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Kirk Humphreys

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Kirk Humphreys
34th Mayor of Oklahoma City
In office
April 9, 1998 – November 3, 2003
Preceded byRon Norick
Succeeded byGuy Liebmann
Personal details
Born (1950-09-13) September 13, 1950 (age 74)
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of Oklahoma

Kirk Humphreys (born September 13, 1950) is an American politician who served as Mayor of Oklahoma City from April 9, 1998, to November 3, 2003.[1] He was considered a favorite candidate of the Republican party establishment for U.S. Senator in 2004,[2][3] losing to former Congressman Tom Coburn, MD in the primary.[4] Humphreys was appointed to The Oklahoma City Public Schools Board as Chairman, but was ousted by Former state Sen. Angela Monson who won with 6,387 votes, or 56.9 percent, to Humphreys’ 4,840 votes, or 43.1 percent.

Humphreys is the chairman of The Humphreys Company.[5]

Education

Humphreys graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1972 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.[5]

Career

From 1972 until 1989, Humphreys built a distribution business with his brothers that specialized in the distribution of beauty products and other non-food items to leading retailers across the United States.[5] In 1989 he founded The Humphreys Company, a real estate development and investment firm. Among the company's current projects are Carlton Landing, a 1,800-acre new town development on Lake Eufaula in southeastern Oklahoma, and The Wheeler District, the redevelopment of the 150-acre site of the former Downtown Airpark on the Oklahoma River near downtown Oklahoma City.[5]

Humphreys is chairman and principal of The Humphreys Fund, a real estate investment company with $200 million in assets in 14 southern states.

Humphreys is a director of OGE Energy Corp., vice chairman of The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, chairman of the board of John W. Rex Charter Elementary School, vice-chairman of the Oklahoma City Airport Trust, vice-chairman of the Oklahoma Industries Authority and serves on the board of the Hough Ear Institute. He is a former trustee of the Urban Land Institute and was founding chairman of the Oklahoma District Council of ULI.

In 2008, Humphreys became co-host of "Flash Point," an award-winning locally-produced Sunday morning political talk show on Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR-TV (channel 4), alongside co-host Mike Turpen and moderator Kevin Ogle.

Anti-gay controversy

On December 10, 2017, Humphreys made "anti-gay comments" in his capacity as a "Flash Point" cohost, prompting calls for his resignation from the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents by the LGBTQ Alumni Society and Freedom Oklahoma.[6][7][8] In addition, Paula Lewis, the chair of the Oklahoma City Public Schools board of education, issued a statement calling for Humphreys to resign from the board of John Rex Charter Elementary School, located in downtown Oklahoma City.[9] A group of John Rex parents held a protest December 15, 2017, also demanding Humphreys' resignation from the school's board.[10][11] On December 21, 2017, at the end of a special meeting of the OU Board of Regents, Humphreys announced he would resign from the board of regents at the beginning of the spring semester in January 2018.[12]

Politics

Humphreys was elected to the Putnam City School Board in 1987 and served until 1995.[5] In 1998, he was elected mayor of Oklahoma City and served two terms. As mayor, he changed the popular opinion of the downtown revitalization effort, known as Metropolitan Area Projects (or MAPS), to a more favorable view. This resulted in increased economic development and improved quality of living in the downtown Oklahoma City area and a move toward a second project, known as MAPS for Kids, aimed at a revitalization of the area's public schools.[13]

In 2004, Humphreys was a candidate in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and was considered a favorite for the party's nomination.[2][3] However, he was defeated by Tom Coburn with a vote of 61% to 25%.[4]

Personal

In 1972, Humphreys married the former Danna Kircher of Stroud, Oklahoma. He and Danna have three children and 14 grandchildren. Humphreys' son, Grant Humphreys, is town founder of Carlton Landing,[14] a new town development established in 2011 on Lake Eufaula in eastern Oklahoma. Humphreys' son, Blair Humphreys, is the director of the Wheeler District development. Humphreys' daughter, Annie Middlebrooks, lives in Oklahoma City and is a wife and mother. He was a childhood friend of Skip Bayless.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Previous Mayors of Oklahoma City". City of Oklahoma City. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ a b Lois Romano (July 12, 2004). "In Oklahoma, GOP Race Not a Given". Washington Post. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Watts, Cole endorse Humphreys in Senate race". The Journal Record. November 26, 2003. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  4. ^ a b John Skorburg (September 1, 2004). "Fiscal Conservative Wins GOP Senate Nod in Oklahoma". Budget & Tax News. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d e "About Us". Humphreys Real Estate Investments. Archived from the original on May 6, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Jaschik, Scott (December 12, 2017). "Anger Over Oklahoma Regent's Anti-Gay Comments". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  7. ^ Causey, Adam Kealoha (December 11, 2017). "Former Oklahoma City mayor chided for anti-gay comments". The Oklahoman. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  8. ^ Bauer-Wolf, Jeremy (December 13, 2017). "Calls Escalate for Oklahoma Regent to Quit". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
  9. ^ "OKCPS board chair calls for Humphreys to resign". FreePressOKC.com. December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  10. ^ "John Rex protesters seek Humphreys' resignation from OKC board". NewsOK.com. December 15, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  11. ^ https://humphreysresign.wordpress.com/
  12. ^ Miller, Ken (December 21, 2017). "Oklahoma regents vice chair to resign after anti-gay comment". Retrieved December 23, 2017 – via www.WashingtonPost.com.
  13. ^ Bill May (January 30, 2002). "Humphreys: Oklahoma City has a competitive edge". The Journal Record. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ "Home". carltonlanding.com. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  15. ^ TheFishGuy, etc. (July 18, 2017), UNDISPUTED - 'Skins Won't Secure Cousins. Bruce Allen Goes Off., retrieved July 25, 2017
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