After announcing her bid for mayor in September of last year, local optometrist Nicole Kish is advocating to increase police funding and support small businesses as she campaigns for Norman’s mayoral seat.
Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, Kish came to the U.S. to further her education, graduating with a doctorate of optometry from Pacific University in 1997. She found her way to Norman after becoming a U.S. citizen in 1999. Kish was practicing optometry in Dallas when a doctor she was working with suggested a location in Sooner Mall. She moved to Norman shortly after, where she opened her practice and joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard.
“The doctor I was practicing with said I needed to come and take a look at the practice, and so I did. I said, 'This is perfect, I would love to be here,'” Kish said.
Kish said her introduction to local politics was in June 2020, following the city council’s vote to reduce the Norman Police Department proposed budget increase by $865,000. Following this vote, the grassroots organization Unite Norman was founded. The group focused on collecting enough petition signatures to recall Mayor Breea Clark and four other council members.
“None of us had been really paying attention to what’s happening in our local politics,” Kish said. “I said, ‘Enough of this. We’ve got to do something.’”
Kish, a co-founder of Unite Norman, is also endorsed by the group. On Jan. 13, Gov. Kevin Stitt also endorsed Kish, making her the only candidate in Norman and the first candidate in a local election to ever be endorsed by the governor. Stitt grew up in Norman, graduating from Norman High School in the 1990s.
“This city needs bold, common-sense leadership to help capitalize on the momentum the rest of Oklahoma is experiencing with booming economic growth, and Dr. Kish has the grit and will to make it happen,” Stitt said in his endorsement.
Originally, Kish had not planned to run for mayor. She decided to file in August 2021 after another potential Unite Norman candidate opted against placing a bid for mayor. She said her involvement in local politics and business experience made this election cycle the “right time to run.”
“I own a small business here and I’ve got skin in the game. We haven’t really had anybody with business experience on city council. … I prayed about it, I talked to my pastor about it, and a lot of people put their support behind me. I thought, ‘You know what, it’s the right time,’” Kish said.
However, Kish would not be the first small business owner to sit on council if elected. Former Ward 5 Councilmember Sereta Wilson resigned from council in 2020, citing financial issues with her family’s business caused by COVID-19. Current Ward 8 Councilmember Matt Peacock is the principal architect at his firm Peacock Design. Bob Thompson, another mayoral candidate and former Ward 1 councilmember from 2005-'09, has owned Midway Deli for just under 40 years.
Kish said her biggest priority is police funding, specifically restoring the $865,000 and nine positions that were cut. Seven of those positions were vacant in 2020, as the department did not hold a police academy that year. In Oct. 2021, NPD requested the reinstatement of these positions. Kish said she wants to add more positions to the police department.
Kish said she thinks public safety department workers are “leaving Norman in droves” because of a “hostile work environment,” which she blames on city council action and Mayor Breea Clark. Kish said Norman should give retention and sign-up bonuses to improve the public safety environment.
To pay for all of the funding of the police and fire department, Kish said the key will be sales tax revenue gained by more businesses coming and staying in Norman. She also said private and public partnerships with businesses could be a funding option, adding that the city must encourage businesses to stay in the city.
Kish said she thinks Norman has a “terrible” reputation with developers because of crime rates and the regulations required by the city council. Currently, any future developers have to appear before the Norman Planning Commission to review the request before the council votes. Kish said she would like to streamline this process by working with city departments.
The current city council is “not friendly” to housing developments, Kish said, citing a vote to strike down an addition to the Eagle Cliff neighborhood in October 2021. The council denied their rezoning requests in a vote of 7-2, which would’ve allowed 144 new homes to be built in this addition. Multiple letters of objection and protest from neighbors citing stormwater runoff and flooding issues were included in the council’s agenda.
“Just by eliminating all of those hoops and the regulations, we can absolutely make this a more attractive place for people to develop not only housing, but their businesses as well,” Kish said.
