Incumbent LR city directors prevail

After months of debate, voters have decided to keep the Little Rock Board of Directors together for another couple of years.

All four incumbents up for re-election overcame their challengers.

Ward 6 incumbent Doris Wright, 59, one of four candidates who held on to their seats on Tuesday night, said the results sent an important message.

“We have heard a lot of noise, but this shows that our constituents have confidence in us,” Wright said. “People are seeing real change in their quality of life and they are approving our actions.”

The board staying intact is an advantage, Wright said.

“There is a learning curve when it comes to government,” Wright said. “People think they know government, but then you learn the differences between city and state government. Then you got to deal with different personalities and learn the pace of government. That is why a four-year term is important. It takes almost three years to get something started and you just don’t want to leave it.”

Ward 2 incumbent Ken Richardson said he doesn’t know if keeping the board the same is beneficial or not.

“I don’t know if the community is making a collective statement or just voting for the people they know in their ward,” Richardson said. “Also all the races had multiple opponents splitting the votes.”

Richardson said hopefully the board can come together and avoid “ward politics.”

“We all try to get the best for our ward and we might clash on things, but hopefully we work collectively for Little Rock,” Richardson said. WARD 1

With all precincts reporting, unofficial returns were: Erma Hendrix . . . . . . . . . 2,426 Danny Lewis . . . . . . . . . . . 930 Ronnie Jackson . . . . . . . . . 780 Robert Webb . . . . . . . . . . . . 779 Herbert Broadway . . . . . . . 671 Curtis Johnson III . . . . . . . 548 Bryan Frazier . . . . . . . . . . . 391 Ted Adkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382 Greg Henderson . . . . . . . . . 362

The incumbent, Hendrix, 88, has served on the city board since 2007. She was the only woman in the race and she has said she hoped it would have an impact on voters.

Hendrix could not be reached for comment. At a recent political forum, she said she looked forward to continuing her work on the board “without fear of any one person.”

Hendrix has said that blight, vacant lots and rental inspection are issues in the ward. The city lags behind in enforcing its current rental inspection ordinance, which calls for all rental housing to be inspected for code compliance once every two years.

Nine people ran in Ward 1, the largest field of candidates on Little Rock’s ballot.

Adkins, 52, retired from the Little Rock Police Department after 33 years in June. He said that experience gives him unique knowledge of the city’s inner workings and that Little Rock needs to get “back to the basics.”

La’ Changes restaurant and lounge owner Herbert Broadway, 60, pointed out his experience as a business owner. Doing business in the ward since the 1980s gave him experience with rental inspection issues and problem-solving, he said.

Webb, 49, a contractor who wanted to address human capital — such as employment and education — is concerned about economic development issues in the ward.

Frazier, 42, owner of Capitol View Studio and an advisory board member for the Salvation Army, works with veterans and the homeless. He wanted to change the city’s mindset to an urban one rather than a suburban one.

Henderson, 35, is the publisher of Rock City Eats. He said he wanted to focus on building coalitions to reach the best solutions and again make Little Rock a “beacon of hope” for people across the state.

Jackson, 55, is president of the East Little Rock Neighborhood Association. He recently said his experience working in the community could help him reinvigorate the ward’s neighborhood associations and drive change.

Johnson, 50, the executive director of operations for the Pulaski County Special School District, had said he had experience revitalizing the area around Arkansas Baptist College and intended to represent everyone in the ward.

Lewis, 52, is a real estate broker, an associate pastor and chairman of the Capitol Zoning District Commission’s advisory committee. He ran his campaign under a banner of unification, saying Ward 1 needed someone with new ideas who would work well with others.

Little Rock’s first ward covers the eastern part of the city as well as downtown, the River Market area, the South Main neighborhood and the neighborhood around Central High School.

