The Uproar Next Door

For several days we've been monitoring the news from neighboring Tulsa, anxious to decipher what the hell is really going on at city hall.

First we hear that the Tulsa police, through the FOP, endorse the mayoral candidacy of Randi Miller.

Second, we hear that Mayor LaFortune has put Police Chief David Been on administrative ice (with pay) for not sharing important information. The information is an interim report on Tulsa's SWAT team, not advanced warning of the endorsement announcement, although you can't help having your suspicions, can you?

Next, the acting chief of police - presumedly with the blessing of Hizzoner - conducts a shakeup of some of the top police brass and promises more very soon. The same day the FOP issues a statement saying they still support Chief Been.

As Paul Simon would put it, there were "incidents and accidents, hints and allegations" since last Friday, and it's strangely reminiscent of those banana republic attempted overthrows that were all the rage waaay down south. This blowup, coming as it does just a couple of weeks before the Tulsa primary vote, makes no sense. Sure a couple of the candidates have been hitting hard on the Tulsa crime rate, but does Mayor LaFortune really believe that his actions inspire confidence in his ability to get a handle on the Tulsa police?

MeeCiteeWurker has formulated several theories as to what is really going on. Since we haven't a clue, and are not in a position to find out, his theories make as much sense as anything anyone else has said. MCW believes that whatever the real reason, this may be the political death knell of the LaFortune administration.

We'd just like to see a little bit of political stability emerge from the chaos, (nobody wants to think their neighbor's going nuts), and we hope that whatever is causing it is not contagious.