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Robert LaFortune
Investing in the Future Generations of our City
“This does bring back some memories of our efforts some 30 years ago to
prepare a vision for Tulsa,” former mayor Bob LaFortune said in his remarks
during the Summit’s noon luncheon. “We called it Vision 2000 then. As you
can tell, 2000 has come and gone, and I think many parts of the vision we had
were really never achieved . . . although some considerable things were
achieved.”
LaFortune, referring to that now-shelved process as “never quite achievable”
and “an ongoing process of constant change,” said that aspirations 30 years
ago “were based on balanced growth. They were based on the importance of a
strong central city ... managed growth for the suburbs, but certainly not
depriving any of the areas of the city of proper planning and proper investment.
But the fact is, we’ve had, I think — in recent decades at least — some
slippage in our ability to keep up with the changes that Tulsa has needed.”
 Calling the summit an “an excellent start on where Tulsa needs to be
headed,” the former mayor recognized Tulsa’s weaknesses and strengths. To
work with either, he said, we must work with change.
“We all know that no improvement in our lives, personal or otherwise, can
be accomplished without change,” he said. “The era of status quo is not good
enough for Tulsa and never has been in the hundred years of its existence. And,
we must learn to be able to challenge ourselves to make that kind of change.”
Whatever constitutes that change, he said, certain priorities are in order.
“One, they must have a sound, economic basis. Next, they must serve
substantial constituencies. I think the inclusiveness issue that has been talked
about this morning so extensively — and utilizing the diversity of our city
… is an absolute must in any of the considerations that we have.”
Culture and education ranked high on LaFortune’s list.
“It’s not just brick and mortar that makes great cities. It’s the
quality of life that our citizens and our children can enjoy, and can look
forward to enjoying in the future generations.”
LaFortune’s roots as a regional thinker are strong. It was during his term
as mayor that the Indian Nations Council of Governments was formed. He
reiterated that now, as then, “the populations that we serve must be regional…and
I certainly endorse that.”
“Regional planning 30 years ago was almost a bad word, and the concept of
regional planning, even here in Tulsa, was looked upon with a great deal of
suspicion,” LaFortune said. “Today we know that regional planning is part of
the salvation of our city and of our future. And INCOG, which is now our central
planning arm for Tulsa, is going to play an important role in providing the base
information that we need” to bring reality to the vision.
Asking Tulsans to “build on our strengths and also pay a good deal of
attention to the weaknesses that we have,” LaFortune empathized with firms in
Tulsa currently undergoing hardship, as well as the adversity that many Tulsans
deal with as these firms face their dilemmas. He suggested that “we have
confidence in them and that we support them in every way that we can.”
Consensus, LaFortune said, is critical, at least “some measure of” it.
While never easy, he said, “I think the fact that we have such a diverse
participation today is a very important step in achieving consensus.” And, he
added, “There is a consensus that we must do some things that are bold and we
must do some things that are major in scope.”
Calling the ongoing vision and planning process an investment “for the
future generations of our city,” he expressed hope that “we can get by the
parochialism that does occur with respect to how some projects are looked at,”
and look at this process as “an investment in the future of Tulsa” in which
all will benefit.
The former mayor’s final challenge was to “encourage all of you to stay
in the harness, to give your time and your energy to these thoughts, and to be a
participant through the next weeks and months and even years that it will take
to achieve this greatness.”
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