Pro-police group seeks to oust Oklahoma mayor, council

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — A group of citizens in Norman, Oklahoma, launched a recall petition drive on Friday in an attempt to oust the city’s mayor and half of its City Council.

The group, “Unite Norman,” is upset with the council over its decision last month to reallocate $865,000, or about 3.6%, of the police department’s annual budget. The money was shifted to community development programs and to create an internal auditor position to track police overtime spending and outlays.

City leaders voted on the proposal following an 11-hour city council meeting held in the wake of nationwide protests over police brutality, racial injustice and the death of George Floyd, a handcuffed Black man who died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into Floyd's neck for several minutes. “When this City Council succumbed to an angry mob at three o’clock in the morning and decided to undo months of budget discussions, we all said enough is enough," said Chris Dragg, one of the group's organizers. “We care too much about Norman and our law enforcement officers to let Norman be run this way.”

Many residents in Oklahoma’s third-largest city are also upset with Mayor Breea Clark’s decision this week to impose a requirement that people wear masks in public following a surge in COVID-19 cases. Clark also came under fire for her decision to keep some businesses and houses of worship closed, even as the state loosened its restrictions.

A spokeswoman for the mayor said she plans to release a statement on the recall effort later on Friday.

The group will have 30 days to gather signatures from at least 25% of registered voters in the city to recall the mayor, and 25% of the registered voters in each of the city's wards to recall the individual council members.