Jan 23, 2021
Editor s note: this article has been updated to reflect that the Ward 7 candidate endorsed by Unite Norman and FOP is Monica Marsh. Previously it read Monica Nash. The Transcript regrets the error.
Several organizations have announced endorsements for City Council races ahead of the Feb. 9 election, citing multiple reasons for their support.
While Unite Norman and the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police supported the same candidates, FOP President Robert Wasoski said it was not a conspiracy.
âWe invited all the candidates to talk with us,â Wasoski said, adding that FOPâs endorsements were based on those conversations and not because âof who Unite Norman endorsed.â
Jan 19, 2021
In a brief filed in district court this week, City of Norman attorneys say several arguments in a lawsuit between a city councilor and the city clerk are unconstitutional.
After the clerk certified a recall petition for Ward 3 Alison Petrone in September, Petrone filed a legal challenge in court alleging insufficient signature gathering practices and the failure of proponents to follow state law for petition procedures.
Petroneâs attorneys accused Unite Norman of fraudulent signature gathering practices. The group formed in June 2020 to recall odd-numbered councilors and the mayor.
These practices, she said in court records, include hiring out of state workers to gather signatures, and leaving signature sheets unattended in businesses. Unite Norman is also accused of failing to verify signatures and failing to warn signers against false signatures.
Jan 12, 2021
Unite Norman will be heard in an ongoing recall petition lawsuit after a judge granted the groupâs motion to intervene Tuesday morning in district court.
The group, which formed to recall odd-numbered ward councilors last summer, has asked the court to hear its side of the story after Ward 3 Alison Petrone filed a lawsuit against the city clerk and alleged Unite Norman engaged in fraudulent signature gathering practices.
In the lawsuit, she stated Unite Norman did not follow applicable state laws for recall petitions, The Transcript has previously reported.
Petroneâs recall was the only one certified by the clerk. But after Petrone filed a lawsuit, her attorney, Barrett Powers of the Norman Wohlgemuth law firm, submitted duplicate signatures to the city, which agreed there were 12 duplicates. The finding rendered the minimum signature count insufficient.
As Norman City Council’s Feb. 9 election approaches, the Norman Collective for Racial Justice called for candidates to pledge against accepting dark money or political donations from Norman’s Fraternal Order
It seemed like the news never slowed down in 2020.
The Transcript staff has compiled a list of the 10 biggest news events in Norman this year, from attempted recalls to record election participation. These are not necessarily our most popular news stories â for those, see our list of The Transcriptâs 10 most-read stories this year.Â
Instead, these are the issues and events that have left the biggest mark on Norman this year:Â
COVID in NormanÂ
Much of the news that happened in Norman this year was touched by one event: The arrival of COVID-19 in the state. The initial wave triggered school and business shutdowns and eventually, Norman issued one of the first mask mandates in Oklahoma.