Group Rallies to Recall Norman City Council & Mayor

Hundreds rallied Wednesday night in Norman in an effort to recall the mayor and various city council members.

The group, Unite Norman, said they will submit a petition Friday, and will have 30 days to get enough signatures to move forward.

Unite Norman claims to be a bipartisan grassroots effort that has raised $50,000. They said they will need 18,000+ signatures to recall Mayor Breea Clark.

“Your elected officials are there to serve you, not rule you. They are there to represent you,” said Unite Norman Founder Russell Smith.

“This is not a politically funded effort. This is an effort for people to try and take Norman back, and get to the middle of the road so we can get things done,” said Sassan Moghadam, a local business owner.

Unite Norman was formed after tension with some citizens and the city council.

Over the past few months, that tension has grown, and recent decisions to "defund" police and mandate facial coverings stoked this rally.

“Breathing in the oxygen, the mask collects germs. It's going to cause lung problems later on. I am going to be 80 years old next month. I have not kept alive to be 80 by doing stuff like that,” said Linda Langston, a concerned citizen.

A former Oklahoma City police officer, and local business owner is weary of recent decisions.

“I am looking at the mask mandate, and when the president of the United States and governor of Oklahoma don't do mask mandates, but the mayor of a city of 120,000 people does, it's kind of got me wondering,” said Terry Sterling.

The city reports most citizens supported the required face covering ordinance. Click here to view the full ordinance.

News 9 reached out to Mayor Breea Clark who had no comment.

Various members said Tuesday night during a council meeting that if a mask is the reason they are recalled, so be it. They said they would rather defend public health.

Our team also reached out to members of council. Only four can be recalled at this point in time.

Related: Norman Residents Start Petition To Remove Mayor & Half Of City Council

To unseat the four council members, those with petitions will need 25% of registered voters in each ward to sign their names. Unite Norman believes there is a silent majority, that will back them.

“That's what we are counting on. We are not counting on those who voted. We are counting on those who didn't,” said Moghadam.

“You're not helpless. It just felt like for so long it felt like we were helpless and at the whim of people in office, but now we are awake,” said Smith.

News 9 will follow this story for updates.