Banker weighs run for mayor in ’18 elections

Scott plans public meetings

A Little Rock banker announced Tuesday that he is considering running for the Little Rock mayor position in next year’s election.

Frank Scott, Jr., 33, is vice president of First Security Bank. He’s also the associate pastor at Greater Second Baptist Church. Scott is the second potential challenger for incumbent Mayor Mark Stodola.

State Rep. Warwick Sabin announced his exploration of mayor candidacy in July. Stodola said he intends to seek re-election.

Little Rock’s mayor does not vote on matters before the city’s Board of Directors except to break a tie, but does hold veto power. The full-time job pays $160,000 per year.

Candidates cannot formally file for the November 2018 municipal election — in which six of 10 city director seats will also be up for grabs — until August 2018.

In the meantime, both Sabin and Scott have been raising money for their campaign exploratory committees.

An ethics complaint has accused Sabin of doing that to sidestep a city ordinance that says candidates cannot accept campaign funding until June 2018. That complaint is being reviewed by City Attorney Tom Carpenter.

Carpenter said he expects to issue an opinion this week on whether the city’s ordinance can be more stringent than state law, which allows exploratory committees for city positions.

Scott is a Little Rock native. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Earlier this year he com- pleted a term on the Arkansas State Highway Commission. He previously served as the deputy policy director and later the director of intergovernmental affairs for Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe.

Scott plans to host meetings with the public called “Frank Discussions” to “develop common-sense solutions and new approaches to overcoming obstacles to public safety, improving public school systems and growing Little Rock’s economy,” a campaign announcement said.

In an announcement video on his website, frankscottjr. com, Scott said Little Rock is at a crossroads and needs new direction.

“I want to work with the people of Little Rock to define this vision together,” he said in the video. “Most people didn’t believe a kid from southwest Little Rock would grow up to do these things, and many may not believe that same kid can become mayor of the state’s largest city. But anything is possible if we marry vision and purpose to our potential.”