Bewildered
Or maybe not. I’ve gotten accustomed to the negativity that sometimes goes on at www.okctalk.com, but today’s take on Jane Jenkins is just weird. I love www.okctalk.com, I think it’s a valuable site, but tell me why this discussion isn’t exhibit No. 1 on why some avoid it altogether.
The basic gist of the criticism goes like this: “Put me down as someone a little disappointed in the hiring. I too was hoping for someone coming from a larger city. No disrespect to her or to the city of Boulder.”
Translation: Isn’t she too small town for us????
Now, don’t get me wrong – I think it’s great that OKC folks are thinking a lot better of themselves than they did 20 years ago. This city had a massive collective case of poor self esteem prior to MAPS and the resurgence of downtown.
But now we’re starting to sound like Mack Brown, and that’s just not good.
So let’s back up a second and pick apart what’s being said at www.okctalk.com:
- Jane Jenkins Main Street experience isn’t that meaningful (that’s what I drew from the comments) because she worked in small towns. OK, wake up folks! As someone who has visited dozens of Main Street programs, I can tell you that this is what it’s all about. And I’ve seen plenty of examples of progressive downtown development and promotions in small Main Street downtowns that blow away anything being done in Oklahoma City.
- Denton is nothing more than Baja Oklahoma. Um, OK. It’s also a city of more than 100,000 that has had to find a way to establish its own identity in the shadow of Dallas. Um yeah, nothing to learn from that bit of experience either.
- Jane Jenkins was regional director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Oops, folks at OKC Talk aren’t talking about this one. I guess they’re not interested in what experience Jenkins might have from this gig that could help in the development of Bricktown, MidTown and the Film District. Nah, she won’t know of grants and obscure funding that can help in old building renovations. She won’t know how to inspire reluctant property owners to take a risk on restoration projects … (sarcasm alert!)
- Jane Jenkins stint in Boulder, Colorado doesn’t qualify her for OKC – Boulder is just a small resort town. Um, yeah… it’s got an MSA population of more than 200,000 and a bustling retail district downtown. Jenkins just oversaw renewal of the downtown business improvement district – a task now underway in OKC, and also worked with the city’s tax increment finance district.
- Jane Jenkins is in her second year term as chair of the International Downtown Association. Nope, this one isn’t getting much mention at OKC Talk either. Here’s a brief description of the IDA from its website:
Founded in 1954, the International Downtown Association has more than 650 member organizations worldwide including: North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Through our network of committed individuals, rich body of knowledge and unique capacity to nurture community-building partnerships, IDA is a guiding force in creating healthy and dynamic centers that anchor the well being of towns, cities and regions of the world.
TRANSLATION: Someone who is serving two years as chair of the IDA has had to have been very involved with the group, its seminars, membership and mission. I can’t imagine a person achieving this position without some serious networking, and of course, through that they would have some great exposure to what’s going on in downtowns throughout the world. But to hear the take of posters at OKC Talk (and also some commenters at NewsOK), apparently all of this experience is pretty insignificant.
Sure, if you say so.
Final note: I don’t know Jane Jenkins other by reputation. I’ve spoken to several people over the past few weeks who do know her, and they are unanimous in their praise. I’ve been told we can expect great things ahead – if this city is ready to listen to new ideas.
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Comments
When I heard she was coming from Boulder, I was excited! Boulder is bustling with activity, mostly pedestrians and cyclists. The walking mall is a great success and has recently pulled back from a bit of a slump. If she had anything to do with that, she’ll do great things for OKC.
I wouldn’t want someone from a big city anyway…I’d rather have success from a smaller city translated to Oklahoma to make OKC a unique and vibrant place. OKC is set to be its own city.
Wow, Steve, you make it sound like the folks at OKC Talk can be negative, uniformed and quick to jump to conclusions without understanding the facts…don’t know that I would disagree with you. Not all of them, but many.
Steve, I agree your follow up blog comes off just as harsh as your calling out of OKCTalkers. I’m not trying to start anything, but a good healthy dialogue.
Shouldn’t the concern be, if we were all in agreement then we should be worried we’re resting on our laurels? If we were all in agreement and viewed everything the same, seems like we could easily become complacent and no new ideas would flow.
Now I agree, we need to let her get in there and prove herself, and I think most of the negative posters even said that despite their valid concerns. Isn’t it a journalists job to report the facts and let the readers make their own opinions?
I’d be more concerned if the readers agreed with everything the media and Oklahoman said. You know the Oklahoman doesn’t exactly have the best record in this state, but it’s our only choice.
This statement isn’t fair IMO: Jane Jenkins was regional director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Oops, folks at OKC Talk aren’t talking about this one.
I might have just missed it, but I didn’t see that statement made in the original article in the Oklahoman, so how could people on OKCTalk have brought that up. I re-read the thread or the original pasted copy of your article and didn’t see it mentioned anywhere. I do however agree, that that will be good experience in helping us preserve some of our historic properties from otherwise having a better chance of being torn down (we dont want that).
But I see nothing wrong with a healthy dialogue on both sides to keep the fires warm so we never rest on our laurels again. That’s why we got in the slump before, because no one was keeping city leaders in check, including your employer. You know I love ya man and enjoy your articles/blog!
Another thought that came to mind is that, we know nothing about the other 2 finalist candidates. Steve, any chance we can find out more about them and who they were, experience, where they came from, etc.?
I happen to agree with you Steve on this one. I abhor knee jerk reactions without people having all the facts and we may be in such a position here. It is true as someone pointed out above, that the original article didn’t list all of her experience as you (Steve) have continued to do here, but in my opinion that means we should of been withholding judgment until we knew all the information. I don’t expect her entire resume to be posted in a daily newspaper article and I hope others don’t expect this as well.
At first blush, it seems like Ms. Jenkins career has been one of fast rising accomplishments and I take it as an honor for OKC that she sees this as a significant step up from leading an international development organization. I see some good things in the few experiences we know she has had. International experience–great for OKC, her contacts hopefully will lead to OKC’s profile expanding on the international stage. Boulder–bringing the Pearl Street experience to OKC is a great idea (in a unique OKC way), use it to improve OKC as a more pedestrian friendly city. Denton, etc.–it has been a fast growing part of Texas for some time and this experience seems to only be a positive for OKC. In summary, let’s hold off on the condemnation until we see what she does for OKC…she will have her work cut out for her though. Not easy to start a position such as this in the middle of a national recession.
LordGerald applied for the job and it’s quite clear that I had nowhere near the skill set or experience that Ms. Jenkins has. I think this is a solid and progressive pick, given the past history of this position. I wish her well and believe she will perform smashingly.
I agree with you up to the point of you saying
“But now we’re starting to sound like Mack Brown, and that’s just not good.”
Which makes you just as bad as they are.
I think she will do a wonderful job, Boulder is a very modern city, way ahead of anything OKC is doing.