WARD 2

With all precincts reporting, unofficial returns were: Richardson . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,971 Valerie Tatum . . . . . . . . . 1,281 Shalonda Michelle . . . . . . 1,131 Rohn Muse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

Richardson, 52, who has been the Ward 2 representative since 2007, said he hopes to continue his community-building and youth intervention work.

“I am glad the constituents gave me the opportunity to continue to improve human capital and infrastructure in our ward,” Richardson said. “I want to fix the infrastructure and hire the unemployed in our ward to help fix it.”

He also said improving youth programs is a top priority for him.

Ward 2 has more than 100 vacant structures, unsafe structures or both, the second-highest of the city’s seven wards, according to an August report from City Manager Bruce Moore’s office.

Vacant lots and unsafe rental properties were among the topics the Ward 2 candidates discussed throughout the campaign.

Muse, 65, said he wanted to run because he had the right knowledge and experience, as well as a commitment to neighborhoods. Muse served six years on the city Planning Commission and founded the Forest Hills Neighborhood Association. He is a part-time social sciences instructor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Michelle, 39, said she was running because she understood the area. She said she wanted to beautify the ward, increase police-community engagement and start a food co-op.

Tatum, 54, founded Covenant Keepers Charter School in southwest Little Rock. She said she chose to run because she felt she could make a greater impact as a city director and that she wanted to take a data-driven approach to city issues.

Ward 2 includes parts of central and southwest Little Rock.

WARD 6

With all precincts reporting, unofficial returns were: Wright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,024 Sandy Becker . . . . . . . . . . 1,849 Vicki Hatter . . . . . . . . . . . 1,142 Russ Racop . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689

Wright, 59, has served on the Little Rock board since 2007, and making her ward an age-friendly community is one of her top priorities.

“I want a dedicated facility for people over 50 years and older,” Wright said. “Little Rock is the only city I can find that doesn’t have a commission on aging. If there one thing that is certain in this world is that you are going to get older.”

She also pointed out her work in the ward and said she hopes to keep the momentum going, emphasizing the completion of the West Central Community Center and the expansion of its after-school programs.

Becker, 58, manages the Arkansas Teachers Federal Credit Union. He has also been a city department head for North Little Rock. He said his focus if elected would have been to create partnerships.

Hatter, 39, a state Department of Human Services employee, has a history of community activism and being vocal about hurdles the Little Rock School District faces. She said if she was elected she wanted to work across governmental lines to address infrastructure, the economy, youth engagement, historic preservation and rental inspection.

Racop, 59, runs a blog about Little Rock’s government and police force. Some posts call out city directors, including Wright.

Ward 6 is defined as west-central Little Rock. It encompasses neighborhoods east of Woodlands Trail to University Avenue and south of Markham Street, Mara Lynn Drive and Kanis Road to Colonel Glenn Road. WARD 7

With all precincts reporting, unofficial returns were: B.J. Wyrick . . . . . . . . . . . 4,809 Edmond Davis . . . . . . . . . . 1,712 Robert Williams . . . . . . . 1,654

Wyrick, 69, has served on the board since 1994. She couldn’t be reached for comment, but she previously said she retired from her job with the state in October 2017 and can now spend more time addressing residents’ concerns.

She said she wants to address concerns in the ward regarding upcoming infrastructure projects, as well as plans for old school buildings and the new Southwest High School.

Davis, 42, has been a professor for the past 15 years and is also a small-business owner. He said he wanted to educate residents on “the inner workings and hidden mechanisms” of city government and to address a lack of healthy food options.

Williams, 52, is a minister and president of the Westwood Neighborhood Association, which serves an area also known as Western Hills, in 2006. He said if elected he would have fostered cooperation between the city and neighborhoods and establish more community centers, which he said would address public safety.

Ward 7 is in southwest Little Rock. It covers neighborhoods south of Colonel Glenn Road to County Line Road, and west of Geyer Springs Road to Alexander Road. It includes the Otter Creek area.

Members of the city boards serve four-year terms and are paid $18,000 annually.