OKC Swears In 2 New Council Members, Does Not Vote On Ending City's Mask Mandate Early

Wearing a mask is still part of life in a pandemic, but many municipalities are letting their mask mandates expire.

Oklahoma City is not going to end their mandate earlier than April 30.

Two new faces on the horseshoe at Oklahoma City's City Hall will help determine if the mask mandate will be extending into May.

On Tuesday, coffee roasting business owner Bradley Carter was sworn to represent Ward 1.

Love's employee Barbara Young will serve Ward 3.

Both told News 9 they want the mask mandate in Oklahoma City to end now.

Both are replacing members of council who share the same view.

“I’m ready for it to end, as I think we all are. We want citizens to make the choices and risk assessment for themselves,” Young said.

Ending the emergency mask mandate before April 30 would have needed seven out of nine votes. The votes weren't there and efforts were dropped.

Extending the mandate in Oklahoma City needs seven votes as well.

Councilman James Cooper wants that debate in two weeks when Council meets again.

“We are talking about the middle of May to June where most Oklahomans would become truly vaccinated,” Cooper said.

He said he worries that case numbers could go up with the spread of COVID variants.

In the Oklahoma City metro area, the only other larger city with a mask mandate is Norman. Their ordinance expires on June 1.