A SNAPSHOT LOOK AT 1959 — 1965
 James H. Norick Elected Mayor. On April 7, 1959, James H. Norick was elected mayor (in the same vote which repealed prohibition in Oklahoma). His election didn't come easy. In the March 17, 1959, primary, he polled third: Charles R. Burba, 9,994; Merton Bulla, 9,673; and Norick 9,611. Norick asked for a recount and won it by a single vote against Bulla, 9,571 to Bulla's 9,570. In the general election against Burba, Norick won a resounding victory — Norick 58,648 to Burba's 35,682.
Despite that resounding victory, just one month later Norick got a taste of what would often mark the remainder of his 4-year term — on June 9, 1959, his nomination of John Boardman to replace J.D. Patterson on the planning board was rejected by the city council by a 7-0 vote.
1961 Council Elections. In spring 1961, council elections would occur. On February 17, a group calling itself "Good Government League of Oklahoma City" entered the city council election campaign by buying radio advertising time for attacks on the city administration. The group was led by Merton Bulla, William C. Kessler, and Walter M. Harrison, they being announced foes of city trusts and most especially the $63,750,000 Atoka water project which would run water in a pipeline from Lake Atoka in southeastern Oklahoma to Lake Stanley Draper, owned by Oklahoma City. In the election, Kessler opposed incumbent John C. Moran in Ward 1.
On March 16, 1961, the Oklahoman came out against the league, calling it the "Bad Government League." It claimed that the league was engaging in false advertising, was entirely negative without showing positive alternatives, and without disclosing who was financing the organization. Although 21 people ran for the various council positions, the league appears to have had only one candidate, Ward 1's William C. Kessler. In a runoff, Kessler won the Ward 1 spot. The Good Government League of Oklahoma City doesn't seem to have existed after this election. Kessler was regarded as the standard bearer of anti-administration forces.
 William C. Kessler. One of Kessler's first attempted actions was the ouster of city manager Sheldon L. Sterling. Kessler lost that vote 6-2, Harold L. Johnson, Ward 4, being the only council member to join Kessler. In April and May, 1962, Kessler and Johnson used delaying tactics to prevent a $11.5 million street improvement bond issue to the people for vote. The bond issue failed when voted upon, 55%-45% (60% needed for passage), even though Kessler's Ward 1 voted for its passage 2-1.
During a July 24, 1961, council meeting, also on a proposed bond election, tempers flared again. "A little later in their debate, Martin demanded that Ware stop interrupting. 'Sit down and keep your damned mouth shut,' Martin flared. Martin was in the process of chiding Ware for failure to provide for relocation or improvement of the north side sewage disposal plant." See this July 25, 1961, article for more detail.
A House Divided. Matters worsened. In its August 30, 1961, editorial, "A House Divided," the Oklahoman said,
Certainly there isn't much reason to suppose the taxpayers are going to embrace any far-reaching bond proposal until the council men themselves are able to agree on what's needed. ¶ But the divided present council's worsening malaise goes much deeper than the manifest differences concerning the scope and cost of the proposed bond issue. Far more disturbing is the possibility that the often unpredictable council majority may be led to act in some instances more out of a spirit of personal vindictiveness than in keeping with the city's best interests. ¶ From the time it became apparent that a new power alignment was forming the city hall has been rocked by firings, rumored firings and recurring departmental shakeups. The end apparently isn't in sight. Councilman William Kessler of Ward 1 says that, 'you haven't seen anything yet.' * * * Thus the Ward 1 councilman makes some rather broad published hints concerning further possible personnel charges. The city charter gives the council and the mayor control over a few enumerated municipal offices and commissions but provides that all other "departments, functions, and boards" shall be under the city manager. Councilmen are enjoined not only from trying to dictate hirings and firings but also from trying to interfere in the work of employees responsible to the city manager. * * * Nevertheless the people aren't entirely without a recourse under the charter. The old charter contained a joker that made recall a practical impossibility. The new charter provides for recall elections when 35 percent of the registered voters in any councilman's ward so petition. The Oklahoman's invitation for a recall election found no traction. But the implications of Kessler's remark, "you haven't seen anything yet," did.
