Vote Responsibly

With 21 candidates originally having declared or filed to run for mayor of Tulsa in this fall's election, the task of conducting a meaningful election forum has been made considerably more challenging.

And when you throw in the 21 more who are running for the City Council, an attempt to stage any kind of traditionally structured forum seems almost hopeless.

So officials at KRMG news radio settled on another option. With the help of several partners, the radio station is staging a Beer Summit & Political Mixer at 5:30pm on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at the Fly Trap Music Hall, 514 E. 2nd St. The event will serve as an informal meet-and-greet session between the public and mayoral and City Council candidates.

The event is also sponsored by Tulsa's Young Professionals, the Fly Trap, the Marshall Brewing Company and Urban Tulsa Weekly.

"I think it's an event for people of all ages to come out and learn about the candidates," said Drew Anderssen, KRMG's operations manager and program director.

Anderssen acknowledged the difficulty his own station has had in providing enough air time to adequately present the views of so many candidates, and he said an event of this nature would provide concerned voters with the chance to hear from candidates on a one-to-one basis.

"I think that's really the goal," he said. "When you have only so many pieces of the pie, it's tough. That's what this event is all about. And we're counting on Tulsans of all ages to come out and support it."

Anderssen said KRMG's morning news team of Joe Kelley, Rick Couri and Dan Potter will introduce the candidates at the event, but he anticipates an informal arrangement from that point on, with audience members quizzing the candidates.

"It's an informal way for people to come out after work and enjoy happy hour and meet the people who are vying for votes," he said.

Anderssen said he has no expectations as far as a crowd size for the event, but he did say he hopes it attracts a sizable number of younger voters who have a major stake in a lot of the decisions that will be made at City Hall over the next couple of years. He hopes the involvement of Tulsa's Young Professionals and UTW, along with the night club setting, will help that younger crowd feel more at home.

Only a handful of candidates had confirmed their attendance at the event as of late last week, and Anderssen said it was unlikely that every one of them would be able to attend. But he is hopeful the event will provide citizens with their best chance yet to come face to face with as many candidates as possible.

The "beer summit" aspect of the program is a nod to the recent highly publicized meeting at the White House between President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, African-American Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge, Mass., police Sgt. James Crowley that was designed to help ease a racially charged dispute between the latter two men.

It is also a remembrance of things past, when the hallowed news voice of Tulsa once sponsored a famous political get together on St. Patrick's Day at Expo Square, the "Green Beer Party." In fact, UTW had suggested that it would be interested in helping revive the event with KRMG in the past two years past, to no avail. That is, until the sitting Chief Executive of the United States tapped into his populist side.

UTW Publisher Keith Skrzypczak said he has no problem sharing the limelight with President Obama in promoting the beer angle as a social leveler. "It just goes to show we have a lot more in common with each other than we have differences."

Anderssen laughed when asked if he thought beer was the answer to the world's problems, but he sounded optimistic about its possible effect on the political mixer.

"If it works in Washington, it ought to work in Tulsa," he said. "We're taking a cue from President Obama and hoping everyone will have a great time."

An acoustic jazz band will provide music during the event, which is free and open to people of all ages. The event is scheduled to run until 7:30pm, but the Fly Trap will be providing a DJ afterward for those who wish to stay.