Norman City Council swears in new mayor, council members

Norman City Council swore in its new mayor and two new council members at its Tuesday special meeting.

The council chambers filled with Norman residents, with every seat occupied and overflow standing on the sides of the room and in the lobby.

Former Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball was not in attendance.

Mayoral, council inauguration

Council swore in former Ward 7 councilmember and Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman, Ward 1 Councilmember David Gandesbery, Ward 3 Councilmember Bree Montoya, Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash and Ward 7 Councilmember Kimberly Blodgett.

The council chambers and lobby fell silent as mayor Stephen Tyler Holman and newly-elected council members took their oaths. All elected members took oaths together at the front of the room.

The council chambers erupted with applause as Holman shook hands with the new members and made his way to the mayor's seat at the front of the room.

Council comments

Ward 1 Councilmember David Gandesbery thanked his supporters following the swearing in ceremony.

“You showing up to vote means a lot to a guy from Noble, Oklahoma that didn’t grow up with much,” Gandesbery said. “What I did grow up with was compassion, a true love for our fellow humans and that I will bring to Ward 1.”

Gandesbery said he plans to build business in Ward 1, along with peace and understanding among his constituents.

“Through this process we will grow Norman and (create) a better and just environment for the children that we are raising today,” Gandesbery said.

Ward 2 Councilmember Matthew Peacock said that Gandesbery’s comments were a “breath of fresh air” for Ward 1.

Peacock extended his thanks to former Mayor Larry Heikkila and expressed his excitement for working with Holman as mayor.

“I know that serving as mayor is a very difficult position. Stephen (Tyler Holman), you’ve got your work cut out for you,” Peacock said. “I know that you’re going to be great and I look forward to working with you over the next three years, or hopefully a lot longer than that.”

Ward 3 Councilmember Bree Montoya congratulated her fellow councilmembers and new mayor and thanked Heikkila for his service to Norman.

“When I first joined council, he came to my office and met with me and he was very helpful in getting into this role,” Montoya said.

Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant congratulated their fellow council members and thanked Heikkila for his service.

“We didn’t always agree, that was kind of our relationship, but I feel where we ended was on a much better note,” Grant said. “I would be the first to say hello to him if I saw him in Ward 4, downtown, enjoying artwalk.”

Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash said “it’s time to get back to work.”

Ward 6 Councilmember Joshua Hinkle congratulated everyone who was sworn in during the meeting. Hinkle also thanked residents for coming to the ceremony.

“It’s great to see so many community members out here tonight,” Hinkle said. “Thank you all for coming to be a part of this.”

Ward 7 Councilmember Kimberly Blodgett also thanked residents for coming to the ceremony and encouraged them to come to regular meetings.

Blodgett thanked Ward 7 for being so welcoming to her during her campaign.

“My whole campaign, door-knocking, meeting you and getting to know Ward 7 was just great,” Blodgett said.

Ward 8 Councilmember Scott Dixon thanked Heikkila for his friendship and said he was looking forward to working with Holman and the two new councilmembers.

“To the two new people: I hope you find your next few years as rewarding as I’ve found the past year,” Dixon said.

Holman thanked Heikkila for his dedication and service to Norman as a city employee and to the country as a member of the military for nearly 30 years.

“He and I didn’t always agree on things but there were a lot of things that we did find common ground on,” Holman said. “I think that’s what being in city council and local government is really about.”

Holman thanked the Norman community for giving him the opportunity to be mayor and said he is looking forward to working with council to face issues in Norman.

“I’m so appreciative of all of you for entrusting me with this opportunity to serve my hometown in this way,” Holman said. “We’re not a small town anymore, (but) we’re not quite a big city yet and I think we really want to be careful about how we grow over the next few years.”

Mayor pro tem appointment

Council elected Ward 2 Councilmember Matthew Peacock as the mayor pro tem, a councilmember who acts as mayor if the mayor is absent.

During former Mayor Larry Heikkila’s tenure, Peacock served as the mayor pro tem.

Peacock was unanimously approved as the mayor pro tem.

Oklahoma Municipal League Board of Directors representative appointment

Council elected Holman as the Norman representative and Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant as the alternative representative to the Oklahoma Municipal League Board of Directors.

