How unity and investment are driving Oklahoma City’s growth

Because of that, I can openly say: I want to work with Democrats, with independents, with Republicans. I want the best ideas from all perspectives, and I want to reach outcomes that reflect that mix. Are those outcomes perfect? No – but they’re good enough. And “good enough” is exactly what democracy is meant to produce. That’s the beauty of compromise – it may not thrill everyone, but it brings more people along and leads to progress.

We’ve had ballot initiatives here pass with 70 per cent of the vote. I’ve been elected with 78 per cent and 60 per cent support. I think that shows that, despite the noise, America isn’t as polarised as it seems. The loudest voices are often the most extreme, but they don’t represent the majority. In Oklahoma City, I believe we’ve created a political culture that rewards unity, and we’ve backed it up with results. That model is replicable – if other cities are willing to shift how they talk, how they govern, and how they engage their voters.

SCW: What strategies have you found effective in creating and maintaining this bipartisan community feel?

DH: One of the most effective strategies is simply to communicate. I think just being consistently communicative in and of itself makes a difference. I use social media in what I’d call a balanced way – it’s not just about announcements or policy, but also fun and engaging content that makes people feel connected. And then I really try to use moments like the annual State of the City address to frame where we are as a community and what the next big focus should be.

That speech reaches about 1,500 people in person, and many more via video or transcript. In that setting, I have an opportunity to shape our political culture a bit – to steer the conversation beyond partisanship and toward shared goals. (You can find past speeches on okc.gov/mayor, by the way.).

I use social media in what I’d call a balanced way – it’s not just about announcements or policy, but also fun and engaging content that makes people feel connected

But beyond communication, I think it’s about how you listen – and what you do with what you hear. A lot of political leaders today are only listening to a narrow subset of voters – usually the ones who elect them in partisan primaries. I try to listen to everyone, across the political spectrum, and more importantly, I don’t stop at listening. I try to incorporate what I’ve heard into the final outcome. That’s where a lot of leaders struggle, especially in such a divided environment. But for me, that follow-through is critical to building trust and creating consensus.

A great example is MAPS 4 – the $1.1bn capital improvement programme we passed in 2019. Sixteen different projects, 72 per cent approval at the ballot box. That package was intentionally designed to reflect a range of worldviews. Someone with a more traditionally conservative mindset might have been drawn to the projects that support economic growth – things like stadiums, visitor infrastructure, and entertainment venues. On the other hand, someone with more progressive leanings likely gravitated toward the investments in addressing homelessness, or the Family Justice Centre for survivors of domestic violence.

When you look at the MAPS 4 package as a whole, it’s not a left-of-centre plan or a right-of-centre plan – it’s a balanced one. And I think that reflects the way American politics used to work. People would come up to me during that campaign and say, “I don’t love all the projects, but I like enough of them to vote yes”. That’s exactly the point; the only person who probably liked all 16 projects was me, but that’s how compromise works.

For me, the strategy is clear: listen to as many people as possible, pull from different perspectives, and create an outcome where residents can see their priorities reflected – even if it’s not everything they wanted. When people feel like their voice helped shape the final product, they’re more likely to support it, and more likely to trust the process going forward. That approach – building something inclusive and broad-based – is what keeps our community working together in Oklahoma City.

SCW: To what extent is this becoming part of the city’s identity?

DH: In a real sense, yes – it has become part of our identity. I literally wear it on my lapel every day: a pin that says “One OKC”. That two-word phrase distils everything we’ve been talking about – we’re all part of the conversation, we’re united, and we move forward together.

You can see that philosophy in our track record. We haven’t failed a major civic initiative since the 1980s. Under Oklahoma law, if we want to build things, we have to ask voters to approve the tax to fund them – the mayor can’t just do it, nor can the council. That means every big investment goes through a full public campaign, television ads, news scrutiny – the whole community weighs in. We’ve done that dozens of times and haven’t lost once. The result is billions of dollars invested in quality-of-life improvements, which is a huge reason Oklahoma City has grown from the 37th largest city in the US to the 20th in my lifetime. Unified political culture leads to the ability to invest, which leads to a city people choose to live in.

If you’re coming to Oklahoma City today, you’re likely drawn by what makes us different – our inclusiveness, our collaborative spirit, our ability to work together across divides

There’s another dimension, too: the inclusivity piece. Some people might look at Oklahoma as a state and think it isn’t especially welcoming – that certain laws feel exclusionary. But if they scratch the surface on Oklahoma City, they see something different. They see a mayor marching in the Pride Parade. They see a city where about 60 per cent of our kids are non-white – and that diversity is something we highlight and celebrate. They see leadership that brings everyone to the table. So people of different political views, ethnicities, religions – when they do even a little research, they realise Oklahoma City is a welcoming place where they will be part of the conversation.

That, in turn, shapes how people imagine their lives here. They can see themselves belonging – not being pushed to the margins. That story isn’t unique to us; you see it in other states like Texas, where cities are often far more inclusive and, as a result, are driving population and economic growth even when their broader state politics might push some people away.

SCW: How do you maintain this balance while attracting new residents to live and work in the city?

DH: I think growth is ultimately a sign that people want to be part of what we’re building. You can’t create a city that’s vibrant, welcoming, and high quality without attracting newcomers – it’s just not possible. The only way to stop people from moving here would be to make Oklahoma City a place no one wants to live. And we’ve tried that before. In the 1980s, our downtown was empty, our economy was in free fall, and people were leaving. No one looks back on that time as something we’d want to return to.

When people ask about new residents or how migration is changing the political culture, my view is: we’re successful, and that comes with growth. You can’t put up a wall around the city. If we’re building something people value, we have to be ready to share it.

In terms of how that growth affects our identity or political culture, I’d say this: people tend to move to places that reflect their values. If you’re coming to Oklahoma City today, you’re likely drawn by what makes us different – our inclusiveness, our collaborative spirit, our ability to work together across divides. And I think those values are more likely to be reinforced than diluted as new people come in. We’ve seen that in other cities – especially in red states – where the urban centres become more diverse, more forward-looking, and more focused on building opportunity for everyone.

SCW: Oklahoma City will host softball and canoe slalom during the 2028 Olympics. How does the city’s success in this bid reflect what we’ve spoken about here?

DH: The Olympics are a perfect example of what we’ve been talking about – how Oklahoma City’s unifying culture translates into real outcomes. We built facilities because we believed in investing in our city, and those investments created the opportunity.

Our softball stadium exists in its current form because of a voter-approved initiative in 2017. The whitewater facility wouldn’t be here without MAPS 3 – part of a long-standing, voter-backed capital improvement programme that’s guided investment in our quality of life for more than 30 years. These are publicly funded projects that required people to come together and say yes – yes to building something, yes to spending money on ourselves, and yes to the belief that those investments would pay off.

The Olympics are a perfect example of what we’ve been talking about – how Oklahoma City’s unifying culture translates into real outcomes

The fact that we’ll be hosting seven Olympic events in 2028 – and that we’re the only city outside Southern California to stage an entire sport, let alone two – is a validation of that approach. It shows that a city willing to work together and invest in itself will see returns. We’ve experienced that repeatedly, whether it’s building an arena that made an NBA team possible or creating world-class sports facilities that attract international events.

Anytime another mayor asks me what the secret is, I always come back to the same thing: invest in yourself. Make the commitment, put your money where your future is, and build things that matter. The Olympics are just the latest – and maybe most visible – example of what that mindset can achieve.