With the big Maps 4 Thunderdome Arena election almost here, both supporters and detractors have been hard at work over the last week making pitches to the 25,000 or so Oklahoma City voters who will decide the election.
As with other MAPS-style votes, the Chamber-backed “Yes” campaign has lined the pockets of every single media outlet in the state to make sure their message is heard, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars flooding the local advertising market with TV, radio, print, direct mail and even banner ads.
Well, every single media outlet excluding us.
Even though we have a large OKC web presence, social media reach and even endorsed the Yes vote in our list of reasons to Vote No, for some reason the Chamber rebuffed our ad advances and didn’t book one measly and ineffective banner ad on our site. Instead, they wasted their money targeting all three Jenni Carlson fans on Sellout-Crowd.com. WTF?!
Oh well, I guess you can’t blame the Chamber for ignoring us.
At last check, the group is led by one of the most dishonest and evil people in the Oklahoma business community – OG&E CEO Sean Trauschke.
As we’ve documented on multiple occasions, Sean’s a greedy member of the ruling class who has no problem ripping off Oklahoma taxpayers while enriching his oil and gas buddies and out-of-state shareholders. He’s obviously not going to spend ad money on the only media outlet in town with the balls to inform everyone around town what a greedy, terrible person he is. That would break the local “How to Use Your Wealth, Influence and Power Effectively” playbook!
While the Chamber has been throwing its money around, the cash-strapped, disorganized “Vote No” clique has put together a fledgling guerilla-style resistance.
For example, renowned TLO fan Steve Hunt – a local iconoclast who’s opposed every MAPS campaign dating back to Land Run – prank-called Mayor Holt pretending to be a campaign pollster.
Although he was at first skeptical, it appears Holt eventually fell for it and couldn’t resist telling the pollster who he was.
I have no clue what the point of that was, and do think Steve’s criticism of the Mayor can go too far, but that was worth 50 no votes right there! It was funny to hear David Holt gleefully inform the “pollster” that he is the mayor! I bet Mayor McSelfie does the same thing when he goes through the Braum’s drive-thru…
“Hello there! I’d like a Number 2 with no pickles and extra mayo, an unsweet, and a small Mix with butterfinger.”
“That’s a Number 2 with extra pickles and no mayo, sweet tea, and a large vanilla shake with butterfinger?”
“No, I’m sorry. That was a Number 2 with NO pickles and EXTRA extra mayo, UNsweet tea, and a MIX with a butterfinger. Got that?”
“You want to mix a butterfinger with 2 pickles and mayo?”
“Hey, did I tell you I’m the mayor?”
While Steve Hunt was pranking the mayor, another local Champion of No Votes – perennial “progressive” political candidate Nick Senger – was hiring George Santos on Cameo to leave a Vote No message.
Because you know, nothing will rally the vote like having a disgraced politician you gave money to endorse your side in an election.
Check this out:
Listen, I know I’m not a perennial “progressive” political candidate who was removed as executive director of his own non-profit after being canceled and eaten by his progressive young, but was this the wisest use of "Vote No" money?
If you’re going to enrich an idiot like Santos, at least have fun with it and make him take a pro-arena stance. That would have been more funny and effective because at last check, nobody wants to be on the same side as that clown! Were Rod Blagojevich and Anthony Weiner not available?
While Steve and Nick were getting online attention for the No Vote, Councilwoman Nicki Nice and JoBeth Hammon co-wrote an editorial for The Oklahoman encouraging people to Vote No.
Although I’m voting Yes tomorrow, Nice and Hammon are correct when they say this proposal was hammered out and approved by the Chamber in backroom deals and had little to no public input.
I guess that’s different from the other MAPS projects.
Sure, they were also hammered out and approved by the Chamber in backroom deals, but they had the guise of public input as a way to dupe people into feeling involved.
Anyway, despite my criticism of the Chamber, its greedy asshat leader, and all that stuff, I’m still voting Yes tomorrow.
Once again, this is because A) I think it’s good for a city to invest in quality-of-life things even if it means the same old rich people get richer, and B) I’m a diehard Thunder fan and want them to have the best deal possible to help win a championship down the road, even if it means the same old rich people are going to get richer.
Basically, I’m fine voting "Yes" (and watching the same rich people get richer) even though a lot of things the "No" voters say are true.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