According to its website, the OML serves as a voice for Oklahoma municipalities by providing education, providing a platform for collaboration and defending local control.

During his tenure, former Mayor Larry Heikkila served as Norman representative and Grant served as the alternative representative.

Council unanimously approved Holman and Grant as the Norman representative and alternative representative respectively.

Association of Central Oklahoma Governments Board of Directors representative appointments

Council elected Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman as representative and Ward 8 Councilmember Scott Dixon as alternative representative to the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments Board of Directors.

According to its website, the ACOG was established in 1966 to aid municipalities in planning for common needs, cooperating for mutual benefit and coordinating for regional development.

During his tenure, former Mayor Larry Heikkila served as the Norman representative and former Ward 7 Councilmember, now mayor, Stephen Tyler Holman served as the alternative representative.

Holman and Dixon were unanimously approved as representative and alternative representative respectively.

City of Norman Retirement System Board of Trustees representative appointment

Council elected Ward 6 Councilmember Joshua Hinkle to serve on the Norman Retirement System Board of Trustees.

Hinkle was unanimously approved and appointed to the Norman Board of Trustees.

Thanking former Mayor Larry Heikkila

Council approved a resolution commending and extending appreciation to former Mayor Larry Heikkila.

Council unanimously approved the resolution.

Holman thanked Heikkila for his service to Norman and said Haikkila was a supporter of public safety and worked to provide resources to residents.

“Mayor Heikkila championed quality of life initiatives, fostered improvements to parks and overall livability in the city of Norman,” the resolution states.

Heikkila thanked the people he worked with during his 20 years of service to the Norman community.

“Even if we don’t agree all the time, we can find ways to figure out what we need to find the best path for Norman,” Heikkila said. “It’s neat to be part of this. It’s quite a great job.”

In 2022, Heikkila defeated incumbent Breea Clark with about 53% of the vote. Upon his election, Heikkila aimed to promote first responders and law enforcement, encourage business and address the impacts of the ACCESS Oklahoma turnpike on Norman.

During Heikkila’s tenure, council approved a $33,108 federal grant to be used by the Norman Police Department for advanced specialty training. Heikkila announced economic development initiatives by supporting entrepreneurship and business startups in partnership with Gov. Kevin Stitt and council unanimously rejected an Oklahoma ACCESS resolution.

In the days leading up to councils rejection of the Oklahoma ACCESS resolution, emails from Heikkila surfaced online where he called those against the turnpike “pike people” and wrote that the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority had “won.” Heikkila wrote in the email that council would protect Norman’s watershed and that the OTA would provide wetlands for purification of the water in Little River.

Also during Heikkila’s tenure, Team Norman, a group of city and OU leaders, proposed the $1 billion Rock Creek Entertainment District to be partially funded by two tax increment financing districts.

Council approved the project in a 5-4 vote, with Heikkila voting in favor. It was later revealed in a Snapchat message obtained by OU Daily that OU students were offered money to fill the council chambers during the vote.

Heikkila told OU Daily in October he thinks paying people to attend meetings is appropriate.

“What is illegal about bringing people into this council, whether they're paying them or not?” Heikkila said. “I guarantee it isn’t.”

In October, Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development submitted over 11,500 signatures petitioning for the entertainment district to be sent to a public vote, exceeding the just over 6,000 signatures required by law. About a month after the signatures were submitted, a protest was filed against the petition, contesting the gist, or summary, of the petition.

In February, Judge Jeff Virgin ruled the gist of the petition insufficient to turn the entertainment district to a public vote.

In a press release posted to his Facebook, Heikkila praised Virgin for his decision, writing that the rule of law was defended against “the will of the mob.”

​​"As we move forward with the Rock Creek Entertainment District project, we must remain vigilant in defending our constitutional republic against the threats of mob rule. I urge our community to recognize the importance of representative governance for the benefit of all," Heikkila wrote in a Facebook post.

In response to Heikkila’s post, buttons were created and worn by those in opposition of the entertainment district with the phrase “Norman Mob Member.”

Thanking former Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball

Council approved a resolution commending and extending appreciation to former Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball.

Ball was not in attendance.

