You’re the champion till the next team raises the trophy, and that moment has arrived. On behalf of the people of Oklahoma City, congratulations to the New York Knicks and the people of New York City. You are the NBA champs! (To be clear, I’m never retiring my championship apparel)

As I have firmly believed since 1981, I can finally confirm that He-Man lives in Oklahoma City. (scenes from the new film “Masters of the Universe”)

USCM would like to thank Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt for his dedicated leadership as president over the past year. The Conference deeply appreciates all the work he’s done to create a lasting impact on our organization. #Mayors2026

Great lunch with Mrs. Holt at Zamzam Mediterranean Grill in Automobile Alley!

Mayor Guy Liebmann, the 36th Mayor of Oklahoma City, has passed away at the age of 90. Though Mayor was his highest title, forever making him a part of our city’s history, Guy was not elected to the role and held it for only four months. It was as a Ward 8 Councilman and State Representative where Guy truly left his mark. Guy Liebmann served on the Council for a decade and in the State Legislature for eight years. He was also a proud Marine. We are grateful for his decades of service across multiple levels of government. I send our deepest condolences to his wife Judy and his entire family. I have directed that our city’s flags be placed at half-staff on the day of Mayor Liebmann’s memorial service, June 29th.

I was honored to help cut the ribbon on the new Oklahoma National Guard Museum, a $40 million state project that tells an important story in our nation’s history. The men and women of the Army National Guard, the Air National Guard and the 45th Infantry have honorably represented our state around the world and at home, and the story goes back over 130 years. The heroism of the 45th Infantry (also known as the Thunderbirds) is particularly remarkable. That narrative includes the day in 1945 when the 45th liberated 30,000 prisoners at Dachau concentration camp outside Munich. Thank you to the state leaders and donors who made this possible. I encourage everyone to visit this beautiful new facility in Oklahoma City! okngmuseum.com

Robert’s got your new issue of Curbside Chronicle… #1OKC

Tinker Air Force Base is the largest single employer in OKC’s city limits and is massively important to our city’s economy and our identity. I enjoyed meeting at City Hall with our relatively new Commander of the Air Force Sustainment Center, Air Force Materiel Command - Lt. Gen. Jennifer Hammerstedt. Lt. Gen. Hammerstedt joined our community in late 2025 and leads approximately 40,000 Airmen.

Today we broke ground on the Boulevard Place development, adjacent to the Omni Hotel and facing Oklahoma City Boulevard. Boulevard Place will bring over 260 new housing units downtown. These developments in the downtown core can be challenging, and that’s why this was a true public-private partnership. The most significant contribution was the use of our city’s housing fund approved by the voters to provide units that are more affordable to those who qualify. This is a prominent parcel in downtown and we’re thrilled to see dirt moving! Congrats and thanks to developer Tim Strange and his partners for this exciting development!

The United States Conference of Mayors prepared this very nice (and brief) video that they showed at our Annual Meeting in Long Beach this weekend. It covers my year as President, in case you’re interested in the work we’ve been doing on the national (and international) level this past year…

Today, Governor Bill Anoatubby announced he is retiring from elected office after four decades at the helm of the Chickasaw Nation. He and his team have built the Chickasaw Nation into one of the most impactful entities in Oklahoma, and theirs is one of the greatest tribal success stories in U.S. history. And thanks to Governor Anoatubby’s vision, the Chickasaw Nation is also one of Oklahoma City’s most important partners. Governor Anoatubby’s leadership story is one we will study, and he will be remembered as one of our state’s greatest leaders. On a personal level, I am grateful for his friendship. On behalf of the people of OKC, I thank him for all that he has done for our community, and I wish him all the best in this next chapter.

My year as the 83rd President of the United States Conference of Mayors has come to its end. And even though a great many important things also happened this past year in our city, at my law school, and in my family, there was still miraculously enough time for a consequential year speaking for our nation’s mayors. The role took me around the world and to virtually every media outlet. Some of the work was highly internal (I was proud to write our first bylaws and update our Constitution), but much of it was quite public. I was thrilled to organize and host content for our DC meeting and our Annual Meeting in Long Beach, as well as leadership meetings in OKC and Los Angeles. Perhaps the most lasting legacies will be our work lobbying Congress for a housing bill, the international partnerships we have forged, and the creation of the Oklahoma City Declaration, our statement signed by over 230 mayors in support of pluralism, compromise and civility, and in opposition to political violence and other symptoms of democratic decay. Thank you to everyone who made this year possible! It was an incredible honor to serve and to represent our nation’s greatest public servants.

Chuck D is a hip hop legend, cultural icon and powerful voice for social change. With the group he co-founded - Public Enemy - he is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and winner of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. On behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Americans for the Arts, we were proud to present Chuck D with the 2026 Citizen Artist Award! My chat with Chuck D closed out our Annual Meeting this weekend in Long Beach.

At the Annual Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Long Beach, I enjoyed my discussion with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker about the importance of cities, economic development, bipartisanship, federalism and housing, among other topics.

Listening to Snoop Dogg as a kid growing up in OKC, I could not have imagined a scenario where I would one day help bestow upon Snoop the Key to the City of Long Beach. Life can take you to some surprising places. What a special night, and I was honored to be part of it. Congrats to Snoop Dogg! And much love and respect to Mayor Rex Richardson for a masterful job hosting the nation’s mayors at our Annual Meeting in Long Beach! Mayor Richardson absolutely killed it and all of America’s mayors now know that Long Beach is Vibe City!

America’s mayors enjoyed a special homecoming performance from the Long Beach icon himself - Snoop Dogg! I was honored to join Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson to present Snoop with the Long Beach Key to the City and the Citizen Artist Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors & Americans for the Arts!

Ed Ruscha grew up in Oklahoma City and graduated from Northwest Classen High School. Upon graduation, he journeyed west in 1956, inspired by the sights along Route 66 and the growing city of Los Angeles. Ed is often grouped with the Pop art movement, but like all iconic artists, Ed is a genre unto himself, a true American original. His visual art transcends medium. He might paint simple but thought-provoking words on canvas, he might take a picture of every single building on the Sunset Strip, or he might create an entire room out of chocolate. Ed is a Los Angeles icon, but his legacy goes far beyond L.A. He is one of the most celebrated visual artists of his time, and has been featured in his own exhibitions in essentially every major museum on the planet. Most notably, he recently completed major career retrospectives at MOMA and LACMA. It would be impossible here to list all of Ed’s honors and to capture the magnitude of his legacy. Ed Ruscha is truly one of the most important visual artists in American history, and he is an Oklahoma City kid. It was my honor today at the Annual Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors to present Ed Ruscha with the 2026 Citizen Artist Award on behalf of the nation’s mayors and Americans for the Arts. And we had a great chat as well!