Gubernatorial candidate Cornett’s platform: ‘Fix the Mess’

TULSA — He’s the first four-term mayor in the history of Oklahoma City, but in June of this year Mick Cornett announced he won’t go for a fifth.

Instead, he’s running for governor, and his campaign slogan is short and sweet: “Fix the mess.”

Cornett sat down for an exclusive interview with KRMG News Monday, and he said for starters, Oklahoma’s entire budgeting process is “broken.”

I want to help change the culture at the Capitol, where it's less politics and more governing -- Mick Cornett

He compared how the legislature works on a budget, as opposed to how his city handles the process.

“We never conduct a budget process like this. First of all there’s got to be more people at the table, there’s got to be more items on the table. You can’t say ‘I’m going to negotiate but we can’t talk about this, this and this.’ You’ve got to bring more items to the table if you’re trying to get people on board.”

And he doesn’t see that happening at the capital.

“When you’re digging yourself in a hole, the first thing you’ve got to do is quit digging,” Cornett said, “and this legislature just continues to dig and dig and dig. And people around the state, I can tell you firsthand, are angry. And they have a right to be.”

He doesn’t blame one party or the other, he blames them both.

And, he says, the solution includes new leadership - and a new paradigm for how leaders are judged in the state.

“We have spent too long in this state judging our leadership by how well they deal with a crisis,” he told KRMG. “It’s time we start judging them by their ability to avoid a crisis.”

Cornett will face a fairly crowded GOP field in next June’s primary, including current Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb, Tulsa attorney Gary Richardson, and incumbent State Auditor Gary Jones.