Tulsa City Council District 2: Archie and Bisogno disagree on homelessness policy, Flock Safety use and proposed hotel tax hike

Incumbent Tulsa City Councilor Anthony Archie and challenger Aaron Bisogno disagreed on the city’s policies combating homelessness, the Tulsa Police Department’s use of Flock Safety technology and a proposed hotel tax increase during a District 2 candidate forum at the University Village Retirement Community on Thursday night.

Originally from Chicago, Archie was first elected to the Tulsa City Council in 2024. Archie and his wife, Chelsea, have owned and operated Oklahoma Toffee Company since April 2017. He formerly worked as a Tulsa Public Schools teacher and minister at Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church.

A Jenks Public Schools graduate and football player, Bisogno is an assistant manager at Mariner Finance. At the forum co-hosted by the Tulsa Press Club, Tulsa World and Tulsa Flyer, he said he has worked in finance for the last 15 years and lived in District 2 for more than 28 years. This is his fifth bid for the seat, and his second time running against Archie.

Early voting in the race runs from Aug. 20-22, and Election Day is Aug. 25.

The City of Tulsa launched the $10 million Safe Move Tulsa homelessness program in November to shut down encampments by moving people into permanent housing. Social work outreach teams spend several weeks transitioning the people from their tents and lean-tos into housing operated by nonprofits. Those people are given social support and resources to keep them housed. More than 500 people have been housed, according to the city. 

Archie said he appreciates the “human approach” the city has used in addressing homelessness. He praised the public and private partnerships, pointing to the city’s $500,000 purchase of the former Tulsa County Juvenile Detention Center to create the city’s first low-barrier shelter. The shelter, opening in November, will allow pets and be open 24 hours a day. 

“There are folks that don’t like the aesthetic of homelessness. ‘I don’t like folks on the trail,’ or ‘I don’t like them in the medians,’ and we don’t,” Archie said. “But before we engage with anyone, we need to recognize their humanity.”

Bisogno said “no one wants anyone to be homeless,” but disagrees with the city’s approach. He also wants more information on who is being moved into housing. 

“Where we differ with this is that we’ve somehow been convinced that there’s a blanket strategy where every person that is outside is just a lost soul that just needs some help and that just needs some comfort,” Bisogno said. “I don’t think that’s very fair, especially to citizens who are just concerned.”

Tulsa Police have access to more than 3,000 surveillance cameras, including the Flock cameras it operates, according to outgoing Police Chief Dennis Larsen. During a July 8 presentation by the Center for Studies in Democracy and Culture, Larsen said he would like to double or triple that number, according to online news summary site the Collington Index.

The candidates disagreed on whether such an expansion is necessary. Bisogno said he would be in favor of removing all surveillance cameras.

“I understand exactly what they’re trying to do. Obviously, they’re trying to take a look at public safety. They’re trying to go the technology route,” Bisogno said. “But what you don’t know, and what a lot of people will tell you is that there are always people that are ahead of the system.”

Bisogno warned specifically of Flock Safety’s data-gathering capabilities and security deficiencies, saying hackers brag on social media about the ease of accessing the company’s cameras. 

“I would be in favor of taking down the Flock cameras, if I could,” Bisogno said. “We definitely do not need more Flock cameras.”

Archie said Flock Safety’s technology is an effective public safety tool when used responsibly, and that the city needs to work with hackers to “harden” its security systems. He referenced a recent double homicide where the suspect’s license plate was caught by a Flock camera and ultimately led to an arrest and confession.

“It needs to be done correctly. Any sort of technology can be abused,” Archie said. “But especially as we’re down maybe 120 officers, we have to leverage all of the technology that we can within the law — and they have been adjudicated as legal — to try to keep folks safe.”

In January, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted summary judgement to the defendants in Schmidt v. City of Norfolk, dismissing the plaintiffs’ claim that the city’s license plate readers violate Fourth Amendment protections on warrantless searches. In April, the ACLU and other civil rights groups filed an amicus brief challenging the district court’s decision.

Candidates also disagreed on a proposal to increase the hotel/motel tax from 5% to 9.9%. Voters will weigh in Nov. 3. 

Archie said he did not initially support the increase until he learned it had not increased in 40 years. He pointed to a review of other cities that found Tulsa had among the lowest rates in the country.

“People come to our city from other places. They have a great time, they spend their money, and they go home. 
We don’t have to educate their kids, they don’t go to our hospitals. If they behave well, we don’t have to arrest them and put them in our jails,” Archie said. “We benefit economically from their presence, but we don’t have the strain of resources.”

Bisogno said there should not be an increase in taxes of any kind.

“This is just another example of how the city doesn’t understand how economics, how marketing, how planning and how taxes actually work,” Bisogno said. “If they’re going to increase the hotel tax, what’s to say that they’re not going to raise the city tax coming forward? It’s never gonna end. Anytime that they can increase taxes, they will.”

For more information on candidates and issues on the Aug. 25 ballot, check out the Flyer’s voter guide. 

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