Vanessa Hall-Harper has secured a sixth, two-year term on Tulsa City Council after defeating Corinice Wilson in the Nov. 3 runoff election. Hall-Harper, who has held the seat since 2016, told The Eagle in October that this year’s bid for re-election was her toughest yet.
As she and her supporters celebrated the results Tuesday night at Rubicon Barbecue, we talked to the District 1 councilwoman about the win, some of the criticisms of her decade-long tenure and whether she plans to run for another office in the future.
Editor’s note: The answers have been edited for clarity and length.
Shaunicy Muhammad: How are you feeling?
Vanessa Hall-Harper: Good. I believe District 1 won tonight. I believe dark money lost. I think we’ve seen the influence, the impact dark money can have on a community. I’m ready to put this behind me and just get back to work.
Muhammad: You talked a little bit in your victory speech about some of the disagreements, arguments and negativity that was brought out throughout this election season. How do you bridge these fractures and divides in north Tulsa?
Hall-Harper: For those who truly, legitimately, honorably want to work together to improve the quality of life in this community — who are not concerned about who gets the credit — I’m open. And I’ve always been open to working with them.
And I say to them, let’s get to work. I’ll meet with anybody. I don’t promise agreement. But I promise I’ll meet with anybody.
But for those who have shown over 10 years that they are not truly concerned about the improvement of the quality of life of this district, I don’t have time to waste on that.
No one person, no one elected official can do it all. No one entity or organization can do it all. We have to work as a community. And I’m willing to do that.
Muhammad: You said you feel like tonight the votes show the majority of people believe progress has been happening. But a lot came out in this race. Some people feel like the further you go from 36th Street North, they don’t see progress or feel the development.
What do you say to those people as you begin another two-year term?
Hall-Harper: I say we’re going to continue to work. We had to start somewhere and that will grow. There has been improvement in 36th and 46th and up to 56th, where the city limits end. But when you are an opponent running against a successful incumbent, you have to find something negative.
Muhammad: Do you have plans to talk to Corinice Wilson after this?
Hall-Harper: Absolutely. She serves on the Beyond Apology Commission. So we’ve always communicated.
Muhammad: What do you say to the people that voted for Wison or just wanted another candidate out of this?
Hall-Harper: I say that’s democracy at work. I know for a fact that a lot of people who have supported me historically supported her this time and I don’t hold that against anyone. You vote for the best candidate.
Muhammad: Obviously, you just won your sixth term on city council. But do you have plans for any other offices?
Hall-Harper: No, I don’t have any plans to run for mayor or for state representative or any other office. My love is for local government. My degree is in government, and I’ve always felt that local government is where you can have the most impact on the community and people’s lives. So I have no desire to run for any higher office.
Muhammad: You’ve been in office for 10 years already. It’ll be 12 at the end of this term. Do you feel like there’s going to be a point where you’ll want to train up a successor?
Hall-Harper: I’ve had several people approach me and say “Will you mentor me?” and I said absolutely. Because I’m not going to do this forever. No one will. That would be an even higher honor to mentor the next generation to step in so we can literally pass the baton and not start over every single time.
You can read our conversation with Wilson here.
