Rogers council candidates share leadership viewpoints

ROGERS — Three of four candidates running for an open City Council seat discussed Thursday how they would handle various situations if elected.

Shawn Wright, Clint Hopper, Mandy McDonald Brashear and Rick Stocker are running for the Ward 1, Position 1 seat. Wright, Hopper and Brashear answered questions at a forum hosted by the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce and moderated by Rusty Turner, editor of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Stocker didn’t attend the forum.

Ward 1 is in the northeast part of the city and includes downtown.

Council members often deal with disputes between property owners who want to develop land a certain way and neighbors who object.

“I think if I represent Ward 1, I have an obligation to proactively communicate to my constituents in Ward 1 and that would be any potential zoning things that I have visibility to coming up and making sure first and foremost that there’s an awareness,” Brashear said, adding that she would listen to residents and hear them out. She works in human resources at Walmart.

Wright said communication with residents is key and gave an example of when the council rejected a request although a committee had approved it because residents came to the meeting and spoke out against the item.

“Going forward, there’s a lot of areas we could look at and see if they need to be rezoned ahead of time,” he said, adding that people who live in established neighborhoods should ultimately have a say in what goes next door to them.

Hopper said the council does what it can to mitigate those issues.

“Sometimes you can’t resolve and make everybody happy,” he said.

Hopper works in information technology for Crafton Tull.

The candidates were asked how they would work to bridge the gap between the “old guard” in Rogers and new residents.

Wright is a lifelong Rogers resident and is running for the position currently filled by his father, Buddy Wright, who has been on the council for 16 years. He is a homemaker.

He said he would like for the city to make better use of its rail system and to get more people who do not live on the eastern part of the city to venture downtown.

“I personally don’t know that I’ve felt that way,” Hopper, a lifelong resident, said, adding he’s met many people through involvement in several groups including the Rotary, Northwest Arkansas Emerging Leaders and church. “As far as bridging a gap for those that don’t feel like they’re included in the makings of the city, the best thing we can do is try to communicate with them and give them pathways to communicate back, but personally, I don’t know that I recognize an old guard and a new guard.”

Brashear moved to Rogers from Joplin, Mo., 12 years ago. She said those who are in the “new guard” feel it.

“I don’t have a network that exists that’s generations of family members that have been in this area. I’ve had to build it myself, and when you’re campaigning for a position where there are three other very wellknown names from Rogers competing, you see that there is such a thing,” she said, adding she has respect for previous and current city leaders and their decisions.

“The voice that’s missing is that of the new guard, and that’s the voice that I will bring,” Brashear said.

On how to improve communication between the city’s government and its residents, Wright said he would like council meetings to be broadcast on television so people who are not able to come to the meetings can still watch them. He said that, if elected, he plans to keep his Facebook page open as a way to communicate with residents. Wright added communicating with residents about what projects are in the works and giving them a chance to voice their concerns would alleviate tension between the city government and residents.

Hopper said Facebook, email and phone calls are all ways to reach a candidate.

“I’m typically getting my coffee in the morning downtown and I’d be happy to meet with folks during that time or a scheduled time after,” he said.

Brashear said Rogers has a diverse population.

“I think there are a number of people that English isn’t their first language and currently the city materials are published in English and I just have to believe that that’s a barrier for some pieces of our population,” she said.

Brashear added there is no substitute for face-to-face communication.

Voters recently approved a $299.5 million bond issue. All three candidates said they voted for the bond issue.

Council terms last for four years and pay an annual salary of $9,511. The nonpartisan election will be Nov. 6. Early voting begins Monday.