Pick for election commission withdraws from PB city race

PINE BLUFF — A four-way race for a Ward 2 City Council seat in Pine Bluff became a three-way race last week with the withdrawal of one candidate.

George Stepps of Pine Bluff notified the Jefferson County clerk’s office Thursday afternoon that he was withdrawing from the race, after agreeing to be appointed to the job of election coordinator by County Judge Gerald Robinson once the March 3 primary election has concluded.

However, because electronic and printed ballots have already been prepared, Stepps’ name will still appear on the March ballot.

Stepps, 73, served on the City Council from January 2005 until December 2016. He filed in November to run for the Ward 2 position that is currently held by Win Trafford, who has announced that he will not seek reelection to the position. Left in the race are Lloyd Franklin Jr., Albert King Jr. and Steven Shaner.

The news that Stepps had been selected for the election coordinator job was met with some consternation by election commissioners Stuart “Stu” Soffer and Michael Adam, the two remaining commissioners after last week’s resignation of Ted Davis, the lone Democratic Party representative on the commission. Adam and Soffer said that while they were aware of the situation, no official notification had been made by the county judge.

King, who attended a meeting of the Election Commission on Thursday, told commissioners that he had been told that Stepps would not be on the ballot because he would be the election coordinator.

“Will there be a disclaimer or anything stating that these votes won’t count?” King asked.

“I read the law this morning,” Soffer replied. “The votes for Mr. Stepps must be counted. If there’s a runoff, he’s still on the ballot.

“If Mr. Stepps prevails,” he added, “there’s a vacancy in nomination and that is a problem of the county Democratic Committee. It has nothing to do with the Election Commission, per se. So to answer your question, he’s going to be on all of the ballots, and the votes will be counted.”

By law, if Stepps wins the election, a vacancy would be declared in the position. According to Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 29, Section 2, such a vacancy would have to be filled by the governor.

Adam said that because Stepps is on the ballot, he would likely not be eligible to serve as an election official until after the primary.

“As I understand it,” he said, “anybody that’s on the ballot cannot be an election official. And at this late date and time, George Stepps is on the ballot. We’ve got the media back, and the ballots have been printed. He will be on the ballot whether he withdraws from the race or not.”

Stepps is the second person Robinson has selected to serve as an election coordinator. In November, Robinson selected Herman Horace of Pine Bluff, former president of the Pine Bluff School Board, to serve in that capacity. Adam notified Robinson by letter that the commission would not seat Horace, saying that only the County Board of Election Commissioners is allowed to designate election officials.

Adam and Soffer said at the time that a coordinator wasn’t needed and that the commission was under no legal obligation to provide a coordinator with any duties.

Robinson said he does have the authority to make those hiring decisions.

“If we come to a pass and it’s a stalemate, if we come to a point where we have to go to court on some things, fine,” he said. “But you’re not going to dictate to me what I can do and what I can’t do.”

Robinson said that when he talked to Stepps about the position, both were aware that he would have to wait until after the election is settled before assuming the position.

“I’m not putting the cart before the horse,” he said. “I do recognize that there’s some things in the process that have to happen. Some of the comments being made by those commissioners are incorrect, as far as me overstepping my authority and those kinds of things. It is absolutely not correct that the judge does not have the authority to hire a coordinator.”

Robinson conceded, however, that the commission is not required to accept who he hires.

“That is true, but I don’t have to pay who they put in to do those duties,” he said. “So, we can come in at a stalemate. That’s fine with me. But I’m through with them trying to dictate that they are the ones who have the authority to hire a particular person. The law clearly says the judge has the authority to hire the coordinator.”

Stepps confirmed that he and Robinson had talked, that he had accepted the county judge’s offer, and that the primary election would have to be settled before he could begin. Asked why he accepted the offer, knowing that he would have to withdraw, Stepps said he had several considerations.

“I talked to my wife and she agreed,” he said. “Because my family wasn’t really in favor of me that much getting back out there into politics. But I know that once you’re in, you’re in. That’s not something you do and just get out. When the question came up about the coordinator’s position I thought I’d much rather do that.”

Even after the election is concluded, however, there is no guarantee that Stepps will be allowed to take the position. Asked if the commission will seat Stepps as election coordinator at an appropriate time, Adam was noncommittal.

“I think that’s something that’s going to happen later,” he said. “At this time I think not, because we’re in the middle of a critical election and he has no training. But as far as whether we will or will not, I think I’ll wait until I’ve been notified.”