Robert James LaFortune
Being inducted into a hall of fame is nothing new to Robert J. LaFortune. This legendary public official was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1975, the University of Tulsa Engineering Hall of Fame in 1986, and the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1988.
After a successful career in petroleum-related businesses, this native son served the City of Tulsa as Commissioner of Streets and Public Property from 1964 to 1970, and then as Mayor until 1978. He believes it is important that Tulsa and Oklahoma City be active in the Oklahoma Municipal League. While Mayor, he was very involved as Tulsa's representative on the OML Board and served as the league President for the 1976-77 term. He was elected to the Board of Directors for the National League of Cities -- one of only two elected officials from Oklahoma to serve in this capacity in the past 40 years.
While he has been out of municipal government for more than a quarter of a century, Mayor LaFortune remains a vital voice and steward for local government and quality of life issues. He was the featured luncheon speaker for the largest civic convocation in the history of Tulsa - the Mayor's Vision Summit Tulsa 2002 - organized by Mayor Bill LaFortune, his nephew. Earlier this year, a Tulsa weekly magazine included Bob in their list of 100 movers and shakers in the Tulsa area - and noted the he "would probably beat his nephew if he ran again."
The development and operation of the Port of Catoosa, the largest port on our national inland waterway system, was of special interest to Mayor LaFortune. Former Tulsa Mayor James M. Hewgley, whom Bob appointed to serve on the City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority in 1974, credits him with persuading the first manufacturing concern to locate at the Port. The company is today the largest manufacturer at the Port.
LaFortune is the only mayor-- and one of only four municipal officials-- to be selected for the Administrator of the Year Award from the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration. He was further recognized in 1981 with the Distinguished Public Service Award from the OSU Center of Health Science, College of Osteopathic Medicine. Many other awards, too numerous to list, have been bestowed upon him for his leadership in local, state, and national organizations or issues.
Bob LaFortune's legacy in local government circles was achieved, at least in part, by his approach to inclusiveness and consensus building - long before those terms were in common vogue. His commitment and skill in these areas were most dramatically demonstrated in the early '70s when he went against the popular wisdom and politics of the time to take a lead in the formation of the Indian Nations Council of Governments.