Willa Johnson play the race card?

This email was sent to me:

RE: The Campaign for Shirley Darrell, Oklahoma County Commissioner District 1

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Tuesday, July 27, 2010, is an important day for our state and county. We will be electing candidates of choice to represent our needs for the next 4 years. Over the past couple of weeks we've watched and listened to political television ads and robo telephone calls.

Yesterday evening, Wednesday-July 21, 2010, I received an extreme and disturbing robo phone call from Sheriff Whetsel and Jim Roth. This call was blasphemy against my friend, Shirley Darrell. The call was placed on behalf of Willa Johnson, attempting to convince us that Shirley is dishonest and unfit for office. Enough of lies and mudslinging ---- here are the facts.

1. We are educated, intelligent, professionals, and I believe we can see through the same ole "low-down-dirty" games.

2. Shirley has not and will not stoop to such tactics. She is on point with the issues that affect all of us.

3. Monday evening, July 19, 2010, Joan White and I attended a political forum sponsored by the Fairview Baptist Church. Shirley addressed the audience and set forth her agenda.

4. Shirley proposed to freeze all property taxes for 5 years allowing property values to catch-up with the over-priced ad valorem taxes, we continue to pay. A novel idea that everyone applauded. (Approximately 125)

5. Willa Johnson, on the other hand, professed that she thought property taxes should be increased! Yes, you read this correctly, that's exactly what she said!

6. Shirley is against the $600,000.00 OR Bond program. Her belief is if people get arrested they know how to get out of jail and do not need to use our precious tax dollars to fund another county office, to get them out.

Shirley is highly educated. She has a Bachelors degree from Hampton University and a Masters [MBA] from Oklahoma City University. Previously she held the Oklahoma County District 1 seat for 16 years. During that time she constructed 16 bridges and paved hundreds of miles of 4-lane highways and inner city streets. Now, that hasn't happened since she left.

I moved back to Oklahoma City in 1998. Shortly after I moved to the Belle Isle addition our city was hit by a terrible ice storm. Shirley immediately sent her road crews to assist with de icing the streets so we could motivate in and out. In December 2009 we were once again hit by another ice and snow storm. We did not see one District 1 road crew in our neighborhood, not one. Instead we paid, from our pockets, to hire professionals to clean the streets in front of our homes, for safety sake.

I don't know about you but I would love to see a portion of my tax dollars appropriated to our neighborhood streets and gutters instead of funding "get out of jail free" programs or continued salary increases for the elected county officials. Presently, each time our taxes increase County officers receive a pay raise. They are paid $115,000/yr. base, $7,200/yr. car allowance and $1,800/yr. cell phone. This frivolous spending must stop!

Therefore, I'm asking that you vote for honesty and experience. Vote Shirley Darrell our District 1 County Commissioner. If you agree with me, please forward this to your District 1 friends and family.


Sincerely,

Eva Jo Sparks

2308 NW 57th Street

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112

Now that OKC voted Maps in, If you live in Oklahoma County...

Now that OKC has voted Maps 3 in,
and if you live in Oklahoma County
you are going to be hit up for another
1 penny sale taxs for another
massive $350 million taxpayer project,
A New County Jail!

LOL

Gwin Faulconer Lippert Show
Dec. 6, 2009
KTOK

Oklahoma County voters
to face decision on tax for jailhouse
by Brian Brus
The Journal Record
December 9, 2009

OKLAHOMA CITY – Right on the heels of Oklahoma City voters’ decision on the MAPS 3 $777 million penny sales tax Tuesday, many of those same metro area residents will soon have to decide another massive taxpayer project.

It’s a $350 million proposal that Oklahoma County commissioners are dreading.

“I’m certainly interested in knowing the outcome of MAPS 3 to get a reading on the sentiment of the voters and how they feel about taking up a countywide tax,” District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughn said earlier this week. “Part of the frustration is that we don’t really even know yet what proposal we’ll introduce for voters to consider.”

And District 1 Commissioner Willa Johnson said, “I personally think it’s going to be a challenge, but I think that our people are reasonable enough to know we’ve got to do something about the jail and we can’t continue to operate the way it is.”

Commissioners and an advisory committee have been discussing how to handle problems with the Oklahoma County Detention Center, which was opened in 1991 about a mile west of the downtown district. Design flaws have plagued the building and last year the U.S. Justice Department reported that inmates receive negligent medical care in overcrowded and often violent conditions, effectively violating their constitutional rights.

County officials reached an agreement with the Justice Department to immediately avoid costly sanctions, but that forgiveness is contingent on the county instituting major corrections or building a new prison altogether. In other words, the county can’t afford to not do something, Maughn said; federal officials will force the issue one way or another.

In 1997, the Oklahoma City Jail merged with the county detention center to share operations. The building is 268,000 square feet and has capacity for about 3,000 inmates. Estimates for a new jail have ranged from about $300 million to $400 million, with repairs not much cheaper.

Maughn said commissioners will meet with a bond lawyer Friday to discuss funding options, which could include some combination of general obligation bonds, sales taxes and property taxes.

“I’m stressing that we don’t know yet what direction we’ll take,” he said.

Johnson said commissioners are open to suggestions from their constituents. When asked if she had a preference about whether to replace or repair the jail, Johnson instead said she would like to see the current building put to a good use.

“That may not mean keeping the county jail there,” she said. “I’m not married to any idea. But I hate to see a building that new go down.’

“Ultimately, I think we’ll get it done,” she said. “But I think it’s going to be a big challenge for the voters to decide.”