Candidate receives illegal contribution

Evans to return money to church

SPRINGDALE — A City Council incumbent seeking reelection received a $200 campaign donation from an organization prohibited by law from giving it.

Ward 2, Position 2 incumbent Rick Evans did nothing wrong by accepting the money, and the campaign will return it, J.R. Davis, a spokesman for Evans, said Friday.

Evans’ contribution and expenditure report filed with the Washington County clerk’s office shows the Red Dixon Evangelistic Association gave $200 to his reelection campaign. C.L. “Red” Dixon of Springdale is a founding pastor of Christian Life Cathedral in Fayetteville and the principal officer of the tax-exempt ministry.

A message left at the Fayetteville church for the Dixon organization wasn’t returned Friday.

The Internal Revenue Service says organizations exempt from income tax as nonprofit groups are prohibited from participating in political campaigns. Violators risk losing their tax exempt status. The IRS lists churches among those prohibited from engaging in political activity.

The state allows candidates to accept donations from charities, Graham Sloan, director of the Arkansas Ethics Commission, said Thursday.

Local activist Irvin Camacho

filed a defamation lawsuit against Evans on Thursday. The lawsuit says flyers sent by the Evans’ campaign were intended to discredit Camacho and candidates he supports in the city council races. A statement from Evans called the lawsuit a “political stunt.”

Campaign contribution and expenditure reports were due Tuesday for the period ending Oct. 24. Candidates who spent or raised less than $500 weren’t required to file. The election is Tuesday.

Evans’ financial report says he received $4,075 in contributions for his campaign. A $ 5,000 personal loan added to his coffers. He had spent $8,068 on the campaign, including $5,000 for consulting fees with the Gilmore Strategy Group in Little Rock and $2,500 for direct mailing. Davis, Evans’ spokesman, works for Gilmore, which was hired to run the campaign.

Kevin Flores, the man challenging Evans for his council seat, recorded the largest contributions with $38,585 raised, to which he added a personal loan of $1,000. The campaign spent $ 31,067. The restrictions placed on social gatherings because of the covid- 19 pandemic meant he had to campaign differently, Flores said, making advertising the biggest expense in his campaign.

Candidates had nearly 40,000 households to reach because council members are elected at- large in the city, Flores said. The Aug. 21 annexation of Bethel Heights spurred another round of advertising to reach those new Springdale voters, he said.

The financial report shows many donations by individuals out of state. Flores said these are people he has known for many years, but they have moved away from Springdale.

In the race for the Ward 1, Position 2, Mayra Carrillo reported raising $5,847. She spent $3,893, including $1,685 for yard signs. Her biggest contributor was Eddy Vega with $1,000.

Randall Harriman, Carrillo’s opponent, collected $8,919 and spent $4,905. Harriman received $1,000 from ARPAC, an Arkansas Realtors political action committee; $200 from the Arkansas First political action committee; $200 from Tyson Foods Arkansas political action committee; and $1,000 from Conservative Arkansas political action committee.

In the Ward 2, Position 2 contest, incumbent Jeff Watson reported $1,000 in donations and no expenditures. Watson received the $1,000 from ARPAC. Tyler Smalling, the other Ward 2 candidate, didn’t file a report.

In Ward 4, Position 2, Mark Fougerousse reported loaning $4,100 to his campaign and collecting $7,248 in donations. He spent $7,741. Contributions included $1,000 from ARPAC and $ 200 from the Tyson Foods Arkansas political action committee. All his expenditures involved advertising.

Derek Van Voast, the other contender for the Ward 4 seat, reported loaning his campaign $3,100 and receiving $2,532 in donations. He spent $4,061, most of it on advertising.