FC voters put Williams, Bryant in runoff One incumbent councilman reelected, lawsuit filed in another race and possible runoff in third
Forrest City voters will once again be asked to go to the polls to choose between incumbent mayor Cedric Williams and former mayor Larry Bryant to lead the city.
Williams and Bryant, who faced one another in the runoff four years ago when Williams was elected, emerged Tuesday night with enough votes to place them in the runoff over five others seeking the position this year.
According to the unofficial totals, Williams received 600 votes, or 28.57%, while Bryant received 441 votes, or 21% of the total 2,121 votes cast in that race.
Evetta Whitby led the other candidates seeking the mayor’s position with 325 votes. Chris Oswalt received 292 votes, and 288 votes were cast for Christy Parkman Gross. Louise Fields received 118 votes, followed by Jason Evansingston, who received 35 votes.
The runoff will be held Dec. 6, with early voting starting on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
This morning, Williams thanked his supporters and those who voted for him.
“Our volunteers and workers have spent countless hours knocking on doors and making phone calls, and we have to continue doing that the next few weeks,” said Williams. “I am especially thankful for my wife, who does so much behind the scenes to help me. We are excited to try and finish the deal on Dec. 6.
“I am thankful to have been able to serve as mayor for the past four years and to be the leading vote getters going into the runoff. I ask for support from the other candidates who participated in this mayor’s race and congratulations to them on running great campaigns,” Williams continued. “We are excited to go to the polls on Dec. 6 to continue this journey of progress.”
Williams said the city has made “significant strides” during his four years in office, even during the pandemic.
“We are improving the quality of life for our citizens with our upgrades to Stuart Springs Park and the enhancements that were recently announced for Beech Grove Park. We’ll also be adding more bike trails at the multipurpose complex,” he said. “We’ve also been able to lower the property taxes for citizens of Forrest City, raise the wages for city employees to earn a living wage, and we’ve been able to lower crime in our area over the past two years.
“We’re very excited about our accomplishments, and it shows we have a plan in place to move our city forward, not only with the new construction you can see now with motels, a doctor’s clinic and things like that, but also with the renovation of the old Sanyo building. We’re hoping for some economic development announcements soon, and we’re excited about the process. We’re starting to see a lot of things come to fruition,” said Williams. “We really want the opportunity to continue with the progress we’ve been making.”
Bryant also thanked his supporters who helped him make the runoff.
“I really appreciate all of my supporters who put signs out all over town, knocked on doors and put out fliers. They talked to folks and told people about me while I couldn’t talk for myself when I was in the hospital recovering from surgery,” said Bryant. “I am running on my record. People know what I’ve done, what I will do and how I do it. It’s that plain and simple.
“The most important thing is saying thank you and for the other candidates running a clean race. I solicit help from any of the other candidates to help me in my efforts to win the mayor’s race,” added Bryant.
There were three city council races on Tuesday’s ballot, although one of those races is being challenged in court.
Incumbent councilman Ronald Williams was challenged in his reelection bid to the Ward 1, Pos. 1 seat by Jim Bailey. However, Bailey was notified in a letter dated Nov. 5 from St. Francis County Clerk Brandi McCoy that he was not currently a registered voter and not qualified to seek the position.
On Tuesday, Leo Humphrey and Lawrence Smith filed a civil lawsuit in St. Francis County Circuit Court against election commissioners, Bailey and Williams asking the court to rule Bailey as ineligible.
However, the ballots cast in this race during Tuesday’s election were counted, according to SFC Election Commission Chair Patti Long.
Those results showed Williams losing the race to Bailey. The unofficial totals show 238 votes were cast for Williams, with 253 being cast for Bailey.
The Ward 2, Pos. 1 seat on the council, being vacated by Evansingston, was sought by three candidates, including Cornescha Moore Wright, Melvin Tinsley and Carl Miller.
As of this morning, Wright was leading that race with 235 votes, or 50.87%. Tinsley received 129 votes, 27.92%, and Miller received 98 votes, 21.21%.
Long said the commission has to deal with about 15 provisional ballots that could force this race into a runoff.
Those who cast ballots that are considered provisional have until Monday to take identification to the county clerk’s office so the ballots can be counted, according to Long.
Incumbent Justin Reeves held on to the Ward 3, Pos. 1 seat, fending off a challenge from Nate Thomas. Reeves received 330 votes, and 280 votes were cast for Thomas.