The City of Norman asked a judge to unseat Ward 3 Norman City Councilmember Kelly Lynn Tuesday two hours before election polls closed where voters could decide to keep him in office.
According to the Norman Transcript, the city filed for a motion for declaratory judgment in Cleveland County District Court right before closing Tuesday.
Last week, Lynn was asked to step down by the city from his position after being found to be potentially illegally holding dual office.
On Jan. 3, Lynn was sworn in as Wewoka Municipal Judge. City Attorney Kathryn Walker hired the Spencer Fane LLP law firm to further investigate the legality of Lynn’s positions, and the firm determined that Lynn had effectively vacated his council seat by accepting the judgeship, according to an opinion obtained by OU Daily.
The Spencer Fane opinion stated that by “mere operation of law,” Lynn is no longer a member of city council and council could declare the seat vacant and begin the appointment process for the rest of Lynn’s current term, which ends on July 4.
Spencer Fane’s opinion cited Oklahoma State Statute Title 51, Section 6 which states that no person holding an office can hold a second one. However, this statute allows for 30 exceptions, though none directly apply to Lynn’s circumstance, according to the opinion.
"The Ward 3 Norman City Council seat is now and has been vacant since Jan. 6, 2023," the motion states, according to the Transcript.
According to the Transcript, Lynn said he was asked on Feb. 3 to resign from his city council position but has no plans to do so.
When OU Daily reached out to Lynn for comment, he responded with a letter sent by Tracy Schumacher, former district judge of Cleveland County, to Spencer Fane and Knighton.
Schumacher referred to Article 7, Section 11 of the Oklahoma state Constitution, which she claimed provides an exception for municipal court judges.
“No Justices or Judges, except those of Municipal Court, shall engage in the practice of law nor hold any other office or position of profit under the United States or this state or any municipal corporation or political subdivision,” the constitutional section reads.
Editor’s note: This article will be updated with more information as it becomes available.
This story was edited by Jazz Wolfe and Karoline Leonard.