Kessler as Defacto Mayor. An October 11, 1961, Oklahoman article reported that, "The split in the city council showed no signs of healing Tuesday as William C. Kessler, Ward 1 councilman, was elected vice-mayor for a six-month term by a vote of 5-2. * * * The vice-mayor, serves as a stand-in for the mayor, serving as the presiding officer in his absence, but there is usually very little campaigning for the job although whoever holds it occasionally has the power of making appointments to city boards and commissions. ¶ Martin, the retiring vice mayor, was complimented by Norick for the manner in which he had presided during the mayor's absences. ¶ Kessler, noting this, suggested, 'I guess you won't be traveling so much now.'" As it developed, Norick should have been paying attention.
These were the earliest days of Oklahoma City's Urban Renewal, Oklahoma City having authorized the creation of its Urban Renewal Authority by council vote on June 27, 1961. The 5-member OCURA members were to be appointed by the mayor, with the approval of city council and, so, as a first step, commission members were needed to be appointed by the mayor and approved by council. In June, the mayor said that he would not rush the appointments. About four months later, on October 24, Norick placed his nominees before the city council. At that time, resistance was met, and the matter was delayed for a week. An October 25 Oklahoman article reported that the mayor asked for an opinion from the city counselor's office as to the necessity of city council approval of his nominees, notwithstanding the clear provisions of the city charter that mayoral appointments required city council approval.
On November 1, 1961, the Oklahoman reported,
Norick's Choice for Authority Blocked Again. The city council Tuesday postponed indefinitely the appointment of an Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority after refusing for a second time to consider a list of five names offered by Mayor Norick. * * * The maneuver was blocked by the motion of William C. Kessler, Ward 1, to hold up consideration of the appointments indefinitely. * * * Sage, Aker and Wayne Speegle, Ward 4, voted against the indefinite shelving of appointments. The delaying action gives Kessler, who recently was elected vice-mayor for a six month term, a strong hand in the eventual selections. Kessler will serve in Mayor Norick's absence and could make the appointments anytime the mayor is out of the city, provided, of course, a majority of the councilmen is agreeable. A November 2, 1962, Oklahoman article reported,
Speculation that city councilmen will attempt to name an Urban Renewal Authority in the absence of Mayor Norick continued Wednesday in spite of denials by individual council members. The chance to name the five-member board will come up at 9 a.m. Thursday when the council meets in an adjourned session to take up matters pertaining to the Oklahoma City Baseball trust ¶ The denials were issued by several city councilmen after the circulation of a list of names for appointment to the authority. These included James W. Bill Berry, former city attorney; Joe C. Scott, city insurance executive; Rube Martin, retired railroad man and union leader who helped manage the election of Harold Johnson, Ward 4 councilman; F.D. Moon, retired school principal, and Earle M. Simon, former city clerk. * * * Kessler said, however, that he has no plans to submit a list of nominees Thursday. "And, frankly, I'd rather not." However, Kessler's deceit and treachery were revealed on November 3, 1961:
The council, taking advantage of Mayor Norick's absence from the city, pushed through appointment of the five members in a move that was forecast shortly after the mayor's departure for Florida as a guest of the Air Force. * * * William C. Kessler, Ward 1, acting mayor, laid out the list of names at the start of the special meeting, which had been called to act on business of the baseball trust. Ray Martin, Ward 2, protested. "I don't think it is proper and right to take advantage of the mayor being out of town and name his man." * * * [Lonnie] Sage [Ward 2] and Wayne Speegle, Ward 4, did not attend Thursday's meeting. They, with Martin, and occasionally aided by Mayor Norick, have feuded with the majority faction on various matters for several months. Sidebar: On January 10, 1962, the Oklahoman reported that city council voted 5-1 to "hazard the political liabilities" of proceedings being recorded by a tape recorder. "The vote was a victory by William C. Kessler, Ward 1, who has been campaigning for recording of council proceedings for some time. ¶ The project has been delayed by objections from some members that the tape recordings might be tampered with by someone engaged in political skulduggery."
Citizens continued to be rocked by headlines featuring the shenanigans of Kessler's block at the city council.
