Kirk Humphreys

Kirk Humphreys
Mayor of Oklahoma City
In office 1998–2003
Preceded by	Ron Norick
Succeeded by	Mick Cornett

Kirk Humphreys (born September 13, 1950) is an American politician who served as Mayor of Oklahoma City from April 9, 1998 to November 3, 2003.^[1] He was considered a favorite candidate of the Republican party establishment for U.S. Senator in 2004,^[2][3] losing to former Congressman Tom Coburn, MD in the primary.^[4] Humphreys is the chairman of The Humphreys Company.^[5]

Education

Humphreys graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1972 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.^[5]

Career

From 1972 until 1989, Humphreys built a distribution business with his brothers that specialized in the distribution of beauty products and other non-food items to leading retailers across the United States.^[5] In 1989 he began The Humphreys Company, a real estate development and investment firm. Among the company's current projects are Carlton Landing, a 1,600-acre new town development on Lake Eufaula in southeastern Oklahoma, and The Wheeler District, the redevelopment of the 120-acre site of the former Downtown Airpark on the Oklahoma River near downtown Oklahoma City.^[5]

Humphreys is chairman and principal of The Humphreys Fund, a real estate investment company with $140 million in assets in 13 southern states.

Humphreys is a director of OGE Energy Corp., a member of The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, chairman of the board of John W. Rex Charter Elementary School, vice-chairman of the Oklahoma City Airport Trust, vice-chairman of the Oklahoma Industries Authority and serves on the board of the Hough Ear Institute. He is a trustee of the Urban Land Institute and was founding chairman of the Oklahoma District Council of ULI.

Politics

Humphreys was elected to the Putnam City school board in 1987 and served until 1995.^[5] In 1998, he was elected mayor of Oklahoma City and served two terms. As mayor, he changed the popular opinion of the downtown revitalization effort, known as Metropolitan Area Projects (or MAPS), to a more favorable view. This resulted in increased economic development and improved quality of living in the downtown Oklahoma City area and a move toward a second project, known as MAPS for Kids, aimed at a revitalization of the area's public schools.^[6]

In 2004, Humphreys was a candidate in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate and was considered a favorite for the party's nomination.^[2][3] However, he was defeated by Tom Coburn with a vote of 61% to 25%.^[4]

In 2008, Humphreys became co-host of "Flash Point," an award-winning locally-produced Sunday morning political talk show on Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR-TV (channel 4), alongside co-host Mike Turpen and moderator Kevin Ogle.

Personal

In 1972, Humphreys married the former Danna Kircher of Stroud, Oklahoma. He and Danna have 3 children and 10 grandchildren. Humphreys' son, Grant Humphreys, is town founder of Carlton Landing , a new town development established in 2011 on Lake Eufaula in eastern Oklahoma. Humphreys' son, Blair Humphreys, is the director of the Wheeler District development. Humphreys' daughter, Annie Middlebrooks, lives in Oklahoma City and is a wife and mother.

References

1. "Previous Mayors of Oklahoma City". City of Oklahoma City. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
2. Lois Romano (2004-07-12). "In Oklahoma, GOP Race Not a Given". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
3. "Watts, Cole endorse Humphreys in Senate race". The Journal Record. 2003-11-26. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
4. John Skorburg (2004-09-01). "Fiscal Conservative Wins GOP Senate Nod in Oklahoma". Budget & Tax News. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
5. "About Us". Humphreys Real Estate Investments. Archived from the original on 2007-05-06. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
6. Bill May (2002-01-30). "Humphreys: Oklahoma City has a competitive edge". The Journal Record. Retrieved 2007-08-21.