Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Gutierrez, Turk win council seats
Incumbent La Tour loses Fayetteville’s Ward 4 spot
FAYETTEVILLE — The results of the general election stayed true in the City Council runoff.
Sonia Gutierrez won the runoff election Tuesday against Olivia Trimble to represent Ward 1. Teresa Turk unseated incumbent council member John La Tour for the Ward 4 spot.
The other two winners were determined in the Nov. 6 general election. Council member Mark Kinion was re-elected to his Ward 2 chair. Planning Commissioner Sloan Scroggin will replace Justin Tennant, who didn’t seek re-election, to serve Ward 3.
City Council members earn $12,504 annually for their time and serve fouryear terms.
Gutierrez, 44, is a graphic designer and founder of New Design School on the downtown square. The three pillars of her campaign were to keep the city financially fit, friendly and funky.
Gutierrez led the general election with 2,303 votes to Trimble’s 2,220. A third candidate, Kris Paxton, received 1,132 votes. Council member Adella Gray didn’t file for re-election and will serve out her term through the end of the year.
Ward 1 covers most of the southern half of the city, including 15th Street, South School Avenue, Huntsville Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Notable
landmarks include Walker Park, Lake Sequoyah, Kessler Mountain Regional Park, Fayetteville High School and Ramay Junior High.
Turk, 57, is an environmental consultant and serves on the Historic District Commission. She is a retired scientist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and owns several rental properties in Ward 4.
Turk received the most votes in the Ward 4 general election with 2,909. La Tour gained 2,811 votes, and Adam Fire Cat had 677 votes.
La Tour has served on the City Council since 2014. Turk will replace him at the beginning of the year.
Ward 4 covers most of the city west of Interstate 49 and parts of the University of Arkansas campus south of Wedington Drive.
Notable landmarks include the University Heights neighborhood, Pratt Place Inn, Bryce Davis Park, Holcomb Elementary School, Owl Creek School, Asbell Elementary School and the Boys & Girls Club.