Cindy Rosenthal & Fiscal Responsibility

I listened to the first mayoral debate last week, and a few things stood out at me... One of the most striking was the fear-mongering around "outrageous spending."

One of the major tactics of the Ezzell campaign has been to claim that spending is completely out of control. The way this seems to work is to add up all of the money set to be spent on anything over the next 30 years until you get an outrageous sum. Most of the numbers provided aren't increases at all. And, almost all of the things that Ezzell has pointed to as unnecessary are things he voted for.

My mom has made financial responsibility a priority - under her leadership the city's bond rating has improved. Norman has also managed its budget shortfall very effectively compared to other towns and cities nationwide. Smart cuts have been made - ones that don't jeopardize Norman's future growth. You can't just stop paying for clean water during an economic downturn--that's the kind of thing that ends up costing more in the long run. If you compare Norman to Tulsa & OKC (both cities have had lay-offs to cover their budgets), our record is impressive!

One last note about the debate. Hal Ezzell keeps throwing out the accusation that the city is hiring expensive consultants for no good reason. But if you listened closely to the debate, Ezzell cited consultants' reports in his comments about the various issues. Consultants can provide good information--you just have to use them sparingly and responsibly!