1 of 2 races for city board in Fort Smith is quite close

FORT SMITH — Voters in Fort Smith cast ballots to elect two new members to the city’s seven-member Board of Directors on Tuesday.

With 12 of 14 precincts reporting, the unofficial results for Ward 3 director were: Mike Lorenz . . . . . . . . . . 3,986 Matt Garner. . . . . . . . . . . 3,138

With 11 of 13 precincts reporting, the unofficial results for Ward 4 director were: George Catsavis . . . . . . