Incumbent Helen Grant and Cindy Gordon will face off for the Ward 4 Norman City Council seat in the Feb. 10 municipal election.
Early voting opens Thursday and Friday. Oklahoma residents can visit the OK Voter Portal to find sample ballots and their designated polling location.
Helen Grant
Grant was first elected to the Ward 4 seat in 2022 and reelected in 2024. Throughout their tenure, Grant has championed the importance of mental health services and shown support for affordable housing efforts in Norman.
If elected, Grant will prioritize creating a permanent homeless shelter and expanding affordable housing options, strengthening public transit and walkability throughout the city, and solidifying the Griffin Master Plan, according to Grant’s website.
Incumbent Ward 4 Helen Grant at at Norman City Hall on Feb. 2.
Grant, who has lived in Norman since 2016, told OU Daily that they love the city’s creative community, especially the Downtown area, which they described as “the heart of Norman.”
“I just really love Norman as a not only creative community, but (an) inclusive community, …” Grant said. “Norman’s got a really tight creative community and is always striving for inclusivity.”
Cindy Gordon
Gordon is the director of the human anatomy program at OU and has served as a professor in the School of Biological Sciences at OU for over 21 years. She has served in the city’s planning commission, community development block grant program and Norman Citizens Advisory Board.
Gordon's campaign focuses on developing a long-term affordable housing plan, improving stormwater management across the city and supporting local businesses, according to her website.
Ward 4 candidate Cindy L. Gordon during the League of Women Voters forum on Jan. 21.
Gordon moved to Norman to finish her doctoral degree at OU in the late ‘90s and stayed after graduating in 2003.
“I love that (Norman) is a university town,” Gordon said. “You get the cool bars and establishments. You get the cool kind of niche restaurants, the stuff that make Norman cool. But you also get a university, and I would love to see more collaboration between the city and the university.”
Candidates responded to topics important to Norman residents including homelessness, Griffin Memorial Hospital, infrastructure, city development and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Homelessness
Grant said the city is working on providing more affordable housing. According to Grant, the city was awarded an affordable housing grant in January 2025 but, due to issues with federal funding, the city didn’t receive the money until December, putting the city a year behind.
“The zoning and sub regulation update, along with a housing study and parking study, is a 24-month process with multiple opportunities for public feedback, and I plan to work that process, if elected, to ensure that we get affordable housing and inclusionary zoning practices,” Grant said.
Gordon believes homelessness is the biggest issue in Ward 4 due to the number of people experiencing homelessness and services provided within the ward.
“There are homeless encampments all over — to be fair, in all of the wards — but most of the services are (in Ward 4),” Gordon said. “City Care is here. The temporary shelter on Gray (Street). Food and Shelter is on Reed (Avenue), and so is Salvation Army.”
If elected, Gordon hopes to find ways to support people experiencing homelessness while also responding to neighborhoods and businesses affected by it.
Norman City Council recently approved adding an $8 million homeless shelter bond, which is proposed to be located on Reed Avenue, to the April 7 ballot.
Gordon believes the bond will pass but wants Norman residents to think about the long-term effect the shelter could have on the city.
“I kind of almost get the impression, and I don’t think it’s necessarily intentional, but that a lot of people just kind of think (that) we build the shelter and all the problems are fixed, right?” Gordon said. “It is really important for me that we have some kind of long-term plans in place.”
Griffin Memorial Hospital
Griffin Memorial Hospital will move its services to Oklahoma City after the Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse withdrew its plans to build a new hospital in Oklahoma City. Since then, Norman City Council has been considering potential developments on the Griffin Memorial Hospital area.
Grant said a tax increment financing, or TIF, district could support the redevelopment of the Griffin Memorial area and provide affordable housing opportunities. A TIF is used to support redevelopment, infrastructure and community-improvement projects within a certain area with the intent of stimulating private investment.
While there’s a possibility of putting a permanent homeless shelter in the area, Grant believes community members living in surrounding areas should have a voice in how the project develops.
“I still believe that the neighborhoods and surrounding stakeholders should have a say in how this project comes along,” Grant said.
Gordon said she’s not a fan of the plans presented for the Griffin Memorial area because it is mostly composed of housing. She believes that the area should have more commercial developments.
“It’s too much for that area,” Gordon said. “It’s too much density for that spot and I think you miss out on opportunities for commercial development there.”
Stormwater infrastructure
Grant said stormwater is one of the biggest issues affecting Ward 4 residents.
Grant identified aging infrastructures as part of the issue and said they believe the city needs foundations that support future density and protect the city’s watershed.
“We have redevelopment pressures, but I believe, with organized neighborhoods, we can lobby for development that is compatible with existing neighborhoods and developments,” Grant said.
Gordon said it is critical for the city to keep up with sewage drainage and water supply. She said the city needs to learn from previous failed stormwater plans to make sure the new AIM Norman Stormwater Plan works effectively.
“Lake Thunderbird is past its prime on how long it was kind of supposed to last in the health of the lake, so we need to figure out what to do with that,” Gordon said.
Downtown development
Grant said several businesses in east Downtown want better crosswalks and repairs for alleyways and public parking areas. Businesses owners, Grant said, have also expressed desire for more housing in the area.
Downtown Norman has seen several closures in the last few months, including local taproom 405 Brewing, vintage apparel store Human Interaction and Inkfire Ramen Tapas & Bar.
Grant said they want to find ways to help local businesses in Downtown Norman apart from infrastructure improvements.
“We’ve had people interested in bringing their office to downtown, (but) there is no place to park their 70 plus employees,” Grant said. “So, we created a parking authority that will have the capacity to put out bonds to build parking structures.”
Gordon said she would love to see data on foot traffic and success rate to bring businesses to Downtown Norman from organizations like Visit Norman and the Norman Chamber of Commerce.
“On the surface, you’d be like ‘Wow, look at all those closures.’ That’s a red flag. But I don’t know that there is any data on why they closed and that is the important part here,” Gordon said. “Context matters. Details matter.”
Gordon said she would also love to see Andrews Park being redeveloped, especially because of its proximity to Downtown Norman.
Norman Public Library Central
The Norman Public Library Central has been closed since April 2024 after traces of mold were found in the facility. In August, Pioneer Library System filed a $150,000 lawsuit against the city and the Norman Municipal Authority for breach of contract and negligence regarding the library.
Grant said the library was built before they joined the council, but they have been part of executive sessions discussing the library since the start of the issue.
Grant said, if elected, they would lobby for a stipend to be awarded to Pioneer Public Library System to move the books offsite as the library is rehabilitated.
Gordon said the city needs to look into what’s best economically but also how to move the library forward.
“(It’s a) hard question to answer if you’re not on council because none of us know the details of the lawsuit,” Gordon said.
Gordon believes rehabilitating the library should be the city’s priority because of the role it has in the community.
“It is a hub. It’s a hub for people. It’s got incredible resources, internet access for people that need it,” Gordon said. “It’s a meeting place. It’s just a really important part of the community.”
Public transit, walkability
Since being elected, Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman has been vocal about making Main Street a two-way street instead of its current one way, eastbound route. More recently, a portion of Boyd Street, between College and Pickard avenues, was widened to turn into a two-lane, two-way street.
Grant showed support for making downtown Norman and Campus Corner more walkable. They believe a two-way street could make traffic slower and easier to navigate.
“I have seen accidents where somebody is trying to cross all three lanes or backing out just because someone is speeding and doesn’t see them,” Grant said. “I think a two-way Main (Street) would be safer.”
Grant said they would love to see more residents taking advantage of the city’s bus system and rail options. They cited the city’s goal to become part of the Regional Transit Authority to help provide more affordable transit options.
The Central Oklahoma Long Range Transit Plan outlines a plan to improve the transit network across central Oklahoma by providing connections between regional transit services and improving various modes of travel.
Gordon said she has met with downtown Norman business owners to ask what the city can do to support them. According to Gordon, several business owners raised the idea of making Main Street a two-way street.
“Gray Street has been converted to two-way and I don’t know that they have money now to do it with Main Street just yet,” Gordon said. “But now you’ve got this weird configuration of these two main streets in downtown business where one has been converted into two-way and you’ve got one that’s just completely one-way, but no kind of two-way to counteract it.”
Gordon said if the city wants to make Norman more walkable, it needs to be accessible for residents.
“Even if you have cool places to (go) on Porter (Avenue), you’re not going to walk Porter just because you want to walk and explore town like you would Main Street or Gray Street because it is four-lanes, heavy traffic, no trees, no shades, …” Gordon said. “That’s the walkability. It’s not just the logistics of it. … It’s making it such that people want to walk around down there.”
ICE
Grant said they do not support ICE operations in Norman.
“They do not make us safer, and they bring chaos to our community,” Grant said.
Grant said the Norman Police Department is not responsible for immigration enforcement and does not work with ICE, which makes it harder for the city to know when ICE agents are present.
“I talked to our immigrant community leaders about their concerns, and I’m investigating a resolution that does not inflame tensions but provides information and affirms the right of our residents to due process and their First Amendment right to peacefully assemble,” Grant said. “I will investigate every avenue there is to protect our residents.”
Gordon told OU Daily she supported police agencies and “the rule of law,” but does not agree with the way ICE agents are policing citizens across the nation.
The League of Women Voters held a candidate forum on Jan. 21, where candidates were asked what they would do if the city was asked to support ICE. Gordon's response was no.
“Where the issue lies is what is happening with ICE right now seems to be outside of bounds of what they can legally do or should legally be doing,” Gordon said. “You can’t deny people due process. You can’t violate people’s constitutional rights.”
Rock Creek Entertainment District, turnpike
On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled the gist of the petition to turn the Rock Creek Entertainment District to a public vote was insufficient, and the project will move forward as initially planned.
In September 2024, Grant voted against the Rock Creek Entertainment District, which would include an arena for OU’s basketball and gymnastics teams. Grant has also been vocal about their disagreement with the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s ACCESS plan that is set to be built in southeast Norman.
In a Tuesday Facebook post, Grant wrote they were disappointed by the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“I think that was poor ruling, and it definitely makes things difficult for future councils to put it mildly,” Grant wrote. “All said, I had my monthly meeting with City Management this morning to make plans for upcoming meetings and I basically said we are going to work on a new TIF ordinance every month in Oversight till it works its way to a full council vote.”
Gordon, who was interviewed before Tuesday's ruling, told the Daily she believes Norman residents should be able to vote for the Rock Creek Entertainment District project. She also does not support OTA’s plan to build a turnpike on East Norman.
More information on the entertainment district and ACCESS Oklahoma development, including a timeline of events, can be found on the OU Daily website.
This story was edited by Natalie Armour and Audrey McClour. Chelsea Low, Kylie Caldwell and Gretchen Schultz copy edited this story.
