Tulsa councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper speaks out against political attack ads in District 1

TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper is pushing back against political attack ads she believes are spreading lies about her record in District 1.

The ads, appearing in both commercial and mailer form, are being paid for by a group called Strong Oklahoma Fund LLC. They have also created a website, supporting Hall-Harper's opponent Corinice Wilson.

"My thing is they are lying," said Hall-Harper. "They're lying to my community about things I have done. My reputation means something to me — my name and my reputation mean something to me.”

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Hall-Harper says the mailers misrepresent her record by connecting unrelated votes and policy decisions.

"The mailer takes a data center decision, a 2024 tax incentive vote, and the city's annual utility rate increases and puts them together to suggest that I caused higher household bills by looking out for the interests of big tech and data centers," Hall-Harper said.

The councilor held a news conference to denounce the ads, which she says she only learned about a week ago. In her 10 years in office, Hall-Harper said she has never seen an attack like this in District 1.

The mailers are connected to an Oklahoma City address, sent from a group by the name of Strong Oklahoma Fund LLC.

"Never heard of them before, don't know their ties or their connections, but it's clear what their intent is and their intent is to harm this community," Hall-Harper said.

Hall-Harper says she has not spoken with her opponent. Wilson's campaign posted to its official Facebook page saying it had not endorsed, paid for or authorized the ads and objected to their content.

2 News reached out to Wilson for further comment but did not hear back.

"Something like this that can truly impact quality of life in my community… that's intentional and so I have to stand up and fight against that. I have to push back against that because my reputation as a leader in this community is at stake," Hall-Harper said.

Hall-Harper is asking those behind Strong Oklahoma LLC to come forward and identify who is funding the ads and why. 2 News also reached out to Strong Oklahoma for comment and will update this story once we hear back.