TULSA - With G.T. Bynum officially sworn in as Tulsa’s 40th Mayor, Tulsans should expect to see a new city government. One of Bynum’s first decisions as mayor was to eliminate the City Manager position, created in 2011 by outgoing Mayor Dewey Bartlett.
“I think citizens ought to know that I”m the one to be held to account as to how we do and so I felt that the City Manager position was really an unnecessary layer of management between me and our frontline workers of the city,” said Bynum.
As a former city councilor, Bynum plans to keep a strong relationship between his staff and council.
“G.T. Bynum’s got a great team, a strong team of strong people and I think he will be making it clear, he will be the person who is managing the city,” said Tulsa City Councilor Anna America.
After defeating Bartlett in June, Bynum and his team spent the last several months planning for improvements to economic development, government efficiency and public safety. They determined having a strong mayor at the helm works best.
“I think we have a group that’s going to be very collaborative and work together and he’s brought in a great team on board in the mayor’s office, so we’re all looking forward to this year,” said America.
Bynum’s grandfather and the city’s 31st mayor, Bob LaFortune, also confident his grandson is ready to lead the city.
“The motivation for him to run for mayor has been there a long time and so now we have the fulfillment of that and I’m very pleased,” said LaFortune.
Mayor Bynum said he’s confident about his new role and is ready to do what it takes to get the city back on track.
“I will be an hands on Mayor but I also think what we’re trying to do is empower our city employees, we have a lot of great employees with the city and I don’t want a lot of distance between me and them,” said Bynum.
Bynum said he also wants to work with education leaders to improve public education and make Tulsa a more attractive place to live.
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