Filing period for board nears

As of Wednesday, five people had picked up election paperwork ahead of the July 24 opening of the filing period for the three city director positions up for election in November, the city clerk’s office said.

District 6 Director Randy Fale won’t be filing, telling the Hot Springs Board of Directors Tuesday night that he’s not standing for election in the fall.

“I will not be seeking a third term,” said Fale, who has represented east Hot Springs since January 2013. “The reason I’m stating it tonight is to give other constituents of mine an opportunity to pick up packets and file for District 6.”

None of the five who picked up paperwork were incumbents.

Renee Westfall, who lost to Fale in 2016, picked up a packet for District 6, the city clerk’s office said. James Kendall, Michael Seth Louton and Marcia Dobbs-Smith picked up packets for the District 3 seat Becca Clark has held since 2012.

Mark Toth received a packet for the District 1 seat Erin Holliday was appointed to last year. Holliday announced in May that she’s running for the 2021-22 board. The panel appointed her in May 2019 to serve the remainder of Suzanne Davidson’s second term.

The filing period closes Aug. 14. Registered voters residing for at least 30 days in the district they seek to represent and who are 21 or older are eligible to file. Those interested in running can get a packet by contacting the city clerk’s office at 321-6805.

Petitions for nomination are required to include the signatures of 50 registered city voters. Candidates are encouraged to collect 75 to 100 signatures in the event some are disqualified during the certification process. They are also required to file statements of financial interest.

City director is an unpaid position with duties that include approving the city’s more than $100 million budget, setting its policies and approving contracts of $60,000 or more.

Fale told the board he ran for office to help solve water supply issues the city has cited in support of the policy limiting utility connections and extensions outside the city. The 23 million-gallon average day allocation the city secured from Lake Ouachita in 2017 is expected to come online in the next few years. Bond proceeds of $106 million were deposited earlier this week in a construction fund for the water supply project’s infrastructure.

Fale encouraged his successor to be collaborative.

“All of us come to the board with a purpose, but you soon find out no matter what your goal is it requires the consensus of seven directors,” Fale said. “You’re but one, and that needs to be remembered all the time. To a wonderful board now and in the past, I want to thank you for your support of all the initiatives that we’ve had for the city. But I’m going to turn that over for somebody else to do Jan. 1.”

Mayor Pat McCabe thanked Fale for his eight years of service.

“You’ve done very well,” he said. “You’ve always provided great counsel and advice and you’ll be missed. That’s not being dismissive of the individual who comes behind you, but we’ve learned to work with you and look to you for your wisdom, so thank you very much.”