Voice of experience

Council makes wise selection in replacement

It certainly can be argued that the Springdale City Council sidestepped an opportunity to embrace diversity with its selection of a resident to fill the seat vacated in February when Colby Fulfer stepped down.

Last week, council members voted unanimously to pick Jim Reed to fill the unexpired term.

Reed was among seven residents of Ward 1 who submitted their names and qualifications for the

City Council’s consideration.

Among the applicants were three women, two Latinos and an AfricanAmerican who said she spoke fluent Spanish. Reed was a safe pick, but not necessarily for the reasons some folks supposed.

“In my opinion, Springdale continues having a difficult time putting words to action,” said Margarita Solorzano, executive director of the Hispanic Women’s Organization of Arkansas. “Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are not materializing when the idea comes to the test.

The city’s population is certainly diverse, with about half identified as white only; 36 percent Latino; almost 7 percent Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders (a large population of Marshal Islanders lives there); and a little more than 2 percent black or African-American.

The City Council doesn’t look like that at all, so it’s easy to see how a vacancy would be seen as an opportunity to make the city’s governing body take on, even slightly, some of the characteristics of the people it represents.

If that was all anyone took into account, we’d suggest the City Council might deserve some of the criticism. But wait, there’s more. Fulfer’s term continues only to the end of December. That’s very little time for any newbie to figure out much of anything. Reed previously served 12 years on the City Council, choosing to step down in 2018. There’s not much of a learning curve for him, giving Springdale more bang for the buck for the next eight months.

Sealing the deal was Reed’s commitment not to seek election in November. Several of the other applicants plan to run for the seat in the election. Picking any of them could have been seen as the City Council trying to give someone an electoral advantage.

With these limitations, it really makes perfect sense to put experience back on the City Council, then let the voters decide in November who will get a chance to represent the ward for the next four years.

It ultimately will be up to Springdale’s voters to make the City Council look like Springdale, as it should be.