Published: December 21, 2008 12:01 am         

Mayor McMillian running for re-election

Mayor Roger McMillian will run for re-election in the April 7 contest. The Stillwater native said he thinks another term would be a good chance to fix some issues he’s started working on, such as ensuring the city has 50,000 people in the 2010 Census and solving some infrastructure problems. “There are a number of issues that are still unresolved that I feel strongly about that I would like to see through to conclusion,” he said. “We’re going to have to deal with those infrastructure issues, and we’re going to have to deal with them sooner rather than later.” He said many of the sewer and water distribution lines in the city are deteriorating, and that the city will have to be creative in coming up with a way to pay for replacements. “They’re worn out at best,” McMillian said. “We have some that are just probably on the verge of no longer existing.” He said it will take a long time to solve the issue but that he wants to see a plan develop. “It’s not something that’s going to be done in three years, but I think the groundwork, the foundation, has got to be put in place, and it’s get started because it’s probably a 10- or 12-year project,” McMillian said. “Someone’s got to start. I feel really strongly about that.” Another major issue McMillian said he’d like to work on is the relationship between the city and Oklahoma State University. “We’ve got to find more ways to work together and cooperate and build together,” he said. “Instead of building apart, we’ve got to find a way to build together.” He said one of the best ways to do that is to increase enrollment and keep it high. McMillian said as mayor he helped re-open Hall of Fame Avenue, which was closed because of construction on Boone Pickens Stadium. “We were able to convince ... everyone that Hall of Fame needed to be open,” he said. “I’m very proud of that achievement.” He said he also wants to revitalize downtown, which he started with the creation of the first Business Improvement District in Stillwater. “We’re beginning to see the first signs of revitalization with a new restaurant that’s soon to open downtown,” McMillian said. “You know what that’s going to do for downtown? That’s a home run.” In May, McMillian was sued by three employees on the grounds of creating a sexually-charged workplace as president of the Bank, N.A. He resigned as president of the bank in July. The suit against McMillian was dropped in August, but it continues with the bank. “It was something I didn’t feel like was really indicative of the way I live my life,” McMillian said. He said he hopes voters will focus on his service to the town when it comes time to vote. “I hope that my record of the last three years ... and my record as the last 50 years of living in Stillwater will be how I’m judged.” McMillian said his extensive experience in municipal government will help him in his second term if elected. He has served as City Attorney for Stillwater as well as numerous other cities around the state, and was elected mayor in 2006. “I think I can identify the problems,” he said. “I just think all my many years I’ve been involved in municipal government, both in Stillwater and around Oklahoma, help me understand solutions to those kinds of problems.”

     

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