couple of political action groups, one of which has a specific focus on city council positions and elections.
We wondered why the chamber decided they had to take this action so we asked the man in charge, Chamber President Mike Neal. "We have absolutely lost business because of all this bickering" Neal told KRMG.
The two committees are TulsaBizPac, it will address local candidates and issues. The other is OklahomaBizPac and the focus there will be on statewide races. TulsaBizPac has also hired a PR firm to discover and vet potential council candidates and which ones might most fit the goals of moving the city forward.
Tulsan David Page will be the chairman of the chamber's political action committees and he is already at work. Page has begun meeting with councilors to pass along the concerns and goals of the group as well as handing out a written platform for more impact.
KRMG has been able to obtain a copy of that document, you can download it below and read it for yourself.
And there's one other point you''ll find important. You won't have to spend a dime on this effort, no public money will be spent in any form for the PACs.