Oklahoma democratic gubernatorial nominee Cyndi Munson hosted a meet-and-greet Sunday at Norman’s Yellow Dog Coffee Co. where she touched on issues such as the proposed OTA turnpikes, data centers and healthcare.
Munson met with Normanites for roughly an hour and a half. During her speech, she said Oklahoma was once 17th in education in the country but has since fallen into the bottom 10 states. Munson said she wants to push for higher educational standards.
Democratic gubernatorial nominee Cyndi Munson held a meet-and-greet in Norman at Yellow Dog Coffee Co. on Sunday.
“We must stop putting public dollars in private schools, and instead make sure that every dollar goes to our public education, …” Munson said. “We need to pay our teachers more.”
Gubernatorial candidate Cyndi Munson and attendees during the meet and greet event hosted by Munson at Yellow Dog on Sept. 13, 2026.
Munson said the challenges of healthcare in Oklahoma, such as access and quality standards, are a prime concern.
“Healthcare has got to remain a priority,” Munson said. “We cannot improve our economic opportunities if we don't protect hospitals, especially in small communities.”
Munson said that she would seek moratoriums on A.I. data centers.
“I put out a statement in early June that I would sign an executive order that would put a pause or a moratorium on any new projects until we do an environmental study, an economic study, and we have more of a statewide, uniformed approach as to how these industries interact with the state of Oklahoma,” Munson said.
Attendees during the meet and greet event hosted by gubernatorial candidate Cyndi Munson at Yellow Dog on Sept. 13, 2026.
After the event, Munson spoke with the OU Daily about how she plans on handling Norman-specific issues.
“First, I have the power to put folks in charge of the OTA, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, …” Munson said. “Those are priorities for me and the issues I want to address as governor.”
Some of the attendees, like Norman resident and veteran Drew Hendricks, said that his civic participation started when he joined the Marine Corps and continues today.
“I don’t want to forfeit my voice. It’s mine to protect, it’s mine to share,” Hendricks said. “So getting the opportunity to come and at least hear from my future leaders is incredibly important, just as important as putting on the uniform.”
OU civil engineering first-year Jonas Brady said they attended the event to be a part of something meaningful.
“The main reason I’m here is because it’s the first time I’m able to vote in something that is this meaningful,” Brady said. “I missed the (presidential) election because I didn’t turn 18 at the time.”
Attendees during the meet and greet event hosted by gubernatorial candidate Cyndi Munson at Yellow Dog on Sept. 13, 2026.
Munson encouraged college students to go out and vote.
“I know it can be very confusing for college students to access the ballot, …” Munson said. “You can vote by absentee and you can also update your voter registration and vote from campus.”
This story was edited by Spencer Windholz. Parker Newman and Larkin Bock copy edited this story.
