Expect the unexpected with new Arkadelphia mayor
Expect the unexpected with new Arkadelphia mayor
It’s hard to tell which part of Arkadelphia Mayor Scott Byrd’s multifaceted life is the most intriguing, as he doesn’t quite fit the stereotypical view of any of them. And he rather likes it that way, he said.
“I always try to say and do the best thing for the city,” Byrd said. “And when you don’t know what that is, you just have to reach down in your gut and go with what you truly feel is best, based on your life experiences, your sense of responsibility, your sense of honor.
“I am a very simple person. My views are very simplistic. I tend to reflect a lot and think about things a lot.”
Part of what makes Byrd stand out is his appearance, and while long hair, tattoos and a penchant for classic Harleys aren’t the most countercultural things these days, they’re still not something one often sees in a city’s chief executive, either. But Byrd also breaks the mold in ways beyond appearances.
When Arkadelphia Mayor James Calhoun retired midterm for health reasons last year, many people might have seen the mayor’s spot as a stepping stone to other offices. Byrd said he has no such aspirations. In fact, he said, he was likely to have stepped down from the board entirely in 2020, at the end of his third term.
“I once told Gary [Brinkley, Arkadelphia city manager], ‘I’m fixin’ to be term-limited out,’” Byrd said. “He said, ‘We don’t have term limits.’ I said, ‘I have term limits. This is my third term. I’m done.’”
However, when Calhoun’s spot came open, Byrd said, he agreed to put his name in the hat because of his experience as assistant mayor and because the term entailed only two additional years instead of a full four-year hitch.
“I’m not interested in being mayor for 15 years, but I was open to finishing out this term,” he said. “I talked to a couple other people about it, and they encouraged me to do it.”
Byrd, 57, said his reluctance to remain in office had nothing to do with the job of governing. In fact, that’s something he’s embraced during his time on the city’s Board of Directors — and before that, as a member of Arkadelphia’s Parks and Recreation committee — because it gives him a chance to work for the betterment of his community.
“This is a fantastic town. I love this town,” he said. “If you’re from a small town, you understand what I mean. Everybody knows everybody. I love it.”
Byrd first came to the city he now calls home in fall 1980 as a freshman at Ouachita Baptist University, which he attended on an ROTC scholarship. Four years later, he graduated with a commission as a second lieutenant in the Army, following in his father’s footsteps.
From there, he went to the University of Central Arkansas in Conway to work on a master’s degree, which he did until he got into dental school at the Louisiana State University School of Dentistry in New Orleans. He graduated there in 1989 and began a hitch in the Army that took him to Germany for three years and stateside for four.
“I spent the last two years in the military looking for the right practice, and this was the one that found me,” he said of what brought him back to Arkadelphia. “The guy I bought the practice from, Tommy Roebuck, had a military background. We both had very similar practice philosophies, which were basically to take care of people, not checkbooks.”
Also while in the service, Byrd bought his first Harley-Davidson motorcycle, scratching an itch that went all the way back to his childhood, he said.
“I bought my first one in ’93 through the PX. Loved it. I was just immediately in love,” he said. “Rode it for about six months and then traded it for a bigger bike because I was doing more road trips than I thought I would.”
Byrd’s Harley obsession continues to this day, and his bikes crowd the small apartment and garage space he keeps, attached to his dental practice. He said he doesn’t know how many bikes he actually has, but he’s got half a dozen stories about each of them. So do the people who know him best, such as Tracy Rider, office manager for the dental practice, who’s worked for Byrd for 15 years. One of her favorite Byrd tales is of her wedding day.
“When I started here, I had just gotten a divorce. I had two little boys, and I had been dating the guy I’m married to now,” she said. “Dr. Byrd just kind of took me in as his kid.
“Now he begs everyone who comes in, ‘Can I sing at your wedding? Can I light the candles?’ and everyone says no. So I thought, even better, I’m going to let you give me away at my wedding. We were getting married out at the lake, and he has that fancy silver bike. We rode up on his bike, he escorted me up there on his motorcycle, and my boys escorted me down the aisle. It was awesome.”
Motorcycles have also informed his actions in the governing arena, kept him adaptable and taught him how to handle complicated problems, Byrd said.
“While you’re out there riding these vintage bikes, you’re cruising down the road happy as a lark one minute, next thing, BAM! and next thing you know, you’re coasting to the side of the road,” he said. “Then it’s like, what do I have to do to make one more mile? At the end of that mile, I’ll figure out what I’ve got to do to make one more mile.”
“When you start looking at it that way and breaking things down, it’s kind of like, ‘Don’t try to eat the elephant at one time. Let’s get the priorities straight first.’”
“Mayor Byrd is a leader and a pleasure to work with and for,” said Gary Brinkley, city manager. “He has a passion to see everyone have access to Town Hall and that they are treated fairly. He sees what Arkadelphia can become and works hard to see that we are laying the groundwork to reach our full potential.”
Part of that groundwork is coming about now as a result of a recent sales-tax ballot measure that succeeded at the polls to address the city’s infrastructure. It is an issue that goes right to the heart of Byrd’s unique ability to shelve personal opinion in favor of the greater good.
“I hate taxes. I’m registered as a Republican, and while I’m not dyed-in-the-wool anything, I do not like taxes,” he said. “However, if that tax did not pass, this town was not going to go anywhere. So that made it the best thing in the world for this town. So many things are going to happen because of this.”
“We’re already seeing it start to turn around. I had somebody come in the other day and say, ‘Hey, what does the city use to clean street signs with? I noticed the signs in front of my house were clean. I can see them again.’ I said, ‘You don’t clean street signs. You put new ones up. That’s your tax money at work.’”
I am a very simple person. My views are very simplistic. I tend to reflect a lot and think about things a lot.” Scott Byrd ARKADELPHIA MAYOR