2008 Mayor's Development Roundtable
This spring, Mayor Mick Cornett presented the Mayor’s Development Roundtable highlighting the public and private sector’s commitment to developing a great community. Local panel members as well as national speakers discussed topics relevant to Oklahoma City’s growth and development.
Details:
Wednesday, May 14th
8 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Cox Business Services Convention Center
- Registration is $65 and includes breakfast, snacks and lunch.
- Housing demand and strategies in a changing economy and demographic.
- Development opportunities related to a proposed urban park in the heart of downtown.
- Open-forum discussions.
- Mayor’s award of recognition for outstanding development in Oklahoma City
Program:
- 8 a.m.
Welcome
- 8:10 a.m.
Opening Remarks
Mayor Mick Cornett
- 8:20 a.m.
Changing Markets and the New Housing Paradigm
Laurie Volk
Principal, Zimmerman/Volk Associates, Incorporated
Clinton, NJ
- 9:10 a.m.
Roundtable Facilitated discussion with local panel and attendees
- 9:55 a.m.
Break
- 10:10 a.m.
Development opportunities related to a proposed urban park in the heart of Downtown
Peter Harnik
Director, Trust for Public Land Center for City Park Excellence
Washington, D.C.
- 11:00 a.m.
Roundtable Facilitated discussion with local panel and attendees
- 11:45 a.m.
Break
- 12:00 p.m.
Lunch
Mayor’s Keynote and Award Presentation
Speaker Bios:
Mayor Mick Cornett
Mick Cornett became Oklahoma City's 35th mayor on March 2, 2004. Cornett was re-elected on March 7, 2006 with over 87 percent of the vote, the highest percentage in Oklahoma City history. When first elected at age 45, Cornett became the City's youngest mayor since 1959.
Cornett has quickly developed into a statewide and national spokesperson on municipal issues. He is frequently asked to speak to members of Congress and White House staff on behalf of cities across the nation. In 2006, he was elected to the Advisory Board of the U.S. Conference of Mayors where he also chairs the powerful Urban Economic Policy Committee. Cornett is also the national chairman of the organization representing Republican Mayors and Local Officials (RMLO).
Standing for efficient government and responsible leadership, Mayor Cornett has worked to promote an inclusive and optimistic vision of Oklahoma City, one driven by bold ideas. Cornett's humble nature, intense work ethic and optimistic attitude have become emblematic of a city that, as Cornett says, "works hard and dreams big."
As mayor of America's 29th-largest city, Cornett has focused on two fundamental priorities - education and jobs. At the top of his list has been the implementation of MAPS for Kids, which in 2006 saw the opening of the new Frederick Douglass and John Marshall high schools. A new U.S. Grant High School opens in the winter of the 2006-2007 school year, and dozens more school projects are in some phase of construction or planning as a result of MAPS for Kids. Ultimately, every single building in the Oklahoma City Public Schools system will be renovated or built anew. And the 23 other school districts that serve Oklahoma City are also seeing capital funding from MAPS for Kids.
Since Cornett's arrival in the Mayor's Office, the City has continued an economic renaissance, strengthened by significant and rapid growth, and marked by thrilling accomplishments that seem to arrive almost every day. Well over 30,000 new jobs have been created in Greater Oklahoma City since Mayor Cornett took office, and the arrivals of Dell Computers in 2004, the NBA's Hornets in 2005, and MG Motors in 2006 have underscored Oklahoma City's emergence as a world-class city. To long-time residents and visitors alike, the City seems as optimistic as it has been since it was founded in a single day on April 22, 1889.
For that success, Cornett is quick to credit the vision of his predecessors, the hard work of the City Council, the City Manager, the staff of the City, and the people of Oklahoma City. Because of them, Oklahoma City is proudly becoming a model of progress for the nation. By nearly every measure, and on nearly every front, Oklahoma City is booming like never before, and no one is happier about that, or more anxious to share the credit, than Mayor Mick Cornett.
Cornett represents the fourth generation of his family to make their home in Oklahoma. Cornett was born and raised in Oklahoma City, the son of a postman and a school teacher. He graduated from Putnam City High School, where he was honored as the most outstanding student in government. He went on to the University of Oklahoma, where he earned a degree in journalism, and graduated on the Dean's Honor Roll.
Cornett then embarked on his career in broadcast journalism. He spent 20 years in local television, first in sports and later in news. He served as a reporter, anchor and manager, and simultaneously worked as a newspaper columnist and sports play-by-play announcer. As a news anchor, he covered City Hall from 1997 to 1999, where he gained a deeper appreciation for the importance of city government in our daily lives, and to our city's future growth.
In 1999, Cornett left local television and started his own video production business, which he still operates today. He also returned to the University of Oklahoma as a journalism professor.
In 2001, Cornett entered politics by challenging a two-term incumbent on the City Council, and won his seat by the largest margin over a sitting incumbent in City history. He served on the City Council until being overwhelmingly elected mayor in 2004.
Mick and his wife Lisa began dating when they were high school sophomores and have been together ever since. They have raised three sons - Michael, Casey and Tristan.
Peter Harnik
Peter Harnik is director of the Trust for Public Land’s Center for City Park Excellence in Washington, D.C. In 2000, he authored Inside City Parks, a book about the park and recreation systems of the 25 largest cities in the U.S. His most recent research resulted in The Excellent City Park System: What Makes it Great and How to Get There. Currently he is heading a four-year research project to determine how much economic value a park system can bring to its city.
Previous to TPL, Harnik was co-founder and vice president of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. He also founded the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail in Washington, D.C. and served for many years as president of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. In 1987 he was named one of the “Global 500” by the United Nations Environment Programme.
A native of New York City, Harnik is a 1970 graduate of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. He lives in Arlington, Va.
Laurie Volk
Laurie Volk is co-managing director of Zimmerman/Volk Associates, a nationally-known market research firm specializing in urban development and redevelopment. The company has completed more than 300 residential market studies, for sites ranging in size from half a block to several thousand acres. Volk has conducted more than 60 downtown studies across the country, in cities ranging in size from Petersburg, Virginia (population 31,000) to Detroit, Michigan (population 895,000).
Volk currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Seaside Institute and on the Advisory Board of the Remaking Cities Institute, and was a founding Board Member, now emeritus, of the National Charrette Institute. Volk was also recipient of a 2002-2003 Knight Fellowship in Community Building, and is an instructor on market analysis for the Center for Urban Redevelopment Excellence at the University of Pennsylvania.