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Description
Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett's annual State of the City Address given to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber on Wednesday, January 29, 2014.
A
It
is
2014
and
you
should
be
proud
of
your
city
for
lots
of
reasons,
and
it
is
typical
at
the
beginning
that
I
go
through
a
list
of
some
of
the
recognitions
and
acknowledgments
that
we've
gotten
from
members
of
the
media
throughout
the
country,
but
literally,
if
we
did
that
this
year,
we
would
be
here
all
afternoon.
So
instead
of
talking
about
all
the
accolades
I
thought,
I
would
just
list
five.
That
seemed
to
have
the
most
relevance
about
where
we've
been
and
where
we
are
and
where
we're
going
in
the
next
few
years.
A
Several
of
the
media,
who
are
listing
cities
and
trying
to
make
recognitions,
are
touting
their
successes
and
and
attributing
it
to
our
economy.
The
Atlantic
magazine
named
us
one
of
the
most
popular
cities
for
Millennials,
and
it's
no
wonder
we're
creating
jobs,
lots
of
jobs
and
Atlantic
points
out.
We've
also
had
one
of
the
highest
increases
in
wages
of
any
metro
in
the
country.
It
was
said
in
2013
that
we
were
a
place
that
you
must
visit.
We
were
acknowledged
for
having
a
low
cost
of
living.
A
A
Our
housing
market
is
strong
at
a
350
metro
areas
we
ranked
third
and
how
we've
responded
and
The
Daily
Beast
looked
around
the
country
for
cities
that
offered
the
most
opportunity
they
ranked
us
forth
in
the
country
having
the
most
opportunity
for
your
citizens
to
succeed,
young
people
were
told
to
move
here,
retirees
we're
told
to
move
here
and
it
looks
like
they
are.
Our
population
growth
is
very
impressive
and
I
could
go
on
and
on,
but
I
want
to
finish
with
a
ranking
that
made
all
of
us
here
at
City
Hall
smile
in
2013.
A
A
This
city
has
come
a
long
way
and
I
thought
I
would
spend
a
few
minutes
looking
back,
because
it
is
sometimes
amazing.
The
breathtaking
pace
at
which
the
city
has
come
from
where
it
was
to
where
it
is
30.
Years
ago
our
economy
had
cratered
the
price
of
oil
dropped
dramatically.
Our
energy
jobs
disappeared.
Our
banking
system
fell
apart
in
the
1980s
over
100
banks
failed
in
our
state.
A
Our
real
estate
values
plummeted
in
1987
voters,
elected
Ron
norik
as
oklahoma
city's
new
mayor
and
Mayor
Norris
immediately
announced
that
his
top
priority
was
to
create
jobs.
But
how
do
you
do
that?
I
mean
that's
not
easy
to
do
so
in
1991,
four
years
into
his
term,
mayor
noric
was
still
searching
for
that
magic
formula
about
creating
jobs
and
that's
when
he
and
state
leaders
spent
over
a
year
chasing
an
economic
development
opportunity.
It
was
being
offered
by
united
airlines.
A
You
see
United
was
going
to
build
a
large
maintenance
facility
news
reports
at
the
time
said
it
was
worth
a
billion
dollars
to
the
community
that
could
land
the
effort
it
was
going
to
employ
more
than
5,000
people
and
over
100
cities
were
competing
for
it.
We
wanted
it
bad
mayor,
noric
went
to
the
citizens
of
Oklahoma
City.
He
asked
them
to
pass
a
temporary
sales
tax
to
help
united
build
the
facility.
That's
right.
If
United
would
come,
we
would
help
build
the
facility
with
our
tax
dollars.
A
The
total
incentive
package
state
and
city
in
1991
dollars
was
over
a
hundred
million
dollars.
In
the
end
we
didn't
get
it.
It
was
embarrassing.
Our
business
leaders,
our
government
leaders,
had
become
confident
that,
with
this
kind
of
incentive
package,
United
would
have
to
say
yes
that
they
didn't
and
when
Mayor
norik
pushed
for
an
explanation.
The
CEO
of
United
was
reluctant
to
talk
about
the
process.
A
Instead,
he
wanted
to
be
positive
and
he
complimented
the
city
on
how
well
prepared
we
were
and
how
polite
the
people
of
Oklahoma
City
were
throughout
the
process,
but
Mayor
Nurik
persisted.
