Jimmy Lawson vies for mayor’s office, prioritizing homelessness and empowerment of youth – Oklahoman.com

OKC Mayoral Election: Jimmy Lawson hopes to be voice for all residents

Oklahoma city mayoral candidate Jimmy Lawson talks about his run for office. The election will be held Feb. 8.

Addison Kliewer, Oklahoman

Jimmy Lawson said the idea to run for mayor was first put in his mind by his late father.

The two were building a fence together on Sept. 15, 2019, when Bishop Lawson Sr. paused. Bishop, who Lawson said was "fully healthy,"told his son that he wasn't going to be around much longer, and that he had an idea of what Lawson's future could hold.

"I want you to write this word down: the mayor," Lawson recalled his father saying.

Just four days later, Lawson's father died.

"Just like a puff of smoke," Lawson said of Bishop's unexpected death."That forced me to really focus on what he was trying to get me to see."

Related: Q&A: 7 questions with OKC mayoral candidate Jimmy Lawson

Since announcing his campaign in June, Lawson has run on the platform of ending homelessness, youth empowerment through education, police reform and economic development.

He has raised $3,913in campaign funds as of the third quarter of 2021, with most notably a $500 donation from Kim Kardashian, who he met while advocating for the release of hischildhood friend Julius Jones from Oklahoma's death row.

A proud Oklahoma City native,Lawson is a finance and economicsprofessor at Rose State College and the director of Permitting Services at the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission. He graduated from Northwest OKC's John Marshall High School before accepting a Division I basketball scholarship from Grambling State University.

After his freshman season, he continued his basketball career at Oklahoma City University, where he earned his bachelor's in finance and his master's in business administration. Lawson still has a love for the sport he grew up playing, having coached all three of his daughters basketball teams.

At the only mayoral debate, Lawson took the incumbent's absence as an opportunity to point out Mayor David Holt's silence on Jones's case, which garnered national attention as Gov. Kevin Stitt waited until four hours before the execution to grant Jones clemency.

Lawson and Jones have been best friends since the sixth grade, and Lawson was one of the loudest voices proclaiming Jones' innocence.

More: Oklahoma City mayor election central: All about the 2022 candidates and more

"If you're a mayor of a city that has a national casein your lap, I think is your responsibility toat least make a statement," Lawson said.

The Jones case drew comment from prominent leaders and celebrities in the state and nation like Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Oklahoma State Superintendent and gubernatorial candidateJoy Hofmeister, Bernice King and former OU quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Holt told The Oklahomanhe didn't feel it was his place to speak up about something the governor's office had jurisdiction over.

"The murder was in Edmond, I never saw a role for the mayor of Oklahoma City," Holt said.

A self-proclaimed "PK" preacher's kidLawson said his late fatherinstilled in him the knowledge that he could accomplish whatever he set out to do.

And as a Christian, Lawson said his principles of compassion, grace and mercy for all people will follow him to his role as mayor.

These values are what give him a passion for serving others, which he has done in diverse ways over the years. Lawson founded the John Marshall Impact Team in 2019 as a way to mentor students at John Marshall Middle School.

More: OKC mayor candidates -- except for Mayor David Holt -- square off in only debate

He also helps with NewPoint Church's homeless outreach ministry, hosted an annual Christmas toy drive for underprivileged youth and started an annual $1,000 college scholarship to Oklahoma City high school seniors in honor of hisfather.

Lawson said a priority for him as mayor would be to give a voice to those who haven't had one before.

"There's a lot of hurting people in OKC," he said.

Lawson has said throughout his campaign that the city's homeless population is one of his biggest concerns.

"I think that the city has done aninefficient job at putting programs and resources into place to address this issue," he said at the debate.

Oklahoma City's last point-in-time count of the city's homeless found 1,573 people either on the street, at a shelter, meal site or in transitional housingon Jan. 23, 2020. It was the highest since 2007, but the yearly count has fluctuated between 1,000 and 1,500 for the past decade.

In 2013, OKC implemented a "housing first" model to address homelessness, with the idea that people needed a place to live before they could address the issues keeping them on the street. However, in 2021 the city's Task Force on Homelessness adopted a multi-faceted plan to end homelessness, with housing being only one of eight focus areas.

MAPS 4, a one-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2019, allocated $50 million for "truly affordable housing."

As part of his plan to end homelessness, Lawson said he envisionsa "homeless transitional complex," where unhoused folks can access mental health resources, assistance finding jobs, and more.

"Let's get them whole, let's get them trained up, and then let's talk about companies coming into Oklahoma City … that are willing to allow these individuals to have that second chance," Lawson said.

He said he's interested in using the $50 million earmarked for housing for the complex. This would require five votesfromcity council to change the MAPS 4 resolution of intent, which describes each of the 16 projects and was laid out for voters in 2019.

Another$40 million is allocated in MAPS 4 to fund twomental health crisis centers, arestoration center andtemporary crisis housing.

Through his time as a professor, Lawson said he came to understand the importance of education.

Plenty of students could benefit, he said, from more opportunities for mentorship, career information and life skill building.

That's where his plancomes in. Lawson would like to see the four MAPS 4 youth centers, for which $110 million is allocated, become what he calls "youth empowerment centers."

Not only would the centers have recreational opportunities but allow kids to meet with mentors andaccess tutoring.

"I'm excited about this piece of the pie," Lawson said."I think we have enough money to really build a complex that really can serve the youth from start to finish."

Other priorities for Lawson includeexpanding development outside of downtown, diversifying the types of companies coming into the city and improving community and police relations.

Lawson made clear that he is for the police and not for defunding them.

"It's such a sensitive time when it comes to law enforcement/citizen relationship," he said."I would totally challenge the status quo … (by looking) at different ways to help improve resources and training for officers."

Lawson, like Holt's two other challengers for mayor, has no experience as an elected official. However,he doesn't see that as something that should keep OKC voters from checking his name on their ballot.

"I'm not filtered by the system," Lawson said.

Lawson has gained skills he feels are necessary for the mayor's office in other ways.

As a professor, he says h learned how to communicate with people from all walks of life.

As a father, he says he learned how to pass on his own values to the next generation.

As a volunteer, he says he learned how to turn personal convictions into action.

"When we talk about a mayor, in my opinion, I'm talking about a leader who is able to manage adversity, and manage controversy," Lawson said."Being the lead person to the Julius Jones movement put me in a position where I had to talk about things that were tough, manage things that were tough, have conversations with leadership that was tough."

If elected, Lawson said he would bring a fresh perspective and a challenge to the status quo atcity hall and the city council.

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Jimmy Lawson vies for mayor's office, prioritizing homelessness and empowerment of youth - Oklahoman.com