This time, under the above headline, the March 21, 1962, Oklahoman article reported on another 5-3 vote, this one concerning a "super trust" to be known as the Oklahoma City Utilities Authority to be established without public vote, that, "The council voting lineup reverted to the familiar 5-3 division which has characterized major actions last year." Apparently, the document establishing the trust had been prepared and signed by the 5-member majority before the council meeting unbeknownst to the mayor and 3-member minority and was sprung on them out of the blue. The article noted that Wayne Speegle, Ward 4, said, "Speegle noted that copies of the 19-page typewritten document distributed to the mayor and councilmen had been signed prior to the meeting by the five majority members."
In retrospect, my sense in reading every Oklahoman article that I could find is that during Mayor James Norick's first term (1959-1963) is that, while his heart may have been in the right place, he was a largely ineffectual leader and was not given to public combat with the more aggressive negative leadership provided by William C. Kessler and his three, sometimes four, council cohorts. One will not find a city endeavor boldly spearheaded against opposition by James H. Norick during his first tenure as mayor. In fact, it appears to me that after Kessler's election in 1961 until the elections in March 1963 that Kessler was Oklahoma City's defacto mayor and leader, leaving Norick sitting on the sidelines. Maybe I've missed something important that would cause me to rethink that conclusion, but, as it stands, I've not seen it yet.
 Association for Responsible Government. After three years of mayor and council fracture, not to mention the years which preceded the election of James Norick, a new group established itself in 1963, the "Association for Responsible Government," it being announced in the Oklahoman on January 22, 1963. The article said,
A group of Oklahoma City citizens organized as the "Association for Responsible Government" revealed plans Monday for sponsoring a slate of candidates for city councilmen and mayor in the coming spring elections. Frank Carey, city lumber dealer and president of the newly formed group, said the association will finance and help conduct the campaigns of the candidates selected. Its goal was to obtain a 20,000 members by $1.00 contributions and to use that money to pay expenses in the various campaigns. "Candidates placed on the association's slate will be asked to agree not to accept personal campaign contributions," the article said. Of the group's initial 100 members, leaders of the group were Frank E. Carey, Jr., president; John W. Johnston, executive vice president; Paul Odom, Jr., secretary; John N. Booth, treasurer; and vice presidents James E. Work, Ralph L. Bolen, Murray Cabell, and Lee Sneed, Jr. In a series of numerous advertisements, citizens were invited to join and submit their nominees for consideration. In a February 20, 1963, editorial, the Oklahoman called the movement a "Fresh Breeze."
On February 20, the ARG announced its slate of candidates: Mayor – Jack S. Wilkes, president of Oklahoma City University; Ward 1 – F.M. Petree, board chairman of Home Mortgage and Investment Company; Ward 2 – Jerome W. Byrd, aeronautical and structural engineer and head of Byrd Manufacturing; Ward 3 – Frank Love, vice president of Kerr-McGee Oil Industries; and Ward 4 – Joe Dodson, cafeteria owner and operator.
James H. Norick ran for re-election. As to him not being included in ARG's slate, in a March 15 ARG advertisement, it said,
Because it was clear he wanted to run again, his candidacy was given fair and deliberate consideration by leading citizens from all sections of the city. A careful review of his record, however, showed he had failed to take a strong and courageous stand on any issue of importance to the city during his entire four-year administration. The Association nominating committee therefore concluded this lack of leadership was a major reason for the divided, indecisive council which has failed in repeated attempts to find a solution to the city's financial plight. It was further noted by Association leaders that under our present mayor's administration, the city council ceased to function as the legislative body which our city charter requires. This condition has resulted in damaging the morale of city department heads and dedicated employees who must be assured that their jobs are secure and their services appreciated. A typical hard-hitting ARG ad from the March 16, 1963, Oklahoman is shown below (click the image for a larger view):
The results of the primary were a smashing 5-0 victory for the ARG. Mayor – Wilkes 33,694, Norick 15,931, Gillespie 1,387; Ward 1 – Petree 12,345, others 3,306; Ward 2 – Byrd 7,636, others 4,384; Ward 3 – Love 7,459, others 3,758. Only in Ward 4 was a general election required: Johnson 5,745, others 5,872 – the 2nd highest vote-getter was Jimmie Birdsong, 1,957, Bill Bishop garnering 1,836. In the general election for Ward 4, the ARG sweep became complete – in light voting, the votes were Johnson 5,914, Birdsong 2,460.
