Edmond Life & Leisure - August 27, 2020

From the Publisher

Miller will run for Council

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Former Edmond City Councilman, David Miller, called us last week with some great news. He is planning on running for the Ward 4 council seat currently held by Nick Massey.

Massey has announced that he will not be running again for his council spot or any other Edmond city office. There was rumor that Massey would run for Edmond mayor, but he has publicly stated that he will not. Miller wanted Edmond Life & Leisure readers to know about his plans to run for Ward 4 first.

He served on the council from 2001 to 2012 and honestly, these were some of the best years for council leadership. Miller was a big part of that leadership. During that time, he served not only as a council member but as Mayor ProTem under Charles Lamb. He also served on the EEDA Board of Directors, chaired the Public Works Committee, served as Edmond Electric representative to APPA Policy Makers Committee and currently still serves on the Edmond Capital Improvement Projects Advisory Board.

Miller has lived in Edmond since 1995 and has three daughters who are grown and married. He has three grandsons and Miller and his bride, Marsha, have been married for 36 years. He is currently employed at Heartland Payment Systems who have been a great corporate citizen in Edmond.

When I asked him why he wants to serve on the council again, he said, “I want to run because I believe my experience is needed, especially now. I also still have the same passion for Edmond I had before. I want to give while I can and while I can still make a difference in the environment my grandchildren will grow up in, like my daughters, I want them to want to stay in Edmond.”

In my column a few weeks ago, I wrote about leadership and the lack of it at the city, state and certainly the national level. Miller was an excellent leader when he served on the council previously and there is no doubt that he would make a great addition to the leadership of current council members David Chapman and Josh Moore.

With the announcements coming out for those seeking election to the mayor or council position in Edmond, there are some things we should remind voters of about the Edmond system. It is a great one and really is the strength to Edmond government. Here

is how the election works for city council which is different than other communities.

Candidates file to represent the Ward in which they live. If there are more then two candidates in a ward, there is a runoff where only the registered voters in that particular ward can vote and the top two vote getters move to the general election. Once the top two are in the general election, voter’s city wide get to vote for those candidates and not just the ward they are representing. If there are only two that file for the ward seat, they automatically move to the general and the entire city gets to decide who will serve.

Recently, it has been hard enough to get two candidates to file for a council seat much less more then two so the elections have not had a primary. More will sometimes happen when there is an open seat and this time, we will have two open council seats so it could happen. The reason for this system? My friend and mentor in this business, longtime Edmond resident Ed Livermore more explained it to me this way. Under the Edmond system, the elected council members must get out of their ward, and this makes them beholding to their ward. However, it becomes a citywide vote in the general and that causes the candidates to be beholding to the entire city which avoids territorial fights among council members. They need to

do what is good for the entire city and not just their ward when such issues occur.

Being part of an extremely small and not-for-profit promotion company has gotten difficult, but I cannot imagine how difficult it is for the large, professional companies that are trying to make a living as promoters. There is just no live entertainment because of local ordinances or the artist themselves thinking it is too dangerous.

Such is the case with Karla Bonoff who was to appear at the University of Central Oklahoma Jazz Lab this coming Nov. 16. The sold-out concert is being postponed at Bonoff’s request and I really cannot blame her. The new concert date is April 16, 2021. It will still be at the UCO Jazz Lab and the concert starts at 8 p.m.

This announcement follows the second postponement of the Steve Tyrell concert that was set for this coming September. A sold-out concert as well will now be performed Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021, at 8 p.m. in the UCO Jazz Lab. The Tres Amigos are sorry for having to do this again to our loyal fans but as you can guess, the situation cannot be helped.

While it also means that we are unable to continue funding, for the time being, the jazz scholarships at the UCO Foundation from these shows,

we plan to be back in full swing as soon as possible. The “Sunny Side (of the street)” to this mess is that those of you on the waiting list might have an opportunity to still get tickets depending on the availability of those with tickets. We will let you know as we get closer to concert dates and after contacting current ticket holders.

Cox Expands Commitment

With all the uncertainty in the world today, it is refreshing to know that one of our excellent corporate citizens is expanding a great program instead of pulling back. Cox announced this week an expanded commitment to bridging the learning divide as part of its ongoing effort to support kids and families learning and teaching from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Through June 30, 2021 Cox is suspending late fees and extending payment relief offerings for customers in the company’s low-cost internet program Connect2Compete who express an inability to pay due to pandemic hardships. “During this time of distance learning, our focus remains on connecting low-income families with a K-12 student at home to the internet and keeping them connected during this unprecedented time, said Pat Esser, president and chief executive officer of Cox Communications. “We continue to look at ways to support kids that need the tools to succeed and know it starts with an internet connection, device and digital resources.”

Through June 30, 2021 Cox commits to the following as part of its ongoing efforts to bridge the learning divide:

• Actively promote Cox’s low-cost Connect2Compete program to drive awareness and adoption among eligible customers, including toolkits for schools to help families connect.

• Continue no requirement of deposits or application fees and proactively waive late fees for eligible Connect2Compete customers.

• Extend our low-cost Connect2Compete plans to eligible customers as long as they qualify.

• Offer consistent and transparent pricing to eligible customers during plan enrollment.

• Provide flexible payment arrangements for eligible customers who contact us with an inability to pay due to pandemic hardships.

• Partner with cities, school districts and community-based organizations to connect large numbers of low-income students to the internet.

• Provide timely, exceptional service, including offering a fast-track qualification process for Connect2Compete plan enrollment and service activation with schools.

• Promote existing partnerships with hardware providers who offer a low-cost device along with a connectivity plan for eligible customers.

• Offer creative, interim solutions to provide connectivity before residential activation is possible, including immediate access to 3M+ Cox Hotspots nationwide.

Throughout the pandemic, Cox has implemented several programs to help families connect from home during the pandemic. Recently, the company announced a new offer for new qualifying families who sign up before September 30 to receive Connect2Compete free for two

months including free remote technical support just in time for back-to-school. Families can qualify for Connect2Compete easily from their mobile device or desktop by visiting www.cox.com/c2c.

The Cox Connect2Compete program is available to families who:

• have at least one child that is a K- 12 student at home

•participate in one of these government subsidies programs: The National School Lunch Program, SNAP, TANF, Head Start, WIC, LIHEAP, or Public Housing

To help parents help their children learn from home, Cox has provided several tips and resources available on the company’s content hub Converge.

(Ray Hibbard may be reached by e- mail at ray@edmondpaper.com)