KGOU WEBSITE-ONLY SPECIAL
Norman Mayoral Candidates
Debate the Issues (Feb 28, 2007)
Just six days before Norman residents head to the polls, the three candidates running for Mayor gathered for a debate at the University of Oklahoma's Catlett Music Center. In the event sponsored by The Oklahoma Daily newspaper and the Norman Sustainability Network, OU Political Science Professor and candidate Cindy Rosenthal warned that Norman must not sacrifice its quality of life by failing to pay attention to public safety, the preservation of green space, and the quantity and quality of the water. As a City Council member, she originally voted to create a tax increment financing district to draw new businesses to OU-owned land near Norman's airport, but now says the plan was rushed through and did not take into account needed traffic upgrades for the area.

On the issue of suburban sprawl, candidate and Norman developer Trey Bates expressed excitement about many development projects currently underway in the city core and said he's advocated giving citizens greater involvement in the future development of their city. He also said he wants to make Norman "more fun" by creating a cultural district and attracting more tourists to Lake Thunderbird.

Candidate E.Z. Million called for the building of two new high schools in Norman and criticized what he called a "do-gooder plan" to institute citywide curbside recycling. He said OU President David Boren has too much influence on local politics, and he called for Boren to retire because he's past the usual retirement age and won't bring the OU-Texas game to Norman in 2008.

Watch an excerpt of the debate on The Oklahoma Daily's website or listen to it in its entirety here:

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