Assessing the OKC Mayor’s Race

Assessing the OKC Mayor’s Race

There are now just two weeks left before the March 4th election in Oklahoma City, where incumbent Mayor Mick Cornett is being challenged by Councilman Ed Shadid. Though the race is nonpartisan, Cornett is a Republican and Shadid is a registered Independent who identifies himself as a member of the Green Party. Also in the race are perennial candidate Joe “Sarge” Nelson and political unknown Phil Hughes.

Nine months ago, Cornett vs. Shadid looked like a clash of the titans. Shadid’s perceived strength was based mostly on his threat to spend up to $1.5 million and his support from the city’s labor unions. Then, Shadid embarked on perhaps the strangest campaign in Oklahoma political history, capped by the most spectacular series of embarrassing revelations since, well, maybe ever. Meanwhile, the popular Cornett has quietly run a textbook, drama-free re-election campaign.

With that, The Okie assesses the race as it stands today:

Why Cornett will win and Shadid will lose

Where to begin? For starters, Cornett is one of the most popular politicians in Oklahoma. One source close to the Cornett campaign tells The Okie that Cornett’s favorability rating has now climbed above 75 percent.

Meanwhile, Shadid has failed to present himself as an acceptable alternative to conservative Oklahoma voters. To summarize some of his political liabilities:

He is a member of the Green Party.

Ralph Nader announced Shadid’s City Council victory at his 2011 watch party.

Shadid Tweeted a picture of himself with children wearing t-shirts that said “penis” and “vagina”.

He held a campaign event for atheists called “A Disbelief Discourse with Dr. Ed Shadid”  and told the atheists there that “I feel a bond with you.”

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He says he has an “intense bond with the LGBT community.”

After vehemently stating that he would fight for the implementation of MAPS 3 in 2011 and that it was “a bond with the voters,” he has started a petition to end MAPS 3 early and voted to kill the streetcar project in MAPS 3.

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Shadid never voted in a stand-alone municipal election until his name was on the ballot in 2011. This will be the first Mayor’s race he ever votes in.

He paid the permit fees for Occupy OKC.

He welcomed the endorsement of the “Pirate Party”. 

He has made ethnic quotas in city appointments one of the main planks of his campaign.

Shadid legally changed his name – TWICE!

He proposed a massive property tax increase by shifting the $800 million Oklahoma City operating budget to property tax.

He said that “nobody” lives north of Memorial Road or west of Rockwell Avenue and that the city should stop providing those people services.

His kickoff rally was “the most left-of-center political event in Oklahoma City mayoral history.”

When he gets mad, he writes long rants on Facebook and in the comments section of NewsOK stories.

He refused twice at a forum to answer questions about his stance on abortion.

He says one of his priorities as Mayor will be welcoming non-Christians to OKC.

He came out in support of aspects of Agenda 21.

He accepted the endorsement of the Sierra Club. 

It was revealed that national Democratic groups are coming in to help Shadid.

He’s endorsed by the AFL-CIO.

He proposed cutting the budget of the popular OKC Zoo by 56 percent.

He’s admitted to being in “long term recovery” from addictions to marijuana, LSD, Ecstasy, and that he used cocaine.

His ex-wife alleged that he admitted to freebasing cocaine with a male prostitute.

His ex-wife alleged that he physically abused her and that police came to the home twice on domestic violence complaints.

In response to a question as to whether he ever struck his wife, Shadid replied “Well, define ‘strike her.’”

His ex-wife alleged that he watched porn in front of their children.

He was investigated by DHS for sexual abuse allegations, and later cleared.

His ex-wife alleged that she taped him saying: “Just kill the kids if I ever, if I ever go back, I hope the kids are raped and tortured.”

For weeks in December, he lied about his past drug use to the Oklahoma City media.

He attempted to keep the extent of his past drug use, his domestic violence, and other illegal activities a secret through court actions all the way to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

He lied to the Oklahoma medical licensure board about his drug abuse while practicing medicine.

Whew, that was exhausting. Need we say more? The guy has baggage.

Why Shadid will win and Cornett will lose…

Turnout, turnout, turnout. Close observers of the race say that Shadid’s base of support, though small, is loyal. Cornett’s much larger base could possibly take his victory for granted and not show up on March 4th.

Is a Shadid victory likely? No. But it is possible, if Cornett supporters don’t turn out and vote.

The Okie will continue to monitor this fascinating race in its final days.