He
wanted
to
know.
He
wanted
to
know
why
we
lost
out,
because
maybe
we
could
learn
from
our
mistake
and
maybe
do
but
the
neck
better.
The
next
time
we
had
an
economic
development
opportunity
come
along
and
finally,
his
persistence
paid
off
the
CEO
of
United
explained
why
Oklahoma
City
had
finished.
A
That
was
the
hard
truth
that
the
mayor
and
the
city
leadership
needed
to
hear
some
sort
of
light
bulb
went
off.
Following
that
conversation,
you
see.
We
realized
at
that
point
that
the
world
of
economic
development
was
changing.
The
old
paradigm
was
that
people
moved
to
where
the
jobs
were.
The
new
paradigm
was
that
people
were
moving
to
where
they
wanted
to
live
and
the
jobs
were
going
to
the
cities
that
were
attracting
people.
A
So
the
mayor
in
the
business
community
got
together.
They
started
examining
the
city
from
an
outside
perspective.
They
started
looking
what
we
had
to
offer
and
they
started
to
compile
a
list
of
projects
that
would
improve
the
quality
of
life
in
Oklahoma
City,
and
it
became
known
as
Maps
metropolitan
area
projects.
Nine
projects
in
all
most
notably
you'll,
recall
the
ball.
Park,
the
Sports
Arena,
the
canal,
a
badly
needed
update
to
the
Civic
Center
Music
Hall,
a
new
downtown
library.
The
mayor
even
had
the
audacity
to
believe
that
we
should
put
water
in
the
river.
A
You
see
the
river
used
to
have
water
in
it
a
hundred
years
ago.
It
had
lots
of
water
and
after
a
heavy
rain,
it
would
flood
but
flood
the
downtown
area.
You
can
imagine
that's
quite
an
inconvenience
for
a
growing
city,
so
in
the
1920s,
our
city
leadership
went
to
the
Corps
of
Engineers
and
asked
them
to
make
sure
the
river
would
never
flood
again.
A
So
for
decades
we
had
a
river
that
the
grown-ups
called
a
river,
but
really
it
was
just
a
big
ditch
that
we
mowed
twice
a
year
but
with
maps.
The
idea
was
to
build
some
low
water
dams
and
impound
the
water,
and
maybe
it
would
lead
to
some
development,
but
even
if
it
didn't
lead
to
development
at
least
we
would
have
water
in
our
river.
A
The
mayor
also
placed
all
nine
projects
on
one
ballot,
and
this
proved
to
be
a
winning
formula,
because
it's
see
it
forced
the
people
that
had
different
priorities
to
work
together.
So
suddenly,
the
people
that
were
passionate
about
the
arts
were
working
side-by-side
with
the
people
that
supported
the
sports
facilities
and
those
that
were
pushing
the
water
projects
and
the
library
you
had
all
of
these
different
interest
groups.
A
Suddenly
working
together,
you
suddenly
had
a
lot
of
people
pulling
on
the
same
rope,
and
so
with
all
of
these
projects
together
on
one
ballot,
the
City
Council
calls
for
an
election
nine
projects,
five-year
penny
on
the
dollar
sales
tax,
to
pay
for
it,
and
it
was
a
really
tough
election
in
the
final
days.
Knowing
it
was
going
to
be
closed,
the
mayor
and
council
had
defended
their
plan
over
and
over
again
and
finally,
mayor
nori
went
down
to
the
basics.
He
looked
the
citizens
in
the
eye
and
said
look.
A
A
Will
have
a
better
city
for
our
kids
and
our
grandkids
election
day
comes
December
14
1993.
The
early
results
are
not
favorable,
but
before
the
night
ended,
Maps
had
passed
just
barely
fifty-three
percent
of
the
vote.
Interesting.
Today,
though,
you
can't
hardly
find
anyone
who
will
admit
they
voted
against
it,
but
there
was
more
controversy
ahead.
The
the
months
after
election
day
were
seemingly
just
as
tough
as
the
months
before
the
city
had
over
promised
how
quickly
the
projects
could
be
built.
A
You
know
the
pay-as-you-go
formula
the
money
had
to
be
collected
before
it
could
be
spent
and
deadlines
were
missed.
