Michael Earl Cornett Sr. (born July 16, 1958) is an American politician and former television personality who served as the 35th mayor of Oklahoma City, from 2005 until 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he was only the fourth mayor in Oklahoma City history to be elected to three terms and the first to be elected to four terms. He also served as President of the United States Conference of Mayors and as national President of the Republican Mayors and Local Officials (RMLO). He also served as Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Urban Economic Affairs Committee until 2007. In 2018, he was defeated in the Republican runoff by Tulsa businessman Kevin Stitt for the GOP nomination for Governor of Oklahoma. In 2006, Cornett was defeated by Mary Fallin for the Republican runoff for U.S. Congress. Early life Cornett is a native of Oklahoma City. His mother was a teacher and his father was a postal worker. He attended Putnam City High School, graduating in 1976. He then attended the University of Oklahoma, earning a journalism degree in television news. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the New York University. Journalism career After graduating, Cornett worked at KOCO-TV channel 5 (ABC affiliate) for twenty years in news and sports as a sports reporter and sports director, weekend sports anchor, morning/noon news anchor in Oklahoma City. As a reporter, he covered city politics from 1997 to 1999. In 1999 he started his own video production company, Mick Cornett Video Productions, specializing in jobs for the corporate and legal sectors. Cornett is the co-host of The Verdict, a local Oklahoma City television show discussing legal and social issues. City council Cornett was elected to the Oklahoma City Council in 2001. He defeated the incumbent City Councilman, Frosty Peak. Mayoralty Cornett became the Mayor of Oklahoma City on March 2, 2004. He was re-elected to a second term on March 7, 2006 by an 87.6% margin, the largest in city history. In 2010, he became only the fourth mayor in Oklahoma City history to be elected to a third term, defeating Steve Hunt by gaining 58% of the vote. In 2014, he became the first mayor to be elected to a fourth term, defeating Ed Shadid with 65.7% of the vote. Cornett served as an Executive Vice President of Ackerman McQueen from 2009 to 2011, during which the Oklahoma