Thursday, July 17, 2008

Is Randi Miller the Only One Who Closed Bells?

The simple answer is of course not.

Randi Miller was just one of five people who refused to put Bell's lease onto the Fair Board agenda. By refusing to consider a new Bell's lease, each board member cast a de facto vote. As Miller pointed out on Pat Campbell's show, there were four others who are for the most part, equally at fault.

The question Miller keeps postulating is, "Why am I being singled out?"

Let me answer this first by stating that three of the Fair Board members responsible are no longer on the board. Bob Dick, Wilbert Collins and Clark Brewster are no longer members. Dick chose not to run for re-election, perhaps seeing electoral inevitability on the proverbial wall. Collins lost his election to John Smaligo just days before the Fair Board made it clear (through a unanimous non-vote) that Bell's had to go and had to go fast. Brewster was not reappointed by the County Commissioners, thus keeping half of a campaign promise that both Perry and Smaligo had made before they were elected, which was to remove Democrat activists Brewster and Orbison from their seats.

Assuming that Perry and Smaligo will fulfill their entire campaign promise when Orbison comes up for re-appointment, that leaves Miller standing as the only one of the five with any potential long term future on the County Fair Board. Unlike Orbison, Miller's future does not lie in the hands of Smaligo and Perry, but rather in the hands of the voters of District 2. If she is going to be replaced, now is the time to do so.

Miller is also selling the myth that the only reason voters want her out of office is due to the Bell's situation. As Michael Bates pointed out last week in Urban Tulsa Weekly, there is a laundry list of issues that has Miller teetering on the edge of electoral defeat. In fact, Bates' list isn't even complete, but that's stuff for a future posting, perhaps.

Given all of this, Randi Miller is asking the wrong question. Rather than lamenting that she is being singled out as the only official being blamed for the Bell's debacle, she should be asking a far more accurate question.

Why should Randi Miller be the ONLY one of the five Fair Board members to NOT be asked to return to private life?

For those Republicans that believe the Bell family got a raw deal at the hands of the Fair Board, now is the only time they will get a chance to ensure [1] that all five members' service will come to an end, and [2] that the District 2 County Commission seat will not fall into the hands of Democrat Karen Keith.

It remains to be seen if Miller will be successful in selling her "why me?" defense.

5 comments:

Pamela said...

Yesterday afternoon I sent a check to Sally Bell's campaign. This is my first time ever contributing to a local political campaign. I have only contributed one other time in my entire life to a political campaign. I was so glad to find out that she was running against Randi Miller. It is time for a change in district 2 representation. I feel so strongly about this that I would give the chick some cash even if she was not in my district. This is my voice. I gave her information so I can get a sign on my yard. I pray she wins. I will gladly have her sign on my yard. Again first time in my life:)

Anonymous said...

RANDI,RANDI,RANDI,,,
GO AHEAD, TAKE THE POLYGRAPH.....
SHOW EM WHAT YOUR ALL ABOUT.

Anonymous said...

Randi, Won't past the the polygraph. People are tired of her holy-er-than thou attitude. She was the go to person. The election tonight just proved what the people are all about and what they do not want.... Now they need to do the same with the freebe mayor. Don't forget she is doing all this mayor stuff with out pay.

Pamela said...

I'm so glad that Sally won. Frankly anyone would have won that said (1) open county government and (2) they would not vote for any new tax increases.

It appears that Randi was so humiliated and so full of herself that she could not even scrape up enough integrity to congratulate Sally on her victory.

Sally did not win the election. Randi lost it herself. When she said during the debate that anyone that publically came against her had an agenda, that proved that she was full of herself and that no one could legitimately come against what she stood for. Last night she was proven wrong.

I will gladly contribute again to her campaign.

Pamela said...

I just heard the interview that PC did with Sally Bell. She said that Randi Miller did contact her by phone congratulating her on the victory. I'm sooooo glad that Randi lost. I hope that Sally gets enough funding along with continuing her campaign promises. I also hope that if she wins that she will stand strong.