In 2023, Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball defeated incumbent Brandi Studley with 51.9% of the vote. Upon his election, Ball said he hoped to combat crime and homelessness, and support local businesses.

Last February, council discussed the potential land acquisition for the creation of a permanent emergency shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Ball said he was not in favor of submitting a request for proposal for the use of a shelter stating the funds could be better used elsewhere.

Later that month, council rejected the purchase of a $940,000 property to be used as a new homeless shelter in a 7-2 vote. Ball voted in favor of purchasing the shelter.

In August, council unanimously rejected the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority ACCESS project. Ball said that Norman does not want the development of the turnpike.

“The only thing on this resolution that makes any sense to me is the city of Norman does not welcome or endorse the intrusion of the turnpike bill by the OTA to our community,” Ball said.

In January, criminal misdemeanor charges were filed against Ball for alleged embezzlement and making false statements when filing campaign expenditure reports.

Ball denied the accusations and questioned the timing of the charges which were filed just under two weeks before the Feb. 11 election.

After a series of interviews, subpoenas and document searches conducted by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Adam York and other agents, York concluded that he believed Austin Ball embezzled campaign funds and filed two false campaign reports with the Norman city clerk.

In February, Ball told OU Daily he planned to turn himself into law enforcement after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The OSBI released a statement the following day confirming that Ball turned himself in and was booked into the Cleveland County Jail.

In late February, Ball pleaded not guilty to charges of misdemeanor embezzlement and false certification by a public officer.

In March, Ball changed his plea from not guilty to no contest and agreed to a plea deal in which he will serve a two-year deferred sentence.

In a text message to OU Daily before the plea agreement was offered, Ball said he wanted to move on and said he was putting his legal fate in the judge’s hands.

“I’ve been doing my best to just keep a roof over (my childrens) heads and make sure they have normalcy in their lives,” Ball wrote. “Trying to survive on my (Veterans Affairs) disability and city council income has been a challenge and deciding whether to pay for a lawyer or 2 months rent isn’t really a choice at all given my kids have zero other financial support.”

In April, the Oklahoma attorney general’s office accepted a petition to investigate Ward 1 Councilmember Austin Ball following his legal proceedings.

Post-meeting comments

Holman told OU Daily after the meeting he was excited to begin team building with the new council members and begin working on current issues facing Norman.

“Before we can really get to work on some of the stuff, us being more familiar with each other is really valuable,” Holman said.

Holman said he is looking forward to working with the new council members to solve issues in their wards. Holman said he wants to prioritize open communication and transparency.

Holman said it was exciting to see how many people came to the ceremony.

“I had friends drive in that don’t live in Norman,” Holman said. “It was just exciting to see so many people, people feeling excited and optimistic about the future of Norman and the chance that we have to move in a positive direction as a city and as a community.”

Holman said he was glad that so many people came out to witness the exchange of power.

“(It’s) important to the fabric of our society, at least in the United States,” Holman said. “It’s supposed to be that way, where we elect people and we transition.”

Holman thanked the Norman community again for the opportunity to be mayor.

“It’s something a hometown kid can only dream of, being mayor,” Holman said.

Ward 1 Councilmember David Gandesbery said he has “great dreams” for his seat and for his ward.

“I truly plan on putting in the work to earn that seat,” Gandesbery said.

Gandesbery said his priority is to build up his relationships with the mayor and other council members.

“To be able to bring true camaraderie… to the table,” Gandesbery said. “To make it easier when you have to debate something or have a disagreement or something where it can be done from a more professional manner going forward.”

Gandesbery said he thinks Holman is “Mr. Norman Encyclopedia” and expressed his anticipation for the future with Norman’s new mayor.

“Stephen is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to Norman,” Gandesbery said.

Gandesbery thanked those closest to him for their support and keeping him grounded during the campaign process.

“They all know who they are. (I) thank them for their support, thank them for keeping me focused during all of this,” Gandesbery said.

Ward 7 Councilmember Kimberly Blodgett told OU Daily after the meeting that she is looking forward to engaging with Ward 7 and getting her residents more engaged.

“I’m excited. I’m just looking forward to this new day for Norman,” Blodgett said.

This story was edited by Natalie Armour.