Ahead of the April 5 Norman mayoral runoff, Mayor Breea Clark and former Norman Safety Manager Larry Heikkila said they’re continuing strategies from the general election and working to engage more voters.
The Feb. 8 general mayoral election included Clark and Heikkila, as well as Midway Deli owner Bob Thompson, local optometrist Nicole Kish and retired farmer Alice Stephenson-Leuck. Clark was the top earner, garnering 36.46 percent of the vote, and Heikkila received 32.01 percent of total votes, according to Cleveland County Election Board results.
Heikkila, whose campaign focused on prioritizing the basic functions of local government, said he expected to run against Thompson, not Clark, in the runoff. He said he met with Thompson after the general election seeking an endorsement, but Thompson later wrote in a Facebook post he would not be endorsing either candidate, instead relying on voters to make their own decisions.
Heikkila’s team will be continuing their original message and trying to reach independents who voted for Thompson, he said. Heikkila said Thompson is an admirable individual whose message didn’t carry with voters, as he ultimately received 18.89 percent of total votes, according to Cleveland County Election Board results. Kish’s message fit the beliefs of conservatives to the political right of Heikkila, he said, garnering 12.49 percent of the vote.
“Many of those people might look at me as another candidate that they could at least back,” Heikkila said. “We're hoping that we’ll reach what we used to call the service an 80 percent solution. It's not the ideal, but I'm the one that represents most of their views, so we're trying to appeal to them without changing our message.”
Clark, who campaigned on finding long-term solutions for Norman’s homeless population and strengthening local infrastructure, said she was very pleased with general election results. She wasn’t surprised a runoff was needed, given the amount of candidates involved.
Norman has experienced a 20 percent sales revenue growth rate over the last year, and has a 1.3 percent unemployment rate and developing Norman Forward projects, which Clark said is a very easy story to tell voters.
Voters deserve a leader who promotes community hope, not fear, Clark said. She also said her alignment is for Norman, without considering political affiliation.
“Regardless of what letter you have behind your name, you can get behind clean water and good sidewalks and new streets,” Clark said. “That's what Norman is focused on, a strong economy, creating jobs. We're not talking about partisan issues.”
Heikkila said he’s appreciated that both he and Clark have emphasized discussion of issues, not personal tastes, in this election. He’s ramped up his campaign efforts in preparation for the runoff, he said, adding that there’s likely no square inch of Norman without one of his signs. He also said he’s been working to address the negative impacts of the ACCESS Oklahoma Turnpike in Norman by meeting with state legislators, like Sen. Rob Standridge (R-Norman) and tribal leaders, like Absentee Shawnee Gov. John Raymond Johnson.
Clark looks forward to more time to campaign and plans to speak to Norman’s current and future successes, she said.
“It's always a true joy to connect with (more) residents more directly … as opposed to regular elected representation where you tend to only hear when something's going wrong,” Clark said.
Clark said she ran for mayor again because she’s the best person for the job and feels that the progress she’s made would be undone if Heikkila were elected.
Major donors for both Clark’s and Heikkila’s campaigns said they’ve directed their support based on candidates’ actions prior to and while campaigning. Local attorney and Clark campaign donor Will Velie said he’s voting for Clark because she has a strong commitment to education and is conscientious. He also said he believes that as a woman with children, Clark has a heavy stake in perpetuating Norman’s liveability.
Velie said he was disappointed that the election went to a runoff, and though he likes Thompson, he believes his similar stances diverted voters from Clark. He wanted her to win resoundingly because her strong policies during the pandemic came at a personal cost, and voters needed to affirm their appreciation for her leadership, he said. Despite this, he said he feels hopeful about her odds in the runoff.
“People in Norman are good people,” Velie said. “We vote for optimistic reasons. We don't vote because we're afraid, and she represents optimism and the person she's running against represents fear.”
Local attorney and businessman Stephen Teel donated to Kish’s campaign in the general election, but he said he’ll be supporting Heikkila in the runoff.
“The current mayor has spearheaded far-left national agendas, instead of focusing on non-partisan city issues,” Teel wrote in a text message, citing the Norman City Council’s June 2020 vote to decrease a proposed Norman Police Department budget increase.
Heikkila and Norman Public Schools School Board candidate Dan Snell are “conservative candidates Norman needs,” Teel wrote, adding that he will always support candidates who prioritize funding public safety.
Clark said although runoffs in Norman historically have lower voter turnout than general elections, a Ward 4 runoff, a school board election runoff and a vote to approve a local water rate increase will also be held on April 5.
It’s hard to predict what will motivate community members to come to the polls, Clark said, but city leaders have been working on constituent outreach on both citywide and more focused levels. She added that the potential water rate increase is extremely important to the community, so she hopes voters will get educated on the issue.
Heikkila said he believes this election marks a difference between two worldviews. While he said he doesn’t believe Norman will go back to what it was before Clark’s leadership, he thinks it’s reevaluated what it wants as a community.
“(Clark) takes her direction from a national agenda,” Heikkila said. “I want to take direction from the citizens of Norman to find out what you guys want.”
Clark said she’s encouraged by the historic voter turnout of over 22,000 Normanites in the general election, which took place just days after a snowstorm. She said during that election, she received nonstop messages from voters who said they’d never had to wait to vote in an election before this one.
“I get chills talking about it,” Clark said. “This is what it's all about. Local government should always have the greatest voter turnout because the voters are closer to the issues than anything else at any level, so I love seeing it and I hope it continues.”
