Tulsa Mayor Bynum talks about new police and his last months in office

Mayor GT Bynum’s term is coming to an end here in Tulsa, and one of his most recent decisions involves appointing the city’s next police chief.

Mayor Bynum speaks on the departure of Police Chief Wendell Franklin

“I had hoped that Chief Franklin would be around forever. I think very highly of him. He and I have become very close through all the challenges that we’ve had to deal with over the last five years. But I also completely understand the desire to move on and have a new opportunity in your career. Of course, I do the exact same thing. And he’s been with the Tulsa Police Department for over two decades at this point. So if anyone deserves a police retirement, it’s Wendell Franklin. I’m just grateful that he found a great job here in Tulsa and will continue to be here. And we’re not losing him to another city. It’s great that you’re going to continue to be here in Tulsa.”

LeAnne: Were there any moments during his tenure that were highlights for you?

“Well, I think two things stand out to me about Chief Franklin’s leadership. First, how stable he’s been in a crisis over the last four years, considering he was sworn in as police chief a week before the first COVID case in Oklahoma. And that he’s led our police department through everything that happened in 2020, through natural disasters, through a cyberattack that took down computers in police cars, through the loss of a beloved Tulsa police sergeant and the near loss of a young officer. He’s just been a remarkable, stable leader through so many crises. Looking forward, though, I think the big legacy he’s going to leave behind is the modernization of the police department. From a technology perspective, the real-time information center that we worked together to implement was his vision. That’s what police officers have told me is the biggest change in policing in Tulsa since they’ve put radios in patrol cars now. And the ability that this will give officers to do their jobs effectively in the future and better protect the residents of Tulsa, you really can’t quantify it, it’s going to be tremendous. And we owe it all to Chief Franklin’s vision.”

Mayor Bynum on his decision to appoint Dennis Larsen as Tulsa’s next police chief

“You know, for me there were a lot of different factors, but the one that really stood out above all the others. One is that it has to be somebody that I have complete confidence in is going to protect the citizens of Tulsa. That is the most important job we have in the city of Tulsa. That is the most important job of the Tulsa Police Department, to protect the citizens of Tulsa. And Chief Larson has a strong background in that regard, through decades of leading the Tulsa Police Department and leading some of the divisions within the department that are most highly respected nationally.

But what is also very important to me is that we have a chief who cares about the men and women in the department. I love the men and women of the Tulsa Police Department. The sacrifices they make to keep all of us safe are tremendous. And I wanted to make sure that we accomplished that, that we did everything we could to protect them and allow them to go home to their families at the end of the day. And Chief Larson has proven that over decades. He loved the Tulsa Police Department beyond belief. He has consistently put the Tulsa Police Department before himself and before his career. I am confident that he will be a great chief for the Tulsa Police Department and for our city.”

Mayor Bynum on Tulsa’s first billion-dollar budget

“This is the last budget I will pass as mayor. This is the first budget we’ve ever had as a city that is over a billion dollars. It’s really important that people understand that this is being done without any tax increases, which are purely and solely due to the growth of our economy. It’s also really important that people understand that it’s a balanced budget. Unlike other levels of government, we don’t go into debt. We don’t print money. We only spend what comes in, and I’m really grateful to my colleagues on the City Council who have worked so closely with me over the last six months to develop a budget that I believe will position our city and my successor in this office to do great things in the coming year.”