Last Updated on August 6, 2023, 2:46 AM | Published: July 18, 2023
MOORE, Okla (Free Press) — On Monday, the City of Moore City Council officially bid farewell to Ward 1 Council Member Danielle McKenzie as she has decided to step down midterm.
Danielle McKenzie has represented Ward 1 since 2016, but was first inspired to serve the city in the wake of the May 20th, 2013 tornado.
After finishing her master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma, McKenzie decided to serve on Moore’s planning commission.
“That’s something I [could] do, give back to the city that I grew up in and that I love.”
The 2016 election allowed her the opportunity to join the City Council, and she has affected change in the city ever since.
Council Member McKenzie helped to distribute federal funding to rebuild the City after 2013, and worked to allocate federal assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Most recently, she was a strong advocate for Moore’s curbside recycling proposal that voters saw on the May special election ballot. The vote failed, but a similar alternative is now being offered.
She says that it is not easy to walk away from the council, but she wants to “transition to being able to give back in a different way,” especially as her youngest child starts their senior year in high school.
The City published a farewell video to let former Council Member Mckenzie explain her decision and highlight some of her achievements on the council.
The City authorized the Ward 1 Council position to be vacant in Monday’s meeting and modified current appointment policy to approve another council member in only a few weeks.
Previously, the period to fill a council seat was 45 days, but the City shortened that to just 10 days.
Applications are open on the City website and an appointee will be chosen based on a majority vote from the remaining council members.
Moore’s Council plans to have the position filled in the next couple of meetings.
The City of Moore will host a Town Hall meeting, 7 PM, at the Station Recreation Center Room 1 to discuss several proposed street projects, hoping to answer questions from the public.
City staff and involved engineering firms will be there to present and answer questions regarding the construction and design of about a dozen projects.
The next Moore City Council meeting will be held on Monday, August 7th at 6:30 PM.
Damian Powell is our government reporter for the smaller municipalities in the OKC metro such as Moore, Norman, Bethany, and Warr Acres. Damian is studying Political Science at the University of Oklahoma.
