Secretary of State M. Susan Savage will speak to the Canadian County Democrats at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, at Canadian Valley Technology Center, 6505 E. Highway 66 in El Reno. Democrats and their guests are invited to attend the meeting at no charge. Savage, a Democrat who now resides in Oklahoma City with her two daughters, was appointed Oklahoma’s Secretary of State by Governor Brad Henry on January 13, 2003. Prior to her appointment, Savage was a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma College of Architecture where she lectured about public policy and finance related to planning, urban design, landscape architecture and community development. In 1992, she was elected mayor of Tulsa and re-elected for two four-year terms in 1994 and 1998, making her the most tenured and the first woman mayor in Tulsa’s history. Her term of office ended April 2002. As Mayor, Savage served as Tulsa’s chief executive officer, responsible for a $500 million budget and 4,000 employees. During her tenure, Tulsa prospered with unprecedented job growth, neighborhood revitalization, public safety improvements and government efficiency. While she was mayor, the Reason Public Policy Institute of Los Angeles ranked Tulsa third among 44 U.S. cities for how well it delivered government services. In 1996, Newsweek magazine feature Savage as one of the nation’s 25 “mayors to watch”. Among numerous awards and special recognition, Savage was inducted into the Oklahoma Municipal League Hall of Fame for City and Town Officials in 2005; was the 2002 National Conference for Community and Justice Honoree for leadership; received an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2000 from Arcadia University; and is a past recipient of the Oklahoma Human Rights award. A third-generation Tulsan, Savage graduated from Edison High School in Tulsa and in 1974 earned a bachelor’s degree from Arcadia University in Pennsylvania. Upon returning to her hometown in 1977, Savage became executive director of the Metropolitan Tulsa Citizens Crime Commission, a successful crime-fighting agency linking the police and the public. She went on to become chief of staff to then-Tulsa Mayor Rodger Randle before eventually winning the seat herself in a 1992 special election. The Canadian County Democrats meet at 7:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Canadian Valley Technology Center, located at 6505 E. Highway 66 between Yukon and El Reno. For more information, call Jody Harlan, Chair (405) 354-3189. Posted at 11/09/2006 06:38:00 AM