But, of course, the four council holdovers were not up for reelection in 1963 — William C. Kessler (Ward 1), William E. Ware (Ward 2), A.A. Aker (Ward 3), and Harold Johnson (Ward 4) were still there.
But business would not be quite as usual. The June 1, 1963, Oklahoman, reported that all four, plus, City Manager Robert T. Luttrell, were the subjects of Oklahoma County grand jury proceedings. The article said,
All were members of the old majority faction which ruled city hall for two years prior to the clean-sweep victory of the Association for Responsible Government mayor-council slate in April. Luttrell is stepping down as city manager July 1 regardless of any ouster action. * * * The grand jurors listed seven counts against Johnson, six each against Ware and Kessler, and five against Aker. See the article for more specific information. Largely, the charges related to using their positions a council members to influence decisions which belonged to the city manager under Oklahoma City's charter. A June 3, 1963, Oklahoman editorial said,
In a prepared statement read to the council last February Luttrell quoted sections of the charter stipulating that city councilmen shouldn't interfere with the manager in the hiring and firing of employees and that councilmen who did that should be subject to removal. He went on to say that in the preceding weeks he had been "subjected to a great deal of pressure to fire some of our most loyal and devoted department heads and other equally fine employees." Luttrell didn't name any names on that occasion but the Oklahoma County grand jury did in its recent report. It said Harold L. Johnson, William C. Kessler and William E. Ware had violated the charger by exerting pressures on the city manager "to remove certain employees which under the charter came within the exclusive control of said city manager." The County (now called District) Attorney filed charges, but through a series of successful legal maneuvers during July-August 1963, the charges were successfully avoided.
As to William E. Ware, the city council on its own motion decided to hold a hearing on whether he should be removed from office for misconduct for using his influence to hire men from his district in different municipal departments. See Oklahoman October 16, 1963. However, that hearing never appears to have happened. Whether that result figured into the next part of this story I am uncertain. But, it would certainly not be surprising if it did.
 In an unexpected announcement, Wilkes advised that he would leave his mayoral post by May 31, 1964, and become president of Centenary College at Shreveport, Louisiana, thereby leaving ARG and Oklahoma City in the lurch. By that time, Ware was still sitting as a member of the Oklahoma city council. Who would the next mayor be, and how would that be determined? In the absence of the mayor to break ties, the old and tarnished leaders lead by Kessler, and the new ARG leaders, were 4 to 4 in number. The city charter provided that upon a mayoral vacancy the council would select one of its own to become mayor. Unless one or more of the "old" and "new" groups would say, "Uncle," that was not about to happen, the result being that the city would have no mayor for about three years. As a practical matter, and remembering that the mayor only voted to break ties in council member votes, that would mean that from whichever group, old or new, the mayor would come, the result would be that the group, old or new, would be reduced to a block of three while the other group would be a block of four.
The ARG members, led by a motion of F.M. Petree, favored that a new mayor be chosen from outside the council — notwithstanding that the city charter provided otherwise. That possibility was opposed by the "old" group, Kessler facetiously quipping, "That would be fine if they would let me do it."
 The Compromise — George H. Shirk. At the time, Shirk was not a resident of Oklahoma City, even though he lived in an area already set to be annexed by the city — a quarter mile wide by one-half mile long along the east side of I-35 and north of NE 50th, between Bryant and Vernon Road. Shirk's credentials included being a member of the citizen's group that helped write amendments to the city charter adopted in 1957, a former member of the police commission, president of the Oklahoma Historical Society, and former president of the Greater Oklahoma City Safety Council.
The appointment of Shirk took a decidedly weird path. First, council member Ware mentioned earlier resigned his council position. Second, the council appointed Shirk to be his replacement. Third, the council named Shirk as mayor. Fourth, Ware was reappointed to his former council seat. So, if the council's charges against Ware weren't earlier resolved, this action by the council certainly provided that closure. Ware was home free.
