Mick Cornett
The mayor who bet on a massive downtown park to transform his car-centric city's identity and civic pride.
Born 1958 (age 68)·American politician·Birthday: July 16·Baby Boomers
Biography
Mick Cornett, a former television sportscaster with a ready smile, became Oklahoma City's mayor and its most effective civic salesman. Taking office in 2005, he confronted a city known more for sprawl than spirit, and famously declared it was on a diet after a dubious health ranking. But his legacy is concrete: he championed the ambitious MAPS 3 program, a voter-approved sales tax initiative that funded a transformational downtown park, a modern streetcar system, and wellness centers. His relentless optimism and savvy communication helped rally citizens around a new vision, shifting the city's focus from its outskirts to its core. By the time he left office in 2018, Oklahoma City felt younger, more vibrant, and more confident—a testament to a mayor who understood the power of narrative and public investment.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Mick was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Mick Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Mick's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as Mayor of Oklahoma City for 14 years, becoming the first in the city's history to be elected to four terms.
- Spearheaded the MAPS 3 capital improvement program, which funded the 70-acre Scissortail Park and a downtown streetcar system.
- Led the campaign to bring an NBA franchise to the city, resulting in the relocation of the Seattle SuperSonics, who became the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- Was named the President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2016.
Did You Know?
He put Oklahoma City on a collective diet in 2008, challenging residents to lose one million pounds, a goal they eventually surpassed.
Before politics, he was a news and sports anchor for Oklahoma City's NBC affiliate.
He is a member of the Cherokee Nation.
Cornett authored a book about his city's transformation titled 'The Next American City: The Big Promise of Our Midsize Metros'.
“We were a city that was designed for cars. We needed to become a city designed for people.”
