The Tulsa Forum by TulsaNow

Ike's Chili owner Chris Trail says he moved into the district in plenty of time. Looks like Bill Martinson's campaign manager, Jim Burdge, is up to his old tricks.

(http://farm1.static.flickr.com/156/381608678_51a3994910.jpg?v=0)

Gotta love those first time posters during election season

I believe it should be RHYMES.

Care to fill us in.  Some of us don't read through the Tulsa Whirled every day.  Should have figured Martinson would associate w/ Burdge.

Give the first time poster a break.

Don't you remember when Burdge did the same thing to Maria Barnes?

Chris Trail is a nice guy who will run a nice campaign. Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing for Martinson and Burdge.

Burdge is also Eric Gomez's campaign manager. Watch your back, Maria. It's politics as usual.

FYI,

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090718_11_A13_Republ714013

Basically, Martinson claims that Trail didn't meet the 90 day requirement for filing in the district.

If Trail didn't meet the residency requirement then he has no business on the ballot. Who Martinson's campaign manager is has no bearing on the issue.

I didn't support Martinson in his first or second run for office, but he has displayed impressive analytical skills and political gumption, and Tulsa is well served by his presence on the City Council. I hope he wins re-election.

From the petition:

Couldn't disagree more.  The two times I've met him (I live in this district) he came across to me as an arrogant doosh.  Kinda like a taller version of Inhofe.

But then Bates supports Inhofe too. Mr Bates, why don't you disclose who you are working for? Are you on the Martinson "team"?

First of all, I have no dog in this hunt because my democratic party failed to field a candidate in the race and I am friends with both Bill Martinson and Chris Trail...

It is not clear cut on what date establishes "residency". The three person panel will decide it. This has happened in other elections and in other state business, like determining residency for in-state tuition rates for state universities. Residency has been defined as the date when the applicant signed a lease or purchase document, when the applicant put utilities in their name, or even when they took possession of the property. Martinson claims that Trail did not "have a contract for housing" on this date.

My question is, how did Martinson determine when Trail signed a contract? Does he has evidence of his housing contract, or is this just dirty politics played by his unreputable campaign manager?

I just find it humorous that the topic starter has a typo in his screen name.

I don't know that the date he signed a contract on his house is all that important.  There is nothing in state law that requires you to register at your "current" residence (in fact, state law specifically allows you to vote in an election if you intend to move there within a certain amount of time).  State law gives a lot of latitude as to what constitutes someone's residence; it is a question of fact, and where one is currently residing is only one of the facts to consider.  Basically, it is where one intends to remain for an indefinite period of time.  The fact that he now lives there does seem to indicate that he intended for that address to be his residence.

According to Moore v. Hayes:


http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=62685 (from Attorney General's opinion)

swake, I have candidates I like and will endorse, but I'm not on anyone's "team" for any race in this election. I don't believe I've spoken to Martinson since the Republican county convention in April.

We need people on the City Council who can independently analyze information and then raise questions when something doesn't add up -- not just take the word of the Mayor's people for everything. Some people would prefer that the Council be operated by remote control from the Mayor's office, so of course they'd rather Martinson go away. Martinson asked some questions that Kathy Taylor didn't want to answer, and for some folks on this board, that's a hanging offense.

Michael, I appreciate Councilor Martinson's analytical and independent-thinking approach.  One thing I want to know is why he thinks Public Works deserves a free pass and barely a cursory glance after the Martinez scandal.  A lot more people than me claim there's been a pattern of corruption and cronyism toward contractors and vendors at PW for years and years.

Sorry so late to reply but I do think it matters who a candidate hires to run their campaign.

If a candidate hires a political hack like Burdge, knowing full well that Burge's reputation is he runs a dirty campaign, then I am a little suspect as to the candidate's intentions of running on merit or mud-slinging.

I think Martinson is an intelligent guy but I think hiring Burdge is an act of desperation. Same with Gomez.

Jim Burdge has been Martinson's campaign manager since his first race in 2005. The same is true of Gomez, who had Burdge as a manager in his 2004 race against Tom Baker and again in 2008.  They might be blameworthy for keeping him, but it's not fair or accurate to claim that they are only now hiring him.

And for those who may have forgotten, Jim Burdge was consultant on Karen Keith's county commission campaign last year.

I'm not a Jim Burdge fan, to say the least, but there aren't that many people out there who manage campaigns, particularly low-budget city campaigns. I was very nearly a Burdge client when I first ran in 1998. I was advised to contact him about voter lists, but I decided I couldn't afford to spend the $1,500 he wanted to charge. (As it turned out, I think I raised and spent $1,700 on the entire campaign. I finished second in the primary to Anna Falling.) As a novice candidate, I wasn't aware of Burdge's reputation, which at any rate didn't yet include the nasty 2005 recall campaign.

Conan, if it's true that Martinson thinks PW should get a free pass, I'm disappointed.

Chris Trail stays on the ballot:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090721_11_0_Republ850335

Go Chris!

I am glad there will be a race in my district, even as a democrat if I don't get to vote.

It will be interesting.

I've heard they are digging up every piece of dirt they can find on Chris...

Well, Duh.  Dirty Burdge.

That didn't take long - from today's Tulsa World.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20090721_11_A5_IkesCh442214&archive=yes

Chris is a nice guy, but I've got to say the information just released in the Tulsa World reads like the resume of an Obama administration job candidate.

Sounds like he has had some crappy business partners. I can imagine that.

Although I did interpret the question "have you ever been arrested" to mean a police officer putting handcuffs on and taking you to the station and writing you up. (I truthfully answered no, FYI)

The records don't sound great but since th records only give half the story, I'm not swayed too much.

I'm impressed at the amount of digging done into a newcomer so early in the race.

Burdge, Martinson and Gomez should be careful. Turnabout is fair play and I think there are alot more players on the other team........

So what's Limabean's deal?