Norman City Council to vote on replacement

NORMAN—A selection committee of five residents approved by the Norman City Council has recommended an interim replacement for former Ward 5 member Sereta Wilson.

The committee's selection, Michael Nash, will be presented for council approval Tuesday night, a spokeswoman for the city said Monday. Nash, an engineer, has lived in Norman for 32 years, including nine years in Ward 5,a largely agricultural district and the largest of Norman's eight wards

He would serve the reminder of Wilson's term, which ends July 6, 2021.

In a letter that accompanied his application, Nash, who is married with two children, said he is “deeply saddened by the present state of unrest in the community.”

“I see this opening to serve on t he City Council as an opportunity to give back to the community that has given my family so much,” he wrote. “The necessity of open-mindedness cannot be understated when working with a team and as an individual to come up with a solution to a unique problem.”

Unite Norman, the group seeking to recall Norman Mayor Breea Clark and Ward 3 Council member Alison Petrone, is calling on the mayor and council to reject Nash over his “radical affiliations.”

The group claims in a news release that “family associates” of Nash include a “list of radicals who are anti-police, anti-police funding, and pro-Socialist — including Nash's own wife.”

Wilson announced her resignation in July, citing financial difficulties related to COVID-19 that forced her to sell her home and move out of the district she represents. Her last meeting was Aug. 11.

A separate committee to find a replacement for Ward 2 council member David Perry was expected to be finalized Monday, the spokeswoman said. Perry, who served on the council less than two months, died of a heart attack Aug. 22.