Norman City Council incumbent, candidates promise support of open government

An incumbent and two other candidates seeking seats on the Norman City Council have signed FOI Oklahoma's Open Government Pledge.
 
In signing the pledge, all three promised that they and Norman city government "will comply with not only the letter but also the spirit of Oklahoma’s Open Meeting and Open Records laws."
 
They also pledged "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."
 
Ward 3 incumbent Robert Castleberry, 48, faces one challenger in the April 2 election. Castleberry, a CPA, was appointed to the seat in August.
 
Small business owner Greg Heiple, 48, is running for the Ward 1 position. The incumbent, Roger Gallagher, signed the Open Government Pledge in 2011.
 
Stephen Tyler Holman, 28, is seeking the Ward 7 seat. Holman serves on the city's 2060 Strategic Water Supply Committee and is the liaison for the city element in organizing the Norman Music Festival. The incumbent, Linda Lockett, also has signed the pledge.
 
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.
 
Signers are listed on the FOI Oklahoma website.
 

 
Joey Senat, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
OSU School of Media & Strategic Communications