With about a month to go until the Aug. 25 municipal election, all five candidates for Tulsa City Council’s District 1 seat shared their visions for north Tulsa at a forum Wednesday night.
Around 60 people showed up at Antioch Baptist Church, 110 W. 56th St. N, to hear from incumbent Vanessa Hall-Harper and her challengers: Dr. Corinice Wilson, Thomas Moore, Mareo Johnson and Reggie Williams Jr.
Many in attendance donned T-shirts listing the name of their preferred candidate.
Each candidate responded to questions about issues like grocery options in the district, public safety and the condition of streets and sidewalks.
Williams, a youth advocate, said he’s noticed disparities between how some neighborhoods in the district look versus others.
“I see the difference between one neighborhood from another. Chamberlain is so nice. I love going over in Chamberlain,” he said. “But then I go over to Yorktown and Apache, and it’s a different neighborhood.”
Williams would like to see more shops and restaurants in the district, especially for those who don’t have access to vehicles.
“I know a lot of people like going out of town or going to Owasso or different places, but you have to realize that it’s somebody that can’t,” he said.
Meet the candidates
Hear directly from the five candidates at The Oklahoma Eagle’s free forum, set for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Aug. 11 at 101 E. Archer St. Let us know you’re coming here, and find other candidate forums here.
Wilson, a native of Turley, shared a similar sentiment in regards to the condition of roads and sidewalks in the district. The most important infrastructure projects are sidewalks and roadways commonly used by seniors in the community or children walking to school, she said.
Her solution would be to impose more fines for property owners who let their properties fall into disrepair. The idea garnered applause from Wilson’s supporters in the audience. Currently, a property owner convicted of violating the city’s nuisance code can incur thousands of dollars in fines.
Infrastructure must be addressed, Moore said, particularly because so many residents travel outside their own community to go to work.
“If you live in north Tulsa, A, you have to drive further to go to your job more likely, and B, you’re probably not going to make very much, but C, you’re probably driving a car that gets the heck beat out of it,” he said.
Commute time by geography was one of the data points measured in the city’s 2025 Equality Indicators report. While the report details that “the percentage of north Tulsa residents commuting 30 minutes or more to work is 87% higher than the percentage of midtown Tulsa residents,” it does not give reasoning as to why this disparity exists.
Hall-Harper, who has served in the position since 2016, has long pointed to Oasis Fresh Market’s opening as a key achievement of her time in office. If re-elected, she would work to bring additional grocery store options to the district.
When asked about her vision for public safety in the district, Hall-Harper held up a copy of the equality indicators report, which measures disparities between communities across the city.
“Justice is the only indicator that we have failed consistently every year on,” she said.
The solution to improving that indicator is going to take “a change in culture” and depends greatly on who gets hired as the city’s next chief of police, she added.
“That must exist if we are going to truly address public safety and all that it entails,” Hall-Harper continued. “I am praying that we hire someone that has a real belief and intention of changing the culture so that we can build the trust necessary to actually move these indicators.”
For Johnson, decreasing crime is a major factor in attracting business owners to the district. During a May 12 press conference, Mayor Monroe Nichols said crime is trending down across the city. Officials are enlisting the help of violence interrupters — non-law enforcement community leaders — to target specific ZIP codes that remain crime hotspots.
If he was elected to council, Johnson said one tangible improvement voters would see is a continued decrease in crime.
“Decreasing the crime rate, it helps in all other aspects,” Johnson said. “When we talk about economic development, when we talk about public safety, people feel safe (if) the crime decreases.”
Ultimately, Johnson envisions “one Tulsa” where District 1 has “equal opportunity just like every other part of Tulsa, where we eliminate divisions (and) open up more opportunities for all people in District 1.”