The
estimated
costs
were
exceeded
go
ahead,
another
16
months
after
that
map
selection
and
maps
was
probably
more
controversial
than
it
had
ever
been,
and
then,
at
this
tumultuous
time
in
our
city's
history,
we
were
struck
with
the
largest
act
of
domestic
terrorism
in
united
states
history.
A
A
They
had
endured
the
economic
collapse
of
the
1980s
that
had
crippled
the
economy.
They
had
rallied
behind
the
promise
of
maps,
but
in
the
spring
of
nineteen
ninety-five,
all
maps
had
to
show
for
itself
was
a
series
of
controversies,
and
now
the
city
had
to
deal
with
the
emotional
turmoil
of
a
mass
murder.
A
A
Know
it
seems
really
hard
to
imagine
because
of
all
we're
dealing
with,
but
I
really
believe.
He
said
that
something
good
is
going
to
come
out
of
all
this
and
I.
Remember
how
hollow
that
sounded.
I,
remember
how
his
words
seemed
absurdly
optimistic,
because
you
remember
this
was
just
a
few
days
after
the
bombing.
We
didn't
yet
know
how
many
people
had
been
killed.
Our
police
and
firefighters
were
still
sifting
through
tons
of
debris.
A
A
1998
Kirk
Humphries
becomes
mayor,
and
he
sees
that,
although
the
maps
projects
are
important
for
inner
city
development,
the
city
as
a
whole
is
not
going
to
move
forward
unless
we
do
something
about
the
crumbling
physical
nature
of
that
inner
city
school
district.
Through
the
years
the
school
district
had
not
been
able
to
pass
the
needed
bond
issues
and
the
deferred
maintenance
was
piling
up.
There
was
no
easy
solution,
in
fact
it
couldn't
have
been
more
complicated.
A
We
had
24
school
districts
serving
kids
that
live
in
oklahoma
city,
but
humphries
worked
at
consensus,
building
and
bringing
the
entire
community
together
to
face
this
problem
head
on.
In
the
end,
he
got
24
school
boards
to
agree
to
one
funding
plan.
Can
you
imagine
getting
24
school
boards
to
agree
to
anything?
A
Technically,
it
wasn't
the
city
government's
responsibility
to
deal
with
the
school's
problems,
but
it
had
developed
into
an
emergency
situation
that
required
a
solution.
The
mayor
and
the
business
community
got
together.
They
came
up
with
maps
for
kids,
which
is
a
somewhat
complicated
but
brilliant
solution
to
the
capital
needs
of
our
schools.
Today
we
know
it
as
a
physical
investment.
In
over
70
neighborhoods
brand
new
schools
refurbish
schools
spurring
new
development
in
pockets
of
the
city
that
have
not
seen
new
development.
In
decades,
over
500
million
was
spent
on
that
inner
city
district.
A
Nearly
a
hundred
and
fifty
million
was
spent
in
the
suburban
districts,
so
Oklahoma
City,
kids
that
lived
in
the
Putnam,
City,
District,
or
more
or
Yukon
or
Edmond
24
districts
and
all
everyone
benefited
inside
the
schools.
As
we
know,
there
is
work
to
be
done.
Our
successes
in
the
classroom
have
been
erratic.
One
neighborhood
school
succeeds
another
one,
doesn't
that's
an
unacceptable
proposition,
but
who
hasn't
sensed
the
recent
optimism
from
the
teachers
to
the
superintendent's
and
I
know:
Dave
Lopez,
our
interim
superintendent
of
the
Oklahoma
City
public
school
system
is
in
the
audience.
A
Today
you
can
sense
exciting
things
are
happening.
There's
more
emphasis
on
reading
and
math.
More
members
of
our
community
are
now
willing
to
get
involved
as
tutors
maps
for
kids,
although
we
may
not
have
known
it
in
1998
was
really
the
beginning
of
this
community,
putting
its
arms
around
its
children
and
pledging
to
do
better,
and
that
only
happens
when
a
community
comes
together.
It
only
happens
in
a
city
that
has
a
lot
of
people
pulling
on
the
same
rope
as
the
maps
projects
opened,
the
maps
for
kids,
kids
schools
were
completed.
