Both candidates for Norman council seat sign Open Government Pledge

Whoever wins the June 28 runoff election for the Ward 6 seat on the Norman City Council will have pledged to comply with the letter and spirit of Oklahoma’s open government laws. In signing FOI Oklahoma’s Open Government Pledge, incumbent Jerry Lang and challenger Breea Clark also promised “to support at every opportunity the public policy of the State of Oklahoma that the people are vested with the inherent right to know and be fully informed about their government so that they can efficiently and intelligently exercise their inherent political power.”

Clark received 97 more votes than Lang -- 749 to 652 -- but less than 50 percent of the total in the April 5 election. A third candidate received 218 votes.

Lang was elected to the seat in 2014. After 27 years in the restaurant industry, he retired from Sonic Industries as a vice president, according to his City Council bio. He is an assistant principal at All Saints Catholic School.

Clark, an attorney, is associate director for academic integrity programs at OU and president of the Norman PTA Council.

Ward 6 covers between 12th Avenue NW and 36th Avenue NE, with a northern boundary of Indian Hills Road and a portion between 12th Avenue NE and 24th Avenue NE with a southern boundary of Alameda Street.

Clark signed the pledge Feb. 9. Lang signed on April 2.

FOI Oklahoma invites all candidates for state, local and legislative seats to sign the pledge. Instructions and lists of signers can be found on FOI Oklahoma’s website.

FOI Oklahoma began the Open Government Pledge in spring 2008 as part of a national effort to spur public commitments to government transparency from candidates for president down to city council contests.

Joey Senat, Ph.D. Associate Professor OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications Mass Communication Law in Oklahoma

The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the commentators and do not necessarily represent the position of FOI Oklahoma Inc., its staff, its board of directors or the commentator’s employer. Differing interpretations of open government law and policy are welcome.