Eight candidates declared their bids for odd-numbered Norman City Council seats following the end of the filing period Wednesday.
Ward 1
Ward 1 City Councilmember Brandi Studley is running for a second term on council. She aims to continue focusing on housing security, improving mental health care and expanding transportation and accessibility, according to her campaign website. Studley has voted and advocated for housing projects while on council.
Outside of council, Studley and her children are the founders of the Social Injustice League of Norman, which works to feed people experiencing homelessness throughout the city and advocate for change.
Austin Ball announced his candidacy in early July, hoping to support first responders and law enforcement. His donation page also said he wants to create more drug, alcohol and mental health services to aid unhoused individuals.
Ball previously served in both the U.S. Marine Corps and the Oklahoma Army National Guard according to his donation page.
Ward 3
Hoping to “hold the line,” Ward 3 Councilmember Kelly Lynn is seeking a second term, asking voters to support his “conservative values,” according to his campaign website.
While on council, Lynn often advocated for law enforcement funding, including approving the recent purchase of a BearCat rescue vehicle for the Norman Police Department. He also voted against approving a warming shelter and an affordable housing project.
Lynn will face local certified public accountant Bree Montoya, who aims to focus on fiscal transparency, economic development, public transit, and flood and pollution prevention, according to her campaign website.
Currently, Montoya serves on the Norman Forward Citizens Financial Oversight Board. She previously served as chair and treasurer of Norman Music Festival, and on the boards of the Norman Arts Council and Jazz in June.
Ward 5
Ward 5 Councilmember Rarchar Tortorello is seeking a second term, wanting to “return common sense” to council, according to his campaign website.
Tortorello spent much of his term advocating against the ACCESS Oklahoma Turnpike project, which would place the South Extension Turnpike through his ward. He also voted in support of law enforcement funding and against affordable housing.
Michael Nash filed seeking a second term after losing to Tortorello in the 2020 election. Nash founded the anti-Oklahoma Turnpike Authority organization Pike Off OTA in response to the ACCESS project announcement.
Nash was chosen to replace former Councilmember Sereta Wilson after she stepped down in 2020. While on council, Nash was a part of the vote to ban conversion therapy in Norman in June 2021. State lawmakers later tried to nullify this decision with House Bill 2973, however, the bill was never passed.
The two will face Cindi Tuccillo, a local small business owner. She said she aims to make the residents of Ward 5 “feel included” in city council decisions, according to her campaign website.
Ward 7
Ward 7 Councilmember Stephen Tyler Holman is running uncontested for another term in office. Holman is the longest-serving member of council, according to his city biography, and wants to focus on stormwater, water quality, affordable housing and transportation.
Correction: This article was changed on Dec. 9 at 10:15 a.m. to reflect the correct status of Oklahoma House Bill 2973.
