G. T. Bynum

George Theron Bynum IV (born August 28, 1977) is an American politician and lobbyist from the state of Oklahoma. A member of the Republican Party, Bynum is the 40th mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Prior to becoming mayor, he served as a city councilor for Tulsa's ninth district. He is a political moderate.[1]

G. T. Bynum
40th Mayor of Tulsa
Assumed office
December 5, 2016
Preceded byDewey Bartlett
Personal details
Born
George Theron Bynum IV

(1977-08-28) August 28, 1977
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Susan
RelationsRobert LaFortune (grandfather)
Bill LaFortune (uncle)
Children2
EducationVillanova University (BS)

Early life and education

A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Bynum attended Eliot Elementary School, Cascia Hall Preparatory School, and Villanova University. He served as student body president in his senior year at Villanova and founded a school club for Republicans.[2][3]

Career

Bynum worked as a staffer for United States Senators Don Nickles and Tom Coburn from 2000 through 2006. He returned to Tulsa to work for a real estate auction company, Williams & Williams. He was laid off in 2009, along with a third of the Williams & Williams employees. He and a partner, Stuart McCalman, opened a lobbying firm, Capitol Ventures Government Relations, working on behalf of municipalities and businesses.[4]

In 2008, Bynum won election to a two-year term representing District 9 on the Tulsa City Council. He was re-elected three times.[4] In 2011, his colleagues appointed him Council Chairman. He served as Chairman through 2012.[5] Bynum ran for mayor of Tulsa in 2016, and defeated Dewey F. Bartlett Jr., the incumbent mayor, in the June 2016 election by a 56 percent to 38 percent margin. By receiving over 50% of the vote, he avoided the August runoff election.[6][7] He was inaugurated as mayor on December 5, 2016. He is the third-youngest person to serve as mayor of Tulsa.[8]

Though the Tulsa Health Department urged Bynum to postpone Donald Trump's June 20, 2020 rally due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bynum said that he would not use his emergency powers to stop the rally from happening.[9]

Personal life

Bynum and his wife, Susan, have two children. His second child was born two weeks before he was laid off in 2009.[4]

Robert J. LaFortune, the mayor of Tulsa from 1970 through 1978, is Bynum's grandfather. Bynum's uncle, Bill LaFortune, served as mayor from 2002 to 2006. Bynum is a great-great-grandson of Robert Newton Bynum, who served as mayor from 1899 to 1900.[4]

See also

References
  1. Murphy, Sean (August 22, 2020). "Moderate Tulsa mayor faces fierce political crosscurrents". Associated Press. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  2. Rothfeld, Michael (September 14, 1999). "School Board Candidate In Political Fray At 21 The Gop Tapped Eric Brown For The Coatesville Seat. It's A Natural Next Step For This Villanova Senior". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  3. Habib, Nour (October 18, 2015). "Midwest Augustinians celebrating 75th anniversary with Tulsa event: Special event will take place at their school, Cascia Hall". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  4. Wade, Jarrel (May 22, 2016). "Who is G.T. Bynum? A man with deep family roots in Tulsa politics". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  5. Barber, Brian (November 23, 2012). "Tulsa Council Chairman G.T. Bynum at end of his post: With his chairmanship winding down, he reflects on his record". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  6. Wade, Jarrel (June 28, 2016). "Voters elect G.T. Bynum as next mayor". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  7. "GT Bynum Defeats Incumbent Bartlett For Tulsa Mayor". NewsOn6.com. June 28, 2016. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  8. Matt Trotter, "Bynum, Councilors, Auditor Sworn in at City Inauguration", KWGS, December 5, 2016.
  9. "Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum says he won't attempt to block Trump rally". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 19, 2020.
Political offices
Preceded by
Dewey Bartlett		 Mayor of Tulsa
2016–present		 Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.