Last Updated on November 2, 2021, 8:06 PM | Published: November 2, 2021
MOORE, Oklahoma (Free Press) — Glenn Lewis, long-term Mayor of the City of Moore in the south metro, received a significant honor from the Moore City Council on October 18.
The Council introduced a resolution to rename SW 25th street to Glenn Lewis Boulevard in honor of Lewis’ efforts as the six-term, 25-year mayor and his role in securing a Costco Wholesale location within Moore.
The change from SW25th to Glenn Lewis Boulevard was met with thunderous applause, and Mayor Lewis responded by congratulating the entire council for being a part of such a great team.
Ward 2 Council Member Melissa Hunt said that the resolution was “about remembering what [Mayor Lewis] has done for the city”, since the Costco project was only one of several Lewis brought to fruition.
Free Press talked to him about some of his greatest achievements and issues faced during his tenure.
No way but up
Elected in 1994, Lewis started in a Moore with an $18 Million dollar budget and another reportedly $150 million debted to various investors.
There were around 70 lawsuits filed against the city, and they “borrowed money for payroll” according to Lewis.
Lewis described the Council as “rowdy” but very entertaining to the press covering the Monday night meetings.
Mayor Lewis worked to establish two basics of a functioning city government.
Business income was crucial and, if achieved, would bring along a better tax base. It would also help create steady local employment.
He said that building new infrastructure attracted the retail businesses and developers that helped advance the city into the nearly $300 million dollar budget seen today.
This success has not come without its challenges.
Tornado alley
In 1999, a devastating EF5 tornado rampaged through Moore and did upwards of $2 billion dollars in damage.
Lewis said that it was one of the hardest days of his tenure.
The Tornado hit before the City Council Meeting that night concluded, which put their lives in danger and threatened the process of refinancing $20 million dollars worth in city bonds.
He was always present and active, looking for lost community members and establishing organized responses to the disasters.
The 2013 Moore tornado did another $2 billion dollars in damage and solidified the stigma around building and developing property in Moore.
Glenn Lewis has hoped to dispel some of that for his citizens, and is most proud of his push for storm shelters in residential homes.
He said that the city has put 10,000 individual shelters in homes and every person should have some protection from tornadoes in Moore.
Future of Moore City Government
Mayor Glenn Lewis informed me that this term may well be his last.
Most importantly to Moore’s future, he described how skilled and efficient the city council was, citing multiple weeks where he was not present and the meetings went smoothly.
He has paved the way for Moore’s success by building a team of skilled city staff and working with the City Council, ensuring that the city will always have a professional set of local representatives.
One Council member said that members have come and gone, but his mayoral leadership has been steady for over 20 years and has been a great contribution to Moore.
Citizens seem to agree.
When asked about his length in office, he said “[I] just keep getting elected”.
Damian Powell is our government reporter for the smaller municipalities in the OKC metro such as Moore, Norman, Bethany, and Warr Acres. Damian is studying Political Science at the University of Oklahoma.
