Chuck Leffler

Chuck Leffler and his wife Linda moved to Bella Vista from Los Angeles in 2007. • “Being the in-between of the people and the mayor,” Leffler said. A council member, he said, is an intermediary for the city and its citizens, and, as such, needs to listen to constituents.

“You’ve got to bring it up and make people aware of what’s going on,” he said.

“I know my job would be working with the city and working to improve our reputation,” he said.

• may end up stopping just to check a sign and make sure they’ve found the right street, which could be dangerous.

Another issue, he said, is the changing demographics — particularly the recent influx of younger families drawn by more-affordable homes.

“There’s more crime on the east side than there used to be,” Leffler said.

“We’re a retirement community,” he said. “Other people think differently. We moved here because it was a retirement community.”

Additionally, he said, the lack of business also equates to a lack of revenue for the city, which in turn means the population needs to be taxed.

“There’s nothing to draw people,” he said. “We can’t even get a restaurant out here — a decent restaurant.” • “The key word,” Leffler said, “is consistent in what they’re doing.”

Whatever rules get put in place, he said, need to be followed closely.

A resident that lives near him, he said, built a very large garage, but the structure is consistent with the home’s architecture and it looks nice. “It’s not an eyesore,” he said. “If you’re retired and have the money to buy an RV,” he said, “you want to be able to put it on your property.”