Student-mayor wants to turn ideas to reality

After about five months in office, OSU student and Stillwater Mayor Nathan Bates has had an inside look into the world of politics and what it means to manage college classes while running a town.

This semester, Bates is taking five classes with a total of 12 credit hours.  Bates originally majored in health education, but he switched in order to graduate on time.  His new major is university studies, with a dual minor in health education and human resources.  His courses range from Macroeconomics to Survey of Rock ‘n' Roll. 

With his degree, Bates plans to have a career in the business side of health care, possibly operating a health care facility to accommodate an increasing number of aging baby boomers.

In the meantime, he plans to address the aging infrastructure and promote business development.

Bates said he hopes to keep jobs and residents in Stillwater.

"I want people to have a place to call home at night and to make sure that that home is in Stillwater," he said.

Bates provided the example of Mercury Marine, which brings hundreds of jobs and thousands of dollars to the community.

The Chamber of Commerce's Director of Economic Development Josh McKim said, "Much like how the university is such an integral part of the community, Mercury Marine is an integral part of the city."

Another one of the mayor's priorities is to improve student housing.   

"I believe the students deserve quality, affordable housing," Bates said.  "I encourage dissenters to live on campus."

But the task left for Bates is turning his progressive ideas into reality.  Bates said there is difficulty in meshing the old with the new.

An example is the $500,000 dollar Environmental Protection Agency grant proposed earlier this year that would have made Stillwater into a testing ground for  lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Jane Talkington,  an environmental science  graduate student, worked with four local city governments in Oklahoma to explore this grant opportunity.

"The EPA was trying to jump start the communities that were already moving in that direction (of lowering their greenhouse gas emissions) for the purpose of creating model cities for other cities to learn from," Talkington said.

The grant needed a letter of intent and matching money to pass, but it was voted down, 4- 1. Bates was the lone voter in favor of the proposal.

"There are a lot of issues in the city that are being buried, and I don't like that," Bates said.  "My goal is to continue to push and pressure the city council."

The mayor plans to speak with student groups throughout the school year and organize community projects to increase student participation in the community.

"My job has afforded me the opportunity to be a voice for the students," Bates said.  "They have the ball.  Now they just have to run with it."