Who is Stephen Holman? Get to know Norman's Mayor-elect

Having won more than 60% of the vote, Stephen Tyler Holman has secured the seat as Norman's next mayor.

Holman currently serves as the Ward 7 Councilmember, a position he has held since 2013. He beat incumbent Mayor Larry Heikkila by more than 25 points.

"I never ran for city council, though, with the intent to run for Mayor or the desire to run for a higher office or use it as a springboard," Holman said. "I ran for City Council so I could serve the ward I lived in."

Early beginnings

Born and raised in Norman, Holman graduated from Norman High School and attended the University of Oklahoma, working as a student videographer for the athletics department.

Outside of his service on the City Council, Holman is a real estate agent, general manager of The Friendly Market, and a bouncer at The Deli on Campus Corner.

He lives near OU's football stadium and calls himself a lifelong Sooner fan.

"I felt like my hometown needed me to do this and I'm so thankful that the community was so supportive of me doing it," he said.

Holman inherits litigation, strong feelings

Several high-dollar projects have been the cruxes of Norman's Council meetings in recent years.

Proposed expansion from the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and plans for a partially publicly-funded billion-dollar entertainment district have festered into fraught relationships.

Holman voted against the entertainment district proposal in the fall but emphasized his opposition was not to the project itself.

"Most of the public is not opposed to the idea," he said. "Just the public financing part. And so I voted no on that issue because I believe it should go to a vote of the people. And I am hopeful that that's what will happen."

Hearings are set for Feb. 19 and 25 in Cleveland County Court related to whether a petition asking for the entertainment district to go to a public referendum can move forward.

Meanwhile, plans for OTA to expand its East-West Connector are moving forward without the support of the Norman City Council.

"We do not want that in Norman," he said. "And, the cost for whatever benefit it may have is just not worth it. For people, hundreds of people, families losing their homes, wildlife displacement, trees removed, negative impact to Lake Thunderbird, which is already an impaired body of water and is our primary source of water."

Holman also remains committed to a public shelter, replacing what has currently been an emergency shelter on Gray Street.

"I'm hoping that we can continue working with our State Representatives in Norman, at the Capitol, on the future of the Griffin Hospital property and the campus there, because I think there is an opportunity for permanent supportive housing and a shelter," he said.