South Norman residents will face a Feb. 11 choice between educator Kimberly Blodgett and advocate Amanda Chaffin to represent them in the city council’s Ward 7 seat, but only one of the two candidates agreed to discuss her campaign in an interview.
The Norman Ward 7 position is open because longtime incumbent Stephen Tyler Holman is running for mayor. Blodgett said Holman asked her to run for his seat in November, after he decided to challenge Mayor Larry Heikkila.
“I decided to run because I — first off — was afraid of, if I didn’t, then who will?” Blodgett said. “I knew that we would be losing him as Ward 7’s city council (member), and so that concerned me. (…) Because Stephen and I have the same views on a lot of things.”
Chaffin declined to answer several emails seeking an interview until Friday, when she responded with a one-page flyer about her campaign, on which she calls herself a disability advocate. She wrote that she founded the Oklahoma chapter of Cure SMA, and she said she is a board member of the Fighting for Kaiden Foundation. She lists her priorities as improving neighborhood safety, State Highway 9 safety and overall public safety, as well as increasing access to homeownership, lowering taxes and growing small businesses.
Both candidates participated in a League of Women Voters of Norman forum Jan. 27. The forum was livestreamed on the organization’s Facebook page.
Blodgett is a teacher, mom of six and lifelong Norman resident. Chaffin described herself at the candidate forum as a mom of two, and she said she lost one of her sons last year to a terminal muscular disease.
Norman Ward 7 encompasses an area south of the University of Oklahoma’s main campus that includes its research campus. It is bordered by Classen Boulevard on the east, Lindsey Street on the north, Chautauqua Avenue on the west, and the city’s southern border on the south.
Norman Ward 7 candidates talk housing, parks
Blodgett said her experience in public advocacy separates her from Chaffin in the race, taking a dig at her opponent’s voting record in the process.
“I’m not a past elected official or anything like that, but I’ve been super involved in politics and for a very long time, and I believe that she has only voted one time,” Blodgett said.
Blodgett said her main priorities if elected would be to get Ward 7 more engaged with city government and to address some of Norman’s most pressing issues: homelessness and the proposed Tax Increment Financing district to develop a new entertainment district and arena for the University of Oklahoma’s basketball and gymnastics teams.
“Ward 7, unfortunately, is the most disengaged ward out of all of them,” Blodgett said. “That was something that I thought I would love to work on, is getting Ward 7 residents more engaged — more involved in decisions that face our community.”
Chaffin states on her website that she plans to use her experience advocating for her son with special needs to work for Ward 7 if elected.
“Amanda has a decade serving her community and advocating at the state level for her special needs child,” the website states. “Although she recently faced the heartbreaking loss of her son, she is prepared to continue leading and championing policies in Norman that promote public safety, support local businesses, and improve quality of life.”
Chaffin does not mention the arena TIF district on her website or in the flyer shared by email. Blodgett said it is the issue she has heard about most when knocking on doors. The controversial proposal involves the city of Norman approving a TIF district to provide public funding for OU’s proposed new arena. The city council approved the TIF district by a 5-4 vote in September, but a group of opponents succeeded in gathering enough signatures to force a citywide vote on the issue. The referendum petition is currently working its way through court challenges.
“I am all for it going to a vote of the people,” Blodgett said, adding that she would have voted against it had she been on the city council in September.
Chaffin wrote on her website that she wants to improve accessibility in Norman and find solutions to traffic on State Highway 9, which runs through the district. The highway, which intersects with several busy Norman streets, has seen numerous fatality accidents throughout its history and is currently being widened in portions.
“Amanda Chaffin knows firsthand the vital need for accessibility in parks and recreational spaces, especially as a mother of a special needs son,” her website states. “Ensuring that everyone can enjoy these spaces includes installing ramps, improving parking, and making paths suitable for wheelchairs and mobility devices. Sensory features, such as smoother trails for individuals with visual impairments and sensory-friendly zones, are also important. While initial costs may be significant, state and federal grant programs can help offset expenses.”
At the League of Women Voters of Norman candidate forum, Chaffin said Ward 7 constituents are concerned about speeding drivers on streets and want more speed bumps. She also discussed Highway 9 traffic.
“Highway 9 is atrocious,” Chaffin said. “[Constituents are] wanting more accessibility, and that is absolutely something I want to look into if elected.”
Both candidates said housing is a major issue for Norman. Chaffin states on her website that she supports initiatives to help more people buy homes.
“Amanda understands the importance of home ownership and is passionate about creating opportunities for others. She aims to support initiatives for grants for first-time home buyers to access affordable, quality homes,” Chaffin said.
At the forum, Chaffin shared some other ideas for addressing the homelessness issue.
“We need more resources there,” Chaffin said. “We need more church involvement and nonprofit involvement to help tackle the situation.”
In her interview, Blodgett celebrated a federal grant the city recently received to address housing issues in Norman.
“So I do see some light at the end of this tunnel, maybe, as far as affordable housing goes. That’s one of the biggest issues I feel like I’m running on — just to help our unhoused friends,” Blodgett said. “It’s pretty expensive to live in Norman, and so I think that we need to be kind of focusing on that and maybe incentivizing landlords from raising rent.”
