BIG MOMENTS
Mayor’s office belongings reflect his long tenure
Each one has a story, and each one tells a story. Together, they narrate the 5,087 days Mick Cornett has occupied the mayor’s third-floor office in City Hall, where they line the shelves and cover the walls.
“We’ve got a lot of objects,” Cornett says, “and a lot of them bring back memories.”
Cornett, 59, steps aside in April after 14 years and a record four terms as mayor.
In that time, he has collected memorabilia reflecting the city’s diversifying economy, its shifting culture, a new commitment to healthy living, and its ascension to the NBA.
Cornett says shelves filled with sports memorabilia are in some ways “my favorite” — a natural for the
former sportscaster — but gravitates first to a model of a B-1B bomber.
“Boeing gave me this to commemorate their investment in Oklahoma City,” Cornett said, calling the aviation firm “one of our biggest economic development efforts over the last few years.”
Turning to shelves displaying a Thunder autographed basketball and balls from the 2004 McDonald’s prep all-star game, Cornett first pulls down on Oklahoma City 89ers baseball cap.
There is a photograph of an early Oklahoma City sports team.
Basketball shoes commemorate the residency of the Hornets, relocated in 2005 from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
“What was going to be a year turned into two years and, of course, the Hornets ultimately led to our bringing in the Oklahoma City Thunder,” Cornett says.
Prominent on one wall is a framed Russell Westbrook jersey. A framed cartoon by The Oklahoman’s Jim Lange commemorates Cornett’s efforts to bring in the NBA.
“Of all the people that have tried to draw a caricature of me,” Cornett says, “I thought Jim actually kind of captured the essence of what I’m about — gave me a little bit of hair, sleeves rolled up, big smile.” Politics gets its due. There is a photograph of Cornett with Mayor Patience Latting, who served three terms from 1971 to 1983. He recalls interviewing her as a University of Oklahoma journalism student.
Election certificates fill a frame, the most recent in front of the others. In photographs at Tinker Air Force Base, the mayor meets with Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Flags flown by the submarine USS Oklahoma City and over Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor, a gift of that city’s mayor, are neatly folded in frames.
Mementos crowding a table reflect Cornett’s commitment to building a healthier city.
During his tenure, the Boathouse District has come into its own as a center for rowing and world-class whitewater sports.
MAPS 3 sidewalks, trails, and senior health and wellness centers have been built; a new downtown park is under construction.
“It’s been the one thing we started working on early that had a continuing theme,” Cornett says.
On the credenza, a stack of books includes the 2017 biography “Grant” and urban affairs volumes such as “The Public Wealth of Cities” and “Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars.”
In the middle of the desk is a new arrival, a framed photograph of the mayor in his red Christmas sweater with Downtown OKC employees at the 2017 Christmas tree lighting in Bricktown.
A Flaming Lips Alley street sign acknowledges Oklahoma City’s resident psychedelic rockers. Honoring the band in 2007 carried “a slight level of risk” and was a sign times were changing.
Cornett says he felt as though for too long, a conservative city had “honored people who lived in Oklahoma City then moved away to somewhere.”
“I thought we ought to honor people who chose to live here,” he says. “Could’ve lived somewhere else. They chose to live here. We need to honor them and appreciate the fact that they’ve stayed.
“It was a little bit of a cultural shift for the community.”
I thought we ought to honor people who chose to live here,” he says. “Could’ve lived somewhere else. They chose to live here. We need to honor them and appreciate the fact that they’ve stayed.”
Mayor Mick Cornett