Kauger OKLAHOMA CITY (Legal Newsline) – An Oklahoma city commissioner who supported a face mask mandate has defeated a recall petition from unhappy constituents. The state Supreme Court ruled Jan. 26 that the effort to oust Enid commissioner Ben Ezzell from office won’t continue after Ezzell filed an objection in Garfield County District Court. The ruling says the state laws governing signature collection weren’t followed. A 1998 ruling held that city recall measures are governed by state statutory provisions for initiative and referendum. That case concerned notice provisions but is now extended to the issues in the instant case. “As a matter of public policy, once an election occurs, the court usually indulges every presumption in favor of its validity,” Justice Justice Yvonne Kauger wrote. “Where possible, the validity of an election will be sustained, an election which is not clearly illegal will be upheld.