In the end, the 4-4 alignments on council remained the same and Oklahoma City had a new mayor to replace Wilkes.
The Last Year of Derision. Neither the 1963 elections nor the 1964 mayoral compromise produced a city council which was marked by the signs of collegiality and respect. That story, the story of a fractured city council, would last until 1965. It is then that the ARG engaged in its last hurrah by electing its slate which replaced all of the old hold-overs, including Kessler, who remained true to himself.
As an example, in 1964 the city faced a $5 million deficit for operating expenses (e.g., salaries, police, fire, etc.). As a solution, a majority of the council, excluding Kessler, concurred on putting an earnings tax proposal for one-half of one percent to a vote of the people on October 29. The tax, estimated to produce $4 million annual revenue, was opposed by an opposition group, the "Fair Play Group of Oklahoma County," headed by Kessler. The tax was defeated by a vote of 25,663 favoring to 27,340 opposed, a difference of 1,677 votes. Even if Kessler's position had been diminished, it was clearly not without its effect.
As for Kessler personally, he put his 1964 toe into state politics, first the state senate and then the state house. In February, he was roundly defeated in the Democrat primary by Cleeta John Rogers, 59,599 to 28,003. In September as the Democrat nominee for House District 87, he lost in the general election to Republican Georg Camp, 4,746 to 4,098. Left for Kessler as his only political option was the Oklahoma City council race in March 1965.
The Association for Responsible Government cranked itself up again — it was dormant between elections — and produced a slate of 4 council candidates but no mayor candidate. Shirk ran for election but he was not included in the ARG slate. The primary vote occurred on March 16 and the general election, where needed, was on April 7. Shirk easily won as mayor; in Ward 1 Kessler was solidly defeated in the primary by ARG candidate H.T. "Hank" Moran (Moran 10,037; Kessler 4,253; S. May 676); in Ward 2 incumbent William E. Ware lost in the primary and in the general election ARG candidate Guy M. James defeated Dr. A.L. Dowell 8,894 to 7,796; in Ward 3 ARG candidate Dr. Harry Deupree defeated Nelson E. Keller 5,043 to 4,267 in the primary; and in Ward 4, Bill H. Bishop defeated ARG candidate Hugh L. Riley 4,986 to 2,316 in the general election. The general result was that 7 of the 8 council members were ARG candidates.
Perhaps wanting to have a final word and only a few days before the primary election, it probably surprised no one to see a headline like the one in a March 10, 1965, Oklahoman article below.
Click a link above for the full article. The fracas arose during an exchange between James H. Johnson and Kessler over a southside sewer bond project, which, of course, is much less interesting than the reported dialog:
The basis of the Kessler-James H. Johnson clash was James H. Johnson's defense of the ARG-sponsored reforms over the past two years. "The conditions are not as they were when we came down here. There are not four people under indictment by the grand jury. There are not patronage cards being passed about in the City Hall," James H. Johnson asserted.
Kessler interrupted: "Stop there. You are lying through your teeth and you know it." Kessler left the council chamber ahead of final adjournment which came a few minutes later and was waiting in the corridor leading from the chamber to the executive offices. ¶ Standing toe to toe, he and Johnson exchanged angry words. At one point, Kessler said he would take care of the matter "right here." ¶ Other councilmen broke it up and the two participants walked along, continuing the argument. Outside the city manager's office, there was another threatening exchange with Kessler warning, "you're going to find yourself in court." That didn't happen, but instead Kessler found himself without a political office a week later.
After the election, the city still needed new revenue to deal with a serious deficit in the cost of city operations. In a unanimous vote, the new council decided to submit a proposal for a 1-penny sales tax to the people as the solution. This time, a united city council and city voted by a 2-1 margin (36,877 to 17,271) to approve the measure. |
So says the spiritual leader of city council candidates Adrian Van Manen & Clifford Hearron, his church's candidates for Wards 6 and Ward 8 city council elections just 3 days from now. 
And who amongst us is not bursting with pride over the decision of Devon Energy Corporation to build its world headquarters in downtown Oklahoma City, it being the 50-story Devon Energy Center which is rising toward the sky as we speak? 
