Eight Norman residents will vie for the four seats on Norman’s City Council that are up for grabs in the March 1 municipal election.

Norman is divided into seven wards, each of which elects its own council member to the Norman City Council. Wards 1, 3, 5 and 7 will elect their members in March’s election, for which the last filing day was Jan. 12.

OU’s campus is within Ward 7, which has three candidates in the election.

Ward 1

Roger Gallagher

Retired commercial pilot Roger Gallagher, 69, is running for Ward 1 as a Norman citizen who has attended City Council meetings for three years.

As a frequent council meeting attendee and member of Citizens for Financial Responsibility, Gallagher said he thinks more citizen participation in City Council is essential. Gallagher moved to Norman in 1976.

“I think citizens who are interested in this city should sometimes step up and try to do something to improve the city the way they visualize it,” he said.

Contact the campaign at gallagherward1@gmail.com or 405-329-3507.

Chris Lewis

Norman City Planning Commissioner Chris Lewis, 47, said he feels it is important for him to come into office with a global perspective rather than a political agenda.

Lewis has been one of nine city planning commissioners since June 2009.

“If you go in with an agenda, then what you’re doing is… like putting blinders on a horse, so that means you’re going to exclude an enormous number of people and their opinions,” Lewis said.

He was a Norman reapportionment commissioner from 2006 to 2009.

Lewis has lived in Norman since 1987 and is a graduate student in the advanced programs department.

Contact the campaign at chrislewis@cox.net.

Ward 5

Howard Saxion

Howard Saxion said he is running for the Ward 5 seat with professional expertise on issues important to Norman. Saxion, 58, announced his candidacy Jan. 8 after Rachel Butler decided not to seek re-election.

“I want to be an advocate for people who live in the ward to be sure they are being well served in the city,” said Saxion, who moved to Norman 13 years ago.

During his time in Norman, Saxion has served on several city boards such as the Environmental Control Advisory Board and the Board of Adjustment.

Contact the campaign at saxionforward5@me.com or 405-292-6715.

Dave Spaulding

Small-business owner Dave Spaulding is running for the Ward 5 seat with plans to make the government less intrusive.

The Norman native, 36, announced his intentions to run Jan. 10 because he wants to work with his future consitutents instead of against them.

“I’m a conservative voice. I want to be a conservative voice for the people,” Spaulding said. “I think the government is more intrusive than they should be.”

Spaulding has owned his landscape business, A-Deal Lawn Service, for more than 10 years.

Contact the campaign at SpauldingWard5@primoweb.com or 405-361-5380.

Ward 3

Hal Ezzell

Incumbent Ward 3 Councilman Hal Ezzell, a Norman businessman, is running unopposed for re-election.

Ezzell, who runs a private law practice, was first elected to his Ward 3 seat in 2007, and has since served on the Council Finance Committee.

Ezzell wants to serve and represent the people of his ward again because the city’s budget needs more attention.

“The city is in a very challenging time,” Ezzell said. “The budget is the mechanics … it’s the tool you use to measure and predict for the future.”

As the only council member running for re-election this year, Ezzell hopes his future peers see that he tries to keep an open mind on every issue affecting the community.

“The City of Norman’s issues aren’t partisan by nature,” he said. “So I hope that people would observe that I was independent and thoughtful [in making decisions].”

Contact the campaign at ward3@normanOK.gov or 405-579-0142.

Ward 7

Brande Kauffman

Norman attorney Brande Kauffman, 37, said she believes City Council needs to re-prioritize, and the council is not taking citizens’ interests seriously.

There are many short and long-term problems facing the city, including changes to water use and a lack of small-business ownership, Kauffman said.

“We are Norman: It’s the small-businessmen, it’s the students, it’s the reverend, it’s the mom and kid who [go] to soccer camp,” she said. “We just need to make sure the people and their livelihood are a priority over everything else.”

Kauffman graduated from OU in 1995 with a letters degree and in 1998 from the OU College of Law. Kauffman now runs her own general litigation firm, where she practices primarily family and criminal law.

Contact the campaign at kauffmanward7@gmail.com or 405-579-0142.

Stephen Tyler Holman

Former OU student Stephen Tyler Holman, 26, decided to run for City Council after regularly attending city meetings for several years. He said water use and fiscal responsibility are important him.

Living in Ward 7 is challenging because a lot of students may not feel as involved in the city because they are here for only a couple years, Holman said.

“I imagine there may be some students that could spend a couple years in Norman and hardly leave the campus,” he said.

Holman works at Hideaway Pizza and The Deli to pay his way through school at OU. Holman also runs a non-profit music-booking business, Universe City, because of which he is not enrolled in classes this semester.

Contact the campaign at stety74@gmail.com or 405-535-1491.

Linda Lockett

Longtime Norman businesswoman Linda Lockett, who was elected the first female Norman Business Assocation president in 1987, is running for the Norman City Council’s Ward 7 seat on her lifetime of experience in business.

Lockett, 72, said she wants the City Council to be more fiscally responsible.

“I’ve been in business all my life, and I just want to see the city spend its money wisely and to not depend on raising money for everything,” she said.

Lockett, who graduated from OU with a business degree in 1960, was also awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the NBA in 1990.

Contact the campaign at lockett4ward7@gmail.com or 405-922-0557.