Norman elections always cause a flood of headlines

Sunday, August 9, 2020

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COMMENTARY

It’s that time of year again: The time when Norman votes on something — anything really — and lots of wild discussion ensues. This round of proposals on the Aug. 25 ballot has a wide range of appeal, but it would raise property taxes to fund some projects. Even from where I live in Oklahoma City, I can hear a chorus coming from the direction of Lindsey Street about just how unpalatable that would be. The proposals also head before voters as factions of the city are already feuding about police funding.

This is sort of the “part two” of a comic I drew last year. As a one-time Norman resident myself (and a frequent visitor prior to the pandemic), I understand the “Norman bubble.” It just so happens that the bubble tends to flood quite a bit, and last year Normanites were asked to approve a pair of bond projects to help keep their community dry. Voters roundly rejected the proposals.

That aside, another thing I’ve noticed over the years about Norman is a resistance to development that doesn’t involve the OU campus area directly. There are good reasons for this at times — the bill of goods called University North Park comes to mind — but there are puzzling objections to new things, such as most of the campus corner proposals in the past 10 years.

As an outsider now, perhaps there are some finer details I don’t know about, but it sure seems like a few of the ideas presented this go round are sound enough. I’m not certain that a big swimming pool is a money maker for the city, but you never know, residents may enjoy water contained in a building.