Unite Norman Says Fight Is Not Over To Recall Mayor

As Unite Norman celebrates, they said their fight is far from over after Norman's city clerk verified the signatures collected to hold a recall election for Ward 3 Councilor Alison Petrone.

"This is really impressive. We have woken up people in this town," said Russell Smith with Unite Norman.

The group needed just more than 2,500 signatures. They collected seven more than what was required.

However, Unite Norman was not successful in its effort to recall Mayor Breea Clark.

"We have made enough progress to determine that there are insufficient signatures to meet the requirement to proceed with an election," City Clerk Brenda Hall said in a statement.

"We really appreciate the work they did at City Hall. We think they are very honest and accurate, but we plan to look at those ourselves because our validation numbers were higher," said Smith.

"At this crucial time, I want to encourage our residents to move past the divisiveness and focus on working together to create a better future for our city," Clark said on her Facebook page. 

Meanwhile, Ward 1 Councilor Kate Bierman told News 9 she would like to publish the names of those who signed the petition. Bierman said they question the signatures gathered in assisted and independent living facilities.

"The mayor and city council should immediately come out and condemn these threats of exposing Norman citizens who simply exercised their right to petition to the government," Unite Norman said in a statement.

Next, the Norman City Council has to approve a resolution to put Petrone's name on the recall ballot.