A Day in the Life

He is a force commander of space marines. He is an Ali supporter. He is a Jenks High School alumnus. He is a university studies major minoring in health education and promotion, and human resource management. He is Mayor Nathan Bates.

Unique: it is the single word Bates chooses to describe his life when asked to depict his situation without the luxury of a full story.

More than a random word plucked from his vocabulary, it is an accurate description of the lifestyle of the man who, at 27-years-old, was elected Stillwater’s mayor.

In general terms, Bates spends his days, “trying to balance everything and keep on moving.”

After arriving in Stillwater on Monday Feb. 15 following a weekend trip to see family in Tulsa, Bates is soon sitting in a conference room immersed in a conversation about the potential of a project involving Stillwater and Google.

Between spoonfuls of McAlister’s potato salad and stolen bites of the cookie nudged against the boxed lunch before him, he says the project will benefit his community and the Internet giant.

At 12:55 p.m., the full-time student and city politician leaves the Municipal Building; his day far from over.

Checking on dry cleaning, waiting at red lights, filling out maintenance requests and sorting through mail are every bit as routine for the mayor as for any other Stillwater resident. The monotonous tasks thread one juncture of his day to the next.

Amidst controversy and the potential recall of his position as mayor through a petition, Bates’ life goes on.

“I have a lot of better things to do than worry about who is signing what petition,” Bates said. “I have to balance being a student and being the mayor with just who I am as a person and I have to figure out a way to get these to all fit together.”

His attempt at balance is evident when he sits down on his dark brown couch.

In the next hour he loads laundry, returns phone calls, studies for a looming test, suffers defeat as he commands his space marines into battle in “Dawn of War II,” and responds to e-mails from classmates.

A soundtrack of keystrokes and a running washer play in subtle unison.

The flat screen atop a black media center pressed against one living room wall enables Bates a momentary break from the chaos of his life.

“I enjoy the competition,” Bates said.

The clutter of remotes, a blue Joe’s cup and documents with attached scribbled sticky notes sprawled about the glass inset of the coffee table await his return to reality.
After a thorough beat-down from an online competitor, the game is turned off and he retreats, confidence still intact, to his shoebox of a bedroom.

Sounds of “I’ve got a feeling” Pandora Internet radio station trail behind small rays of light that escape into the hallway through his cracked bedroom door.

With his nearly floor-level bed as the center piece, and a couple pairs of shoes, a dresser, a few half-empty water bottles, and a packet of beef jerky lingering in almost every other rare square foot of free space, his bedroom is close to capacity as he ties his tie almost flush against the closet mirror.

The wardrobe change is typical because his City of Stillwater polo shirt won’t be acceptable for the rest of his day.

Need for space and a want for canine companionship are two of the reasons Bates is looking to rent a house and leave the confinements of the two bedroom apartment he has become accustomed to sharing with his roommate.

A closet spotted with several suits purchased since his first day in office represent the priority he puts on being mayor — and looking the part.

“I am sure there have been times that I have woken up and thought, ‘God if I wasn’t the mayor I could have bought the latest pair of Oakelys and had the latest PS3 game and gone to that party last Saturday night and had a crazy time and had a completely different life,’” Bates said. “But I was willing to sacrifice because it means more to me to try and make a difference in a positive manner out here. I don’t mind pushing that stuff aside in my life.”

For the second time of the day, Bates is back at the Municipal Building before 3:30 p.m. He doesn’t have an office but he steps into conference room C with paperwork and a 10.1 inch, city-issued Toshiba laptop in hand to prepare for the night’s city council meeting.

There is neither a grand mahogany office desk, collection of family photos nor assortment of personal effects.

With the exception of wood doors and a blue Ethernet cord, the office speaks loudly in a gray, and black monotone voice as the mayor sits in a dark part-of-a-set rolling chair, at the head of the sterile conference table.

Bates says the target on his back is the size of the wall behind him.

“I am not really sure what has set people off in this city,” Bates said.

“I won’t say that there have been times that I have regretted what has happened but there have been instances where it is just like I just wish sometimes that people would get on with their lives instead of prosecuting me for things that are pointless.”

Bates reviews talking points, documents and upcoming appointments. Connected through a landline, an Ethernet and his Blackberry Tour along with what sits before him in hardcopy, Bates scrolls through page after page of information until his next appointment.
Within seconds of Jared Cranke’s introduction, the room is consumed in discussion of arts and culture in Stillwater as the arts task force member and the mayor carry on.

From the conference table to the dinner table, after his brief meeting with Cranke, Bates relocates himself into the room across the hall with only a few minutes to indulge in a barbecue dinner before he enters the Feb. 15 City Council meeting.

During the next two and half hours, concerned citizens take the podium, councilors vote, students take notes and city employees discuss a transportation progam phase out, along with the rest of the predetermined agenda.

Bates sits, watches and engages from the center of the council.

At the end of the meeting there are relatively no signs that there was hardly a seat left at the start of it all. Nothing more than a couple agendas scattered on the floor and a Stillwater NewsPress reporter indicate that the meeting had life beyond the city councilors.

An interview with the lone reporter at 8:10 p.m. marks the fulfillment of his day as mayor.

He isn’t the one to turn off the lights but he is one of the last to leave.

Finally he is able to go home, close the door and be just Nathan. Maybe he will surf the Internet for the latest on Ali and “The Bachelor” or he may study for his upcoming test, but whatever he decides, it will be Nathan making the decision.

The juggling act goes on.