Kish said she hopes to find solutions to decrease Norman’s homeless population, as the issue adds to businesses not wanting to be in the city. Kish said there aren’t enough police officers to “go out and deal” with homeless individuals or crimes happening within the population.
Kish cited a recent officer-involved shooting as an example of a “criminal aspect” involving homeless individuals in Norman. On Jan. 20, NPD was involved in the shooting on East Comanche Street. In response to gunfire, officers shot Iris McMullen, a homeless individual, in the legs and arms after McMullen shot two other people, killing one.
Kish praised Senate Bill 1381, filed by Oklahoma State Senator Rob Standridge (R-Norman) on Jan. 19. This bill would require homeless encampments to have permits, similar to campgrounds. On Dec. 8, 2021, a homeless encampment on Alameda Street was served a notice to vacate the premises. NPD assisted with clearing after this notice was enforced on Dec. 14.
Founded by Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason, the Community Response Unit aims to provide Norman’s homeless population with a variety of resources. Kish said Norman is “very fortunate” to have Amason in that position.
“We absolutely cannot allow the homeless population to increase, but under Breea Clark’s watch, it has. It’s gone up 100 percent in a year. We had about 130ish homeless residents a year ago in Norman, and now it’s over 230, if not more than that,” Kish said.
According to a gap analysis of Cleveland County’s homeless services system that was released in December 2021, there was a 100 percent increase in the homeless population over the course of five years. There were 133 homeless individuals living in Cleveland County in 2015, but in 2020 that number rose 100 percent to 266 individuals. Clark was sworn into office on July 2, 2019.
On COVID-19, Kish said she believes in “medical freedom” and the Constitution, adding that she’s opposed to any mask or vaccine mandate.
“I’ve never seen the politicization of a medical condition like this in my entire life. This is absolutely asinine, and there’s no reason for this. … If you want to take the vaccine, go right ahead. If you don’t, then don’t. If you want to wear a mask, go ahead. If you don’t, that is your choice. There should absolutely be no mandates or anything like that at all,” Kish said.
Kish is a registered Republican and self-identified conservative. In 23 years of optometry in Norman, Kish said she’s seen patients from “all different persuasions” and has made decisions for them, regardless of their beliefs.
“Everybody has different beliefs and I’m okay with that. … I’m good at making decisions, listening to people and coming up with answers. I do this in my business as well, (as) I am a businesswoman,” Kish said. “I have to make decisions on a daily basis about how my business runs, so I think I’m well versed and I’m well qualified to do this as the mayor.”
Kish traveled to Washington, D.C. with Ward 5 Councilmember Rarchar Tortorello in January 2021 to attend former President Donald Trump’s #StopTheSteal rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
In a press release titled “I Went through Hell,” Kish described the rally as a “block party” type atmosphere. She also said in the release that neither she nor Tortorello were present for the insurrection that followed the rally. Both say they were back at their hotel room watching the riots at the Capitol on television.
Kish said in the release that she was a victim of “cancel culture” and harassment, as people campaigned to have her optometry license revoked and her business at Sooner Mall shut down. She also filed a lawsuit against three Norman citizens who shared her Washington trip on their private and city ward Facebook pages, though this case was later dismissed.
Tortorello and Kish are currently in a relationship. Kish said the pair consulted with the city attorney about a possible conflict of interest, but was told that it would be okay as long as the pair were not married.
“We (Kish and Tortorello) are individuals with the ability to make decisions, and maybe he and I won’t agree on something. That’s ok, that’s just how it is,” Kish said.
Kish added that she felt the city requires new leaders and that she fits this role.
“I think I am a great match for the city, and the city needs absolutely new leadership. I'm excited to do it. I'm looking forward to February 8, and I would appreciate y'all get out and vote on the eighth and vote for me,” Kish said.
Mayoral and city council elections will take place Tuesday, Feb. 8. In-person absentee voting takes place Thursday and Friday, Feb. 3-4. If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, the runoff election will take place Tuesday, April 5. For more information on where, when and how to vote, visit the Cleveland County Election Board website.
