Smith To Challenge For Ward 4 Seat

— A move last fall from northwest to southeast Rogers spurred Carrie Perrien Smith to get involved with her community.

Her commute showed her empty storefronts along Eighth Street, a change from when she first moved to Rogers in 1993.

Carrie Perrien Smith
Carrie Perrien Smith

PROFILE

Rogers Ward 4

Name: Carrie Perrien Smith

Age: 47

Residency: Southeast Rogers

Family: Husband Tom Smith; a daughter and a grandson live in Fayetteville

Employment: President of Soar with Eagles which provides branding and marketing services to motivational speakers

Education: Master’s in business administration, John Brown University; organizational management, John Brown University.

“I hadn’t realized it was declining,” Smith said.

In August she began asking herself what she could do.

On Monday, Smith updated her LinkedIn account to note her candidacy for City Council. Smith said her purpose in running would be to focus on growing small business in Rogers and more outbound communication, using social media or even an email newsletter to highlight a business, city employee, volunteer opportunity or special resident. Better communication would encourage involvement and leadership, Smith said.

“There’s just so many people who think the city just takes care of itself,” Smith said. “It’s all about engaging citizens.”

Smith intends to file for position one in Ward 4, a seat held by Bob Goodwin. She has been building information on her blog and Facebook page since April. The position is for two years.

Council seats in Rogers are converting to four-year terms because the city has grown to more than 50,000. At a November council meeting a coin toss decided position one seats will be for two years in this election cycle, but in 2014 those seats will become four-year terms.

Filing for the council opens July 27, according to Secretary of State office website. The election is Nov. 6.

Goodwin said Tuesday he hasn’t made a decision on whether he will run or not.

“I just love the old city and I hate to step out,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin has been serving on Rogers city committees since 1967 and joined the council in 1984. Goodwin moved to the Northwest Arkansas in 1952. He said he tries to be a voice for seniors on the council.

“I feel like we represent the people,” Goodwin said.

Betsy Reithemeyer, Ward 3 councilwoman, also lives in Ward 4 and could file for the seat. Reithemeyer wasn’t available for comment Tuesday.

While she hasn’t held elected office before, Smith said she’s demonstrated her ability to connect people through volunteering with a business mentoring program and coordinate events in the Rogers and the Bentonville area. She says she’s enthusiastic for the possibility of working within the city system.

“If they had an office where all you could do was be a cheerleader for Rogers that’s what I’d run for,” she said.

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