Local area races have started to garner the much-needed endorsements in order to help maintain the surge of momentum started during last year’s municipal elections.
As with last year, Ignite Liberty will be endorsing candidates in the most important races. We are proud to announce that our first endorsement will be in the race for OKC Mayor.
Our organization began with the singular purpose to oust David Holt as Mayor of OKC. We have since grown beyond pure activism to conservative journalism. It has been a long staple of journalistic history for candidates to seek out the endorsements of major newspapers throughout the state.
With the crumbling readership of the newspapers and subsequent absorption by major media conglomerates, those endorsements mean virtually nothing anymore; which is one of the reasons why many, including The Oklahoman, no longer endorse candidates.
We are not that way. We have carried the torch for authentic, grassroots conservatism in the Sooner State for the last year. Our faithful readers, subscribers, and donors know that they can trust us to do our due diligence in investigating potential candidates, asking the hard questions, and advocating only for those candidates who are fully prepared to carry the cause of liberty forward after they’re elected.
After all, it’s one thing to say all the right things on the campaign trail. It’s quite another to have the depth of experience and proven conservative track record to warrant the trust of the voters on election day.
That is the standard that we use when we look for candidates to endorse. We look far beyond the campaign rhetoric, flashy speeches, and “superstar” endorsements to find candidates of substance that merit our support.
Two perfect examples of this are Bradley Carter, OKC Ward 1 Councilman, and Barbara Young, OKC Ward 3 Councilwoman.
During last year’s city council races both of them faced other mainstream “conservative, Republican” candidates against them that had flashy endorsements from big-name local politicians. We looked beyond the surface, spoke with many candidates, and found Carter and Young to be authentic, real conservatives with a deep understanding of the problems the city faces and (perhaps more importantly) had the backbone to make the tough decisions in keeping with the principles of liberty. They didn’t spend their campaigns throwing mud at other candidates. They spent the time connecting with their constituents so they would know best how to represent them. In short, they were already preparing for the job before they even had it.
Both candidates won, and have performed brilliantly in their roles and duties since being sworn in.
In choosing a candidate to endorse for OKC Mayor, we applied the same standard.
Between the two conservative candidates, we looked beyond stump speeches and catchy slogans to ascertain which of the two candidates – Carol Hefner or Frank Urbanic – is actually prepared to do the job.
Here’s the reality. By OKC Charter the position of mayor is a part-time position. It is paid part-time; however, it has more than full-time hours associated with it. In order for this city to get back on track, it is critical that we elect a mayor that is fully prepared to actually do the job from day one. There is no time for a learning curve. Holt’s vast reach and influence in this city spreads far beyond just the mayor’s office. It extends down to the numerous city commissions and boards that he has appointed members to in order to fulfil his vision of this city. It extends to “working groups” designed to redesign the OKCPD after the image of the San Francisco and Seattle police departments. It is seen in the massive overhaul of our charter that his select committee oversaw. Holt’s agenda has affected, or infected, every single aspect of this city’s government, and not for the better. We cannot elect a person who simply memorizes the same stump speech and repeats the same three talking points at every rally.
We need a person whose depth of knowledge about this city is vast and expansive. Someone that knows this city’s grand history, and sees the bright shining beacon of conservatism that it can be. An individual who knows all of the players that Holt has infected our city with, and how to dismantle their agenda. Someone that can build powerful coalitions within our city and beyond to make Oklahoma City the Capital of Conservative America that it can and should, be. Someone who has worked their entire life to make every ward of this city beaming with opportunity for everyone that calls this city home.
In short, we need a champion. We need someone whose bold, fearless leadership can instill a civic pride in the hearts of every resident of Oklahoma City that is not just based on the success of our sports teams, but is anchored to the rich opportunities that we offer to any and all that would come and hitch their wagon to our star and help create a city that every Oklahoman will be proud to call their Capital City.
In this race, that person is Carol Hefner.
We at Ignite Liberty are proud to fully endorse her for Mayor of Oklahoma City, and encourage every conservative to unite behind the only candidate that can not only beat David Holt…but actually has the unique skill set to undo the damage he has done.
Bryan and Melissa Armstrong
Editor-in-Chief & Operations Manager
Ignite Liberty, LLC
