Editor’s Note: This is the first publication in our Letters to the Editor series. Anyone is free to submit letters for publication. All we ask is that they be respectful and relevant to current issues. Simply email your letter here, and include “Letters to the Editor” in the subject line. This letter was submitted by the Carol Hefner for Mayor campaign, and does not imply an endorsement.
OPINION
I am a lifelong citizen of Oklahoma City, born and raised here. I am blessed, along with my husband Robert, to have raised our 5 children here. Today, our 10 grandchildren are the recipients of a 6-generation long history in this city. Our family has invested our time and talents in Oklahoma City, always honoring a gracious heritage and hopeful that our time volunteered to see OKC rise would be realized.
It has been gut wrenching to watch the deterioration of our city’s morale and historic fabric of conservatism – the values which have built her. Oklahoma City has seen poor leadership through the pandemic. The suffering we have seen from lockdowns, layoffs, school shutdowns and poor outreach to our citizens has been imposed and encouraged by our career politician Mayor who seeks a higher rung on his personal ladder, setting his vision on his own goals of higher office. Our city has been sacrificed at the altar of liberal socialism and a Biden agenda without regard for what government’s role truly is – the protection of life, liberty and property.
What has made Oklahoma City the Shining City on the Prairie that it has become is not government. It is the heart and soul of her people who look after each other, and care for each other through good times and bad. It is the Oklahoma Standard that we are proud of that sets us apart from other large cities. Our rich heritage of living by the Golden Rule has buoyed us through oil booms and busts, through the horror of the Bomb, and into the era of prosperity we now enjoy.
Now that rich heritage is threatened to its core. Our homeless rolls have swelled over the last two years as busloads of homeless arrive from LA, San Francisco, and other leftist cities with promises that our city will take care of them…increasing the burden on our city and taking advantage of our people’s goodwill without adding productive citizens. Meanwhile our city streets are crumbling. We’re mired in projects which have no value and generate no revenue. Our Mayor is obsessed with funding new social programs to address the same social ills that our private sector provision and faith community involvement have been masterfully adept at addressing for years…without the unnecessary intrusion of government.
Our outstanding police department is under attack from the very same leftist forces that are behind the “defund the police” movement. They’ve faced massive riots and protests which vandalized downtown businesses for the first time in our city’s history, all while our Mayor marched with the same protestors that carried signs saying “Burn the city down.” The courageous men and women of the OKCPD deserve our undying support and encouragement…not a Mayor that kneels down before an anti-police mob shouting “Take a knee! Take a knee!” Instead of standing on the side of law and order, our Mayor used that opportunity to bring in a far-left organization rife with Obama appointees to advise the city on how to “fix the OKCPD” through endless bureaucracy designed to force de-escalation at every turn, while failing to address the fact that our police force is at least 300 officers shy of the number needed for a growing city our size.
The deterioration of our beloved city is evident to anyone paying attention. We are at a crossroads. We can either continue on the direction we are headed and find ourselves turning into the same liberal cesspools that hard-working people are moving here to escape…or we can embrace a bold, new direction that recaptures the heart and soul of our proud heritage and sets a shining vision for the entire city, north to south, east to west, with no quadrant left behind.
I am stepping up and stepping in to give our city a new vision, one without the encumbrance of special interests and one that will restore our values of Faith, Family and Freedom. It is time for rescue and rejuvenation across Oklahoma City. Time for a Mayor who will resist corruption, stand firm for our identity and be authentic in word and deed while upholding the true role of government.
I am Carol Hefner, a wife, mother, businesswoman, Board member to many non-profits over the last 39 years and a woman with a backbone. I have a long, successful history of navigating complex negotiations, decision-making, and comprehending large scale projects that are necessary for a Mayor to have. Everything I have accomplished in my life has prepared me for this moment…for this mission. We do not have to lose our soul to be a successful, thriving city. We can enjoy the blessings of growth while maintaining the heart of what makes this such a great place to live. With your help and support, I truly believe our best days are ahead of us.
For more information on my vision and mission to restore Oklahoma City’s great heritage, and how you can help, please visit HefnerForMayor.com, or call the Vivienne Hasenbeck at (405) 778-3710.
Carol Hefner, Candidate for Mayor of Oklahoma City
