Ben Johnson · District 9
Issues
Specific positions on the decisions the next council will actually make.
Issue
Affordability: Housing & Utility Costs
Two bills are going up at once. The council votes on one of them.
What's Happening
~$25/mo
PSO rate increase sought
+$5.82/mo
City utility increase, FY27
~6,000
Affordable units Tulsa lacks
46%
Tulsa renters cost-burdened
Tulsa households are getting hit from two directions at once. PSO is seeking a rate increase that would add roughly $25 a month to a typical bill — and customers are already paying an interim increase while the Corporation Commission decides. At the same time, city utility rates are rising 4 to 7 percent under the FY27 budget.
On housing: Tulsa is short roughly 6,000 affordable units by the city's own accounting, and about 46 percent of Tulsa renters are cost-burdened. Home prices have risen sharply since 2018.
What the Council Actually Controls
The council sets city utility rates. It funds low-income assistance programs. It votes on zoning changes that determine whether more housing types can be built in more places. It sets permitting fees and approves process reforms.
The council does not set PSO's rates — that's the Corporation Commission. But a councilor can formally intervene in that proceeding and make the case publicly.
What I Will Do
Vote against utility rate increases without low-income offset programs
The council votes on city utility rates. Ben will not support an increase that doesn't include strengthened assistance for cost-burdened households.
Formally intervene in the PSO rate case
A councilor can't set PSO rates — that's the Corporation Commission's job. But the council can file formal intervenor comments. Ben will use that platform.
Reform permitting to reduce housing production costs
Tulsa is short roughly 6,000 affordable units. Permitting timelines and fees add real cost to every unit built. Ben will push for a process review focused on time-to-permit.
Allow more housing types in more places
Zoning that prohibits duplexes, triplexes, and accessory dwelling units across most of the city is a supply constraint with a price tag. Ben supports updating the code.
Fund and strengthen low-income utility assistance
The city's own utility assistance programs are underfunded relative to need. Ben will prioritize this line item in every budget cycle.
What I Will Not Do
Vote to raise city utility rates without a corresponding increase in low-income assistance funding.
Accept that a 46 percent cost-burden rate among renters is simply the market at work.
Issue · Flagship
Protecting Tulsa's Water
The moratorium expires December 31. The next council writes the rules.
What's Happening
In March 2026, the Tulsa City Council voted unanimously for a nine-month moratorium on new data center construction, running through December 31, 2026. The pause exists so the planning office can review whether data centers are correctly classified under the zoning code. Councilors raised noise, water, and energy concerns, and District 3 Councilor Jackie Dutton pointed to Tulsa being in active drought conditions.
Project Anthem — Meta's roughly $1 billion, 340-acre facility in east Tulsa — is exempt from the moratorium along with its second phase. It drew both official celebration and organized community opposition.
Why this is the clearest issue on the ballot.
The moratorium expires at the end of December. The council seated after this election is the council that votes on the new zoning framework. Whoever wins District 9 casts that vote. Almost nothing else in local politics offers that clean a "your vote decides this" argument.
What the Council Actually Controls
A city councilor cannot prevent Meta from building in Tulsa. What a councilor can do is set the conditions under which any data center — now and in the future — gets approved: zoning classifications, impact analysis requirements, water replenishment terms, and transparency rules for incentive negotiations.
The council also controls whether to extend the moratorium if the planning office has not completed credible work by December 31. That is a real vote, with a real date, in the first months of the next council term.
What I Will Do
Require independent water and power impact analysis
Before any new data center application advances, I will require a third-party analysis of water consumption and energy demands — not an applicant-provided estimate.
Set binding, enforceable water replenishment terms
Pledges are not policy. Any approval must include binding replenishment obligations with enforcement mechanisms and real penalties for noncompliance.
End NDA-negotiated infrastructure deals
Tulsans should know what they're subsidizing. I will require full public disclosure of any deal involving city infrastructure support before a council vote.
Update the zoning classification to reflect actual impact
Data centers don't belong in a low-impact industrial category. The moratorium exists because the classification is wrong. I will fix it.
Extend the moratorium if the zoning work is not done
If the planning office has not completed a defensible framework by December 31, I will vote to extend the moratorium rather than let the clock force a bad decision.
What I Will Not Do
Approve any data center application before the independent water analysis is complete.
Negotiate infrastructure deals under NDA without a public disclosure requirement.
A Note on Framing
This is not a blanket anti-data-center position.
Growth is good. The question is who verifies the terms and who bears the costs. Ben's position is not "whether" but "on what conditions and who enforces them."
Issue
Economic Development That Works for Everyone
Growth is good. The question is who captures it.
What's Happening
Tulsa is in a growth moment, and growth is genuinely good. What it isn't is automatically shared. The question the council faces on every major deal is the same: who captures the gains, and who bears the costs?
Right now, Tulsa negotiates many of its largest economic development deals under nondisclosure agreements. Councilors vote on incentive packages whose full terms the public does not see. Job creation projections come from applicants with an obvious interest in optimistic numbers, with no systematic requirement for independent analysis.
What the Council Actually Controls
The council approves economic development incentives, tax abatements, and public-private agreements. It sets disclosure requirements for those deals. It funds programs that support local small business, workforce development, and neighborhood commercial corridors. It approves or rejects zoning changes that affect what kinds of development happen where.
A councilor who demands transparency on a deal before voting for it is not anti-growth. They are doing the job they were elected to do.
What I Will Do
Full public disclosure before any incentive vote
No more NDAs on deals that involve public infrastructure or tax abatements. Tulsans should know what they're subsidizing before the council votes — not after.
Independent cost-benefit analysis for major incentive packages
Ben will require an independent, publicly posted analysis for any deal over a threshold dollar value — not applicant-provided projections.
Local-first procurement standards
For projects that receive city incentives, Ben will push for procurement requirements that prioritize local vendors, contractors, and workforce.
Small business support as a budget priority
District 9 is home to Brookside, Cherry Street, and midtown commercial corridors. Supporting those businesses is neighborhood stability.
What I Will Not Do
Vote for any incentive deal negotiated under NDA without a public disclosure requirement.
Accept job creation projections from an applicant without independent verification.
The Contrast
Every candidate in this race should tell voters how they will vote when the data center moratorium expires, how they will handle the next major incentive deal, and what transparency they will require. Ben has published his answers.