A
A
Our
strong
economy
is
helping
out
in
lots
of
other
ways
to
our
city's
efforts
to
address
our
homeless
continues
to
show
signs
of
success
through
faith
based
organizations,
philanthropy
and
countless
hours
of
work
by
social
service
professionals
and
volunteers
spending
their
time.
The
number
of
homeless
in
Oklahoma
City
has
decreased
every
since
2008
food
distribution
is
a
big
issue
in
our
city
these
days.
A
How
do
we
address
hunger
and
obesity
at
the
same
time?
How
do
we
make
sure
that
everyone
in
our
city
has
access
to
fresh
fruits
and
vegetables?
Our
local
food
bank
is
doing
a
wonderful
job.
Helping
us
to
distribute
to
people
in
need,
and
again
they
had
a
record
year
are
giving
to.
The
Arts
is
also
up
the
Allied
Arts,
which
helps
fund.
A
So
many
arts
organizations
in
our
community
has
broken
its
fundraising
record
for
a
second
straight
year
and
in
a
digital
age,
our
libraries
are
remaining
vibrant,
centers
of
activities
and
I
hope
we
have
a
picture
of
this
I
wanted
you
to
see
this.
This
is
new
this
year
new
to
me
anyway,
it's
children,
reading
two
dogs.
A
A
They
have
spayed
and
neutered
57,000
animals
we're
taking
advantage
of
our
economy
and
some
other
ways
too.
We
are
spending
more
money
on
street
resurfacing
than
ever
before.
We
have
added
police
officer
positions
to
our
force
in
each
of
the
last
two
years.
I
anticipate
we'll
be
doing
that
again
this
year
and
it's
probably
not
a
coincidence.
We
have
reduced
crime
this
past
year,
eight
to
ten
percent,
the
number
of
drive-by
shootings,
half
what
it
used
to
be
through
our
truancy
program
and
our
Police
Athletic
League.
A
A
We
have
seen
in
the
last
20
years,
though,
how
a
growing
economy
is
necessary
if
we're
going
to
invest
in
the
needs
of
what
is
an
extremely
large
city,
620
square
miles.
There's
no
question
that,
during
those
tough
economic
times
of
the
80s
and
into
the
90s,
we
allow
deferred
maintenance
to
creep
into
our
system.
A
My
my
mother
has
lived
in
the
same
house
for
the
past
50
years
and
when
I
was
growing
up
in
that
house,
I.
Remember
my
mother
impressing
upon
me
the
importance
of
investing
in
her
home
on
a
continual
basis.
She
was
a
schoolteacher.
She
taught
first
grade.
She
had
summers
off
and
every
year
she
would
have
a
project
to
improve
home.
One
year
would
be
new
drapes.
The
next
year
would
be
new
carpet.
A
If
times
were
tough,
she
would
just
buy
some
cans
of
paint
and
we
would
paint
the
hallways
and
bedrooms,
but
she
insisted
that
you
had
to
keep
updating
your
home
or
you
would
get
behind
on
the
maintenance
and
it
seems
to
me
that's
what
happened.
Oklahoma
City
in
the
80s
and
90s
the
economy
was
so
bad.
We
were
just
trying
to
hang
on,
we
were
just
trying
not
to
lay
off
police
officers
and
firefighters.
A
We
were
just
trying
to
make
ends
meet
in
a
sinking
economy,
so
we
didn't
adequately
invest
in
our
streets
and
our
parts
through
the
years
it
got
better
and
at
some
point
fairly
recently.
We
turn
the
corner
now
we're
adding
police
officers
and
we're
spending
more
than
ever
before
in
our
streets
trying
to
catch
up,
but
the
only
reason
that
we
have
the
resources
to
do
it
is
that
we
have
built
one
of
the
strongest
economies
in
the
country
and.
A
So
taking
all
this
into
consideration,
what
has
this
generation
accomplished
with
the
maps
projects?
We
have
made
incredible
investments
in
our
infrastructure.
Our
commitment
to
the
Arts
is
gaining
national
attention
and,
just
as
previous
generations
of
Oklahomans
were
hardworking
and
entrepreneurial,
this
generation
is
creating
more
jobs
than
ever
before.
Over
the
last
four
years,
you
have
built
an
economy
that
has
created
the
lowest
unemployment
in
the
United
States.
A
You
have
created
the
highest
per
capita
growth
rate
of
any
city
in
the
nation
when
I
first
ran
for
mayor
I
described
this
city
as
a
faith-based
community
that
works
hard
and
dreams.
Big
and
I
still
believe
that's
true
today,
but
who,
amongst
us,
hasn't
seen
this
Renaissance
and
wondered
if
it's
going
to
be
true
tomorrow,
130
years
ago,
this
city
was
built
on
a
prairie.
A
It
rose
from
nothing
but
a
river,
a
railroad
and
fertile
land.
The
settlers
created
a
faith-based
community
that
worked
hard
and
dreamed
big,
and
it
wasn't
just
that
generation.
You
want
to
hear
about
hard
times
when
this
event
is
over,
come
up
and
talked
to
my
mother.
She
will
tell
you
about
the
1930s
now.
A
A
Maybe
Rome
was
not
built
in
a
day,
but
always
remember
that
we
were
maybe
the
Phoenix
arose
from
the
ashes,
but
19
years
ago
we
did
to
that
bombing
broke
our
hearts,
but
not
our
resolve,
and
today
we
have
an
incredible
memorial
dedicated
to
those
who
lost
their
lives
from
it.
We
grew
from
that
event.
A
These
days,
city
leaders
come
from
all
over
the
country
to
visit
your
city,
oklahoma
city.
They
want
to
see
for
themselves
the
renaissance
that
you
have
created
when
they're
here.
Sometimes
I
get
to
speak
to
them.
You
can
imagine,
we
have
kind
of
a
well-rehearsed
script
for
them.
We
show
them
what
they
think.
A
We
think
they
need
to
see
and
we
let
them
talk
to
who
we
think
they
need
to
talk
to,
and
hopefully
I
get
a
chance
to
speak
to
them
before
they
get
on
the
bus
and
go
back
to
the
airport,
but
after
I've
finished
talking
to
them
and
answered
their
questions
and
I
see
them
leave
the
room.
I
think
to
myself:
yes,
they
have
come
to
Oklahoma,
City
and
there's
no
question.
A
A
It's
been
19
years
since
the
bombing
half
the
people
that
live
in
this
city
did
not
live
here.
Then,
if
we
don't
remember
how
we
got
here
will
eventually
turn
on
each
other,
that
unity
that
helped
us
come
together
and
pass
maps
and
maps
for
kids
in
maps.
3.
That's
not
a
given
that
unity
exists
because
of
the
life
experiences
of
going
through
those
hard
times
in
the
80s
and
the
emotional
struggles
of
the
90s.
A
A
Let
me
close
today
with
a
short
story.
A
couple
of
weeks
ago,
I
was
speaking
at
a
neighborhood
association
meeting
in
southeast
Oklahoma
City.
It
was
in
the
Highland
Park
neighborhood
at
the
Highland
Park
Elementary
School,
which
is
near
southeast
53rd
and
sunny
lane
and
after
I
spoke.
A
young
girl
from
the
neighborhood
came
up
to
me
and
asked
if
she
could
take
a
picture
and
then
she
handed
me
a
paper.
A
It's
called
why
I
love
my
neighborhood
by
Malaya
McMillan.
She
writes
I
love
my
neighborhood
because
in
autumn
I
like
to
get
all
the
leaves
in
my
yard
and
put
them
in
a
big
pile
and
run
into
them.
Sometimes
I
would
bury
myself
in
leaves
and
when
I
am
all
covered,
I
pop
out
of
the
pile,
also
in
autumn,
it's
basketball
season.
The
reason
I
like
it
when
it's
basketball
season
is
because
I
get
to
play
for
my
school,
which
is
in
my
neighborhood.
My
neighborhood
is
nice
because
the
people
are
nice.
A
A
The
trees
are
very
big
and
really
pretty
almost
every
yard
has
a
tree
or
a
bush
in
it,
and
now
that
it's
fall
there
are
leaves
to
crunch
in
some
trees
are
big,
some
trees
are
small,
but
all
are
very
beautiful
and
the
final
thing
that
I
love
about
my
neighborhood
is
my
family.
Both
of
my
grandma's
live
in
my
neighborhood
I
love
it.
When
I
go
to
my
grandma's
house
every
morning
my
grandma
takes
my
sister
to
school
in
every
afternoon.