Helen Grant announces Ward 4 candidacy with ‘equity and inclusion’ focus

By Reese Gorman | Transcript Staff Writer

Dec 12, 2021

Helen Grant has announced their candidacy for the Norman City Council Ward 4 seat after serving on local city government committees for several years and trying to make an impact.

Grant works at Oscilator Press in downtown Norman and is also a board member at Resonator who wants to be on City Council so they can make Norman a more welcoming place for every resident.

There are a total of four people filed to run for the Ward 4 seat, Teresa Borum, Doane Harrison, Gale Hobson and Grant.

What sets Grant apart from the other candidates is their main focus throughout the campaign and if elected will be on issues of equity and inclusion, they said in an interview with The Transcript.

Grant said they felt compelled to run because they want to make a better community for those struggling with homlesseness and to ensure the warming shelter was better managed. After sitting on a number of committees they wanted to run in an effort to make a greater change in the community.

“I think that there could be better representation and not just for show,” Grant said. “... I just think that when you come from a different background, certain things are going to be ever present on your mind.”

They hope to focus on nonpartisan issues, which they acknowledged is difficult in Norman’s current political climate.

Even the most basic of issues the council is tasked with resolving can often be seen as political, but Grant said they want to fight for people who have a hard time fighting for themselves.

Grant said they want to focus on affordable housing for people struggling with homelessness, and on affordable water for residents who are having trouble paying their bills. The three things they are most passionate about are homelessness, mental health and economic development, Grant said.

“I know this is a nonpartisan seat and honestly, I don’t think these (are partisian issues),” they said. “I think anybody on the political spectrum can end up homeless, in a bad living situation or need affordable water.”

Grant said they know fixing those issues and more will be a difficult road.

“As a single council member, I only have one vote,” they said. “Although there are projects I can work on, I know that I will have to work with the city manager, the mayor and the other council members.”

When asked by The Transcript what core Norman issues they are passionate about, Grant said all issues in Norman are “interrelated,” and they are most passionate about “equity and diversity.”

On the issue of police funding, Grant specified that the council’s vote in June 2020 wasn’t defunding, and that they would have supported the vote to reallocate $865,000 from the Norman Police Department’s proposed budget increase into other community projects.

“I would have put (the money) towards CREW,” Grant said.