Ward 5 Councilmember Rarchar Tortorello will compete against small business owner Cindi Tuccillo and former Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash to retain his seat on the Norman City Council.
Rachar Tortorello
Tortorello is running for a second term, following his win over Nash in the 2021 election. He currently serves on the council’s finance committee and has volunteered with the city’s Volunteer Emergency Response Team.
He served in the United States Air Force and was awarded the Airman’s Medal for heroism involving voluntary risk of life in 1996 prior to moving to Norman in 2004.
A “Ronald Reagan conservative,” Tortorello said he’s had to put his ideology aside while on council, noting an appropriation of over $1.1 million to the Norman Police Department, as well as funding affordable housing projects and a temporary warming shelter as accomplishments.
“There are so many things that we've done on council together,” Tortorello said. “Working together in a nonpartisan manner is what the people are asking us to do, so that's what I've done.”
Representing Ward 5, Tortorello has been active in the anti-turnpike movement following the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s ACCESS Oklahoma project, which aims to build a new toll road through Tortorello’s ward.
Tortorello affirmed that all council members continue to support residents advocating against ACCESS.
“I don’t know what else they can do at this point. That goes beyond the scope of the charter,” Tortorello said. “They are supporting us, and that’s all we need right now.”
In March 2022, the council unanimously approved a resolution that expressed opposition against ACCESS. Later that year in August, the city hired an outside law firm to take legal action against the OTA, filing a brief in September with the Oklahoma Supreme Court opposing the authority’s $500 million bond issue.
To ensure Ward 5's way of life, Tortorello aims to protect Lake Thunderbird, the Garber-Wellington Aquifer and wildlife. He noted that while Norman is growing, it is still important to protect the city’s water supply.
“I know that change is coming,” Tortorello said. “We have to temper that change by the availability and impact to our natural resources, and that is water. We cannot allow anything going forward that would impact that source of life.”
Tortorello said the proposed turnpike is Ward 5’s most pressing issue, with secondary issues including bridge repair and emergency response times. As far as city-wide issues, Tortorello said homelessness and public safety funding are his priorities.
Tortorello stressed the importance of non-partisanship and said council must return to the political center in order to regain the trust of its residents.
“Once we decide that we're not going to be driven by our ideology, then that's when the people start trusting council, … that we will always do what’s right,” Tortorello said.
Michael Nash
Nash is a fourth-generation Normanite and United States Marine veteran seeking his second term on city council. He represented Ward 5 for just under a year after being appointed to council in 2020, before losing the 2021 election to Tortorello.
Nash was placed on the ballot by petition. He said he was on the fence about running prior to the petition, but said it was “really hard to turn down” after it collected enough signatures.
“(The petition) tells me that the people appreciate the job,” Nash said. “It is endearing for sure … maybe there’s still some good that I can do here.”
If elected, Nash hopes he can return professionalism and nonpartisanship to council. He said that partisanship has always found its way onto council, but it has never been as divisive as it is now.
In 2022, Nash founded the anti-turnpike grassroots organization Pike Off OTA in response to OTA’s ACCESS announcement. He currently serves as president of that organization. Nash believes the city should be doing more in terms of the turnpike, adding that it is one of his inspirations for running.
Nash said Pike Off OTA invited the city to join its lawsuit as a plaintiff against the OTA, which alleges the authority is in violation of State Statute 69 Section 1705. The city ultimately did not join the lawsuit but opted to file a brief in Sept. 2022.
Further, Nash added that the city should be doing more to protect its water supply and that state law allows a broad authority for this protection.
Nash aims to uphold the 2060 Strategic Water Supply Plan, a long-range comprehensive plan that works to maintain water independence for Norman. Nash says that deviating from this plan could lead to several negatives including drilling more wells into the Garber-Wellington Aquifer or even purchasing water from Oklahoma City.
“If any part of the city thinks that our water supply or the 2060 Strategic Water Supply Plan or Lake Thunderbird aren’t important, or even if this turnpike isn’t going to impact them, they’re absolutely wrong,” Nash said. “Anything that happens to our water supply is going to hit the pocketbooks of every resident in Norman.”
Nash wants to improve emergency response times in Ward 5, hoping to implement a satellite department so that responses can improve without having to increase patrols.
The issues Nash finds most pressing is ensuring that Ward 5 remains rural in order to protect the water supply, as well as whether the 2025 Land Use Plan aligns with a long-range vision for Norman.
Nash said that soon a committee will be chosen for the 2045 Land Use Plan and that ensuring the right people are placed on this committee is an urgent issue.
“That land use plan really is the most important document that protects us from unnecessary development,” Nash said. “We want real people on that committee, … ideally people who have lived here for decades and understand the city, the overall vision of the city and what we’re trying to achieve and ultimately trying to preserve.”
Cindi Tuccillo
Tuccillo aims for Ward 5 residents to have a voice and “feel included” in council decisions, according to her campaign website. She is running to “fight for families, faith and our future.” Tuccillo is endorsed by the Oklahoma 2nd Amendment Association and her website claims to be endorsed by fire and police.
OU Daily reached out to Tuccillo for an interview, though she declined that offer.
Norman City Council elections will be held on Feb. 14. For more information on where, when and how to vote, visit the Cleveland County Election Board website.
This story was edited by Alexia Aston, Karoline Leonard and Jazz Wolfe. Grace Rhodes and Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
