Three candidates hope to replace long-tenured Councilmember Matt Peacock as he steps down from his seat representing Ward 2 on the Norman City Council.
Stephanie Adams, Jacy Deck and Russell Rice will appear on the Feb. 10 ballot. Peacock has been on the council since 2020, where he originally ran to represent Ward 8. After redistricting, he successfully ran to represent Ward 2 in 2024, but he declined to seek reelection this year, citing a desire to focus on his family and professional obligations.
Peacock was the longest-tenured member of a council that has undergone a significant change in composition over the last year. In 2025, Ward 5 Councilmember Michael Nash and Ward 3 Councilmember Bree Montoya resigned, with Nash moving outside the district and Montoya coming under fire for encouraging someone on Facebook to kill themselves during a political disagreement. No other member of the council was elected before 2024, with the exception of Mayor Stephen Tyler Holman, who represented Ward 7 from 2013 until his election as mayor last year.
Ward 2 covers the southwest portion of Norman, bound roughly from west to east by 24th Avenue and Berry Road. Its southern border lies along city limits, while its northern border is Robinson Street.
The following cheat sheet provides an overview of the Norman Ward 2 candidates and is derived from publicly available information, such as campaign websites, news reports and social media accounts. The cheat sheet also uses information from candidate forums, including one hosted by the League of Women Voters, embedded below.
Candidates are listed alphabetically, and if no one surpasses the 50 percent threshold on Feb. 10, the top two finishers would advance to an April 7 runoff.
Watch the League of Women Voters candidate forum
Stephanie Adams
Background/profession: Stephanie Adams is the owner and lead behavior consultant at Goodmind Pet Behavior Consulting, according to her campaign Facebook. According to her LinkedIn, she previously worked as the pet adoption coordinator for Norman Animal Welfare, as an animal care support technician for the Oklahoma City Zoo and as the sanctuary manager of the Oklahoma Primate Sanctuary.
Adams graduated from Hutchinson Community College in 1997 and now studies anthropology at Arizona State University, according to her LinkedIn.
Platform: Adams does not appear to have a campaign website, but her campaign Facebook page features a photo listing “community, compassion and common sense” as the central tenets of her platform.
“For me, that’s more than just slogans to put on hand-outs and on signs. Those guide my core principles of how I handle any issue, whether that’s in my personal life or certainly as a representative of Ward 2,” Adams said during the League of Women Voters forum. “I think community is rooted in listening, sitting down and having conversations, meeting people where they are and finding out what the core issues are, not just for myself but for the other people living in Ward 2.”
In a candidate forum hosted by the Norman Chamber of Commerce, Adams said she would like to promote aviation as a viable industry for the city to invest in. When asked about potentially selling electricity at the League of Women Voters forum, she said she encourages “creative solutions to our sales tax and how we fund our city” but wasn’t sure such an action would be possible. She also advocated for development that brings residents and business back into core Norman, particularly the Lindsey Street corridor.
Adams said she is supportive of a proposed homeless shelter on what is currently the Griffin Memorial Hospital campus.
“When I look at community discussions, the residents in that area, there are already people experiencing homelessness congregating that area, because that’s where services are,” Adams said. “So a homeless shelter is going to bring resources and solutions, not more problems.”
Links:Â Personal Facebook | Campaign Facebook | LinkedIn
Jacy Deck
Background/profession: Jacy Deck works as a project manager at the University of Oklahoma’s Advanced Radar Research Center. According to her campaign website, her career before joining OU entailed working in accounting, insurance and benefit management, and she lists finance and budgeting among her professional skills.
She earned her bachelor’s degree from Southern Nazarene University and her master’s degree from OU. Outside of her profession, her website calls her a “community volunteer, accomplished pianist and advocate for ending domestic and sexual violence.”
Platform:Â Deck’s platform centers on sustainable growth and economic vitality, focusing specifically on Ward 2’s economic needs, as the ward has seen many businesses move to other parts of town. To accomplish what she characterizes as “smart planning,” Deck would focus on expanding affordable housing, accessible infrastructure, compassionate mental health community partnerships and stormwater infrastructure.
“Our future isn’t merely in concrete. It’s in walkable streets, thriving small businesses, green spaces that bring people together, and policies that keep Norman sustainable for generations to come,” Deck states on her website. “I’m running because I love this community, and I believe we can lead with both head and heart — balancing fiscal discipline with humanity, so every decision we make builds a Norman that lasts.”
In the League of Women Voters forum, Deck emphasized the importance of the city’s budget in her opening statement.
“I also think the budget is like a value statement, and I want to make sure it reflects the values of our ward, in particular, and then also as our city as a whole,” she said.
Deck has been endorsed by Rep. Jacob Rosecrants (D-Norman).
Russell Rice
Background/profession:Â Russell Rice is the co-founder of Norman Care-A-Vans, which provides free, on-demand transportation for unhoused people in Norman, along with meal services Monday through Thursday.
He is also one of the co-founders of Oklahomans for Responsible Economic Development, a nonprofit created to oppose the controversial tax increment finance districts planned for University North Park in northwest Norman. According to his campaign website, he is a union member of the local chapter of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.
Rice has been involved in city politics for years, as he is a member of Norman’s Public Safety Sales Tax Committee. He previously ran to represent Ward 2 in 2024, losing to Peacock by 62 votes.
Platform: Rice is passionate about addressing homelessness in Norman and opposing the UNP TIF districts. To help the unhoused, Rice’s website says he will “fight for beds and case management systems” as the city considers building a new shelter at 205 Reed Ave. As for the TIF topic, Rice’s website says he believes citizens deserve a vote on the project, something that could happen if the Oklahoma Supreme Court overturns a district court decision invalidating the citizen-led petition that called for a referendum.
“I’m a regular guy who saw problems and chose to act,” Rice said at the League of Women Voters forum.
Rice lists economic revitalization as one of his top priorities. He particularly wants to see improvements on Lindsey Street and the western portion of Main Street. And while he says affordable housing should be one of the city’s goals, he believes new jobs near new housing are also needed to help “break the cycle of housing insecurity.”
“I’ve always believed that true leadership listens to the will of the people,” Rice states on his website. “That belief drove me and a small group of friends to found our nonprofit and launch the petition effort. Our community made it clear: they didn’t want to be forced to fund an arena, and they wanted a real say in the process. Today, my team and I continue to carry that petition forward, all the way to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, because their voices deserve to be heard.”
Links:Â Website | Campaign Facebook | Personal Facebook
(Correction: This article was updated at 2:55 p.m. Friday, Jan. 30, to remove reference to a statement that is no longer accurate.)
