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Mayor and city council recall, Norman, Oklahoma (2020-2021)
| Norman Mayor and City Council recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Kate Bierman Alison Petrone Sereta Wilson Stephen Holmam |
| Recall status |
Resigned |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Oklahoma Oklahoma recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
Efforts in Norman, Oklahoma, to recall Mayor Breea Clark and councilmembers Kate Bierman, Alison Petrone, Sereta Wilson, and Stephen Holmam were initiated in July 2020.[1] Recall organizers submitted enough signatures to put the recall election against Councilwoman Petrone on the ballot. On January 27, 2021, Cleveland County District Judge Lori Walkley ruled that recall petitions against Petrone were invalid.[2]
The recall efforts against Clark, Bierman, and Holmam were unsuccessful.[3] Councilwoman Wilson resigned from her position effective August 11, 2020, citing moving out of her city council district in her resignation.[4]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was organized by the group called Unite Norman over accusations that the city officials defunded the police. Russell Smith, a spokesman for Unite Norman, said, "We think the council and the mayor have been focused on some national issues that they brought to Norman. We don't think they were applicable here. The defunding of the police and how that happened was shocking to me. We shouldn't have council meetings lasting until 4 in the morning with people yelling and screaming."[5]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Oklahoma
Recall organizers were required to submit 2,573 signatures in the recall effort against Councilwoman Petrone. There were 3,444 signatures submitted to Norman City Clerk, with 2,580 signatures being found valid. On January 27, 2021, Cleveland County District Judge Lori Walkley ruled that recall petitions against Petrone were invalid on the grounds that recall forms must include an affidavit attesting to valid signatures and a warning against fraudulent signatures.[2]
In the recall effort against Mayor Clark, 20,661 signatures were handed in. More than 3,600 signatures were found to be invalid, putting the recall effort below the requirement of 18,154 valid signatures.[3]
See also
- Recall campaigns in Oklahoma
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- Mayoral recalls
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ OU Daily, "Unite Norman files recall petitions for 5 city leaders after changes to police department funding," July 13, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Norman Transcript, "Petrone wins lawsuit, recall petition rendered invalid," January 27, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 OU Daily, "Petition to recall Norman Mayor Breea Clark falls short of signature goal, Ward 3 councilmember to face recall election," September 14, 2020
- ↑ U.S. News, "Norman Council Member Targeted for Recall Resigns Post," July 24, 2020
- ↑ Fox 25, "Norman group aims to recall several city leaders," July 10, 2020
