Back in July, Unite Norman – a bipartisan group of conservative partisans – announced they were launching a petition drive to free Norman from the oppressive reign of Communist-Antifa-AOC mayor Breea Clark, and four other democratically-elected councilmembers, via recall elections.
The group came out of the gate hot, tossing bricks and making bold claims, promising they would hold "radical politicians" like Mayor Clark accountable for doing tyrannical things like, uhm, implementing public health and safety measures during a global pandemic or making reasonable changes to the police budget or listening to all of her constituents, and not just the rich ones with penises.
This is what Russell Smith, one of the group's angry co-leaders had to say at the time:
“We think that the city council legislates their own agendas based on national trends that are radical... We have pure insanity on the council right now and the mayor’s office. What city do we live in right now? It feels like New York City or LA.”
Well, I guess most people in Norman want to continue to feel like they live in a coastal megapolis. Earlier this week, the clerk's office officially announced Unite Norman's effort to further divide Norman through a contentious recall election didn't gather enough signatures.
Via NewsOK.com:
The group trying to remove Norman Mayor Breea Clark and one member of the city council for defunding the police and "failing to uphold the will of the people," did not collect enough valid signatures to support the mayoral recall petition, City Clerk Brenda Hall said Monday.
Unite Norman, however, did collect enough valid signatures to support a recall petition for Ward 3 council member Alison Petrone, Hall said following the conclusion of a 30-day process to certify the signatures.
The petition for Clark required 18,154 signatures, or 25% of registered voters in Norman. Of the 20,661 signatures submitted by the group, more than 3,600 were found to be invalid, making it impossible to meet the required number, Hall said.
Wow. They couldn't even get 25% of voters to sign the recall petition for the "radical" mayor. It kind of makes you wonder who the true radicals are in this situation, huh?
Like any loyal group of Trump supporters, Unite Norman had a wide variety of excuses and unsubstantiated claims ready to go:
In a news release, Unite Norman said the group "will be exploring all legal avenues available to ensure that every voice is heard." The group points to a legal precedent in Oklahoma that "strongly shows" the signatures for Clark would likely count if challenged because those citizens reside in Norman, regardless of any prior address used on their voter registration form.
"No matter the outcome tomorrow, we are extremely proud of our efforts," co-founder Sassan Moghadam said in the release. "One thing is clear: the voter turnout in the next election will be remarkably strong, regardless of which recalls are certified. The citizens are now awake."
Say what you want about Sassan Mogadam, but he hit the nail on the head. Thanks to his brick-throwing temper tantrum, I think more citizens are now awake and realize just how mentally compromised some of Unite Norman organizers are.
In a perfect world, this would ideally be the end of the Unite Norman saga, but as you know, we're in 2020, and the world is not perfect. The group is still talking a big game, and pledges to continue their quest to divide... err.... unite Norman.
Meanwhile, one Norman councilperson wants to publish the names of everyone who allegedly signed the petition so Norman citizens can check to see if their signature was forged. Unite Norman is naturally against that measure because they know the dangers of doxxing. Basically, don't expect to see Norman, or anywhere in America, united soon.
