Tulsa Regional Chamber inaugurations are often newsworthy events, and that was doubly true Thursday when new Chairman Steve Bradshaw made a forceful push for state education funding and unveiled an initiative to bring more direct flights to Tulsa International Airport.
Bradshaw, president and CEO of BOK Financial, said the state seems closer to solving its teacher pay problem, but still isn’t close.
He called on the chamber to recruit and fund pro-education candidates to replace legislators who will not cooperate with what needs to be done.
“We should absolutely have a zero tolerance stance when it comes to those unwilling to have the courage to seek sustaining solutions for public education,” Bradshaw said.
Amen. The chamber is an important player in finding and funding legislative candidates, and it should use its weight to bring a new breed of Oklahoma lawmaker to the Capitol, legislators committed to adequate education funding and an end to the years of cutting vital resources.
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That was news enough to get our attention, but later, Bradshaw made another headline, revealing that the chamber and the George Kaiser Family Foundation have been studying how to get more nonstop flight destinations from TIA.
He set a goal of at least one additional nonstop flight this year, listing New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Seattle as potential targets.
Bradshaw knows as well as anyone that the inability to fly from Tulsa to key cities on the East and West coasts holds back the city’s potential and threatens its ability to hold onto major employers.
We were impressed with Bradshaw’s agenda, and with his emphasis on telling business leaders specifically what they can do to make those goals reality. We wish him luck with his program and promise to join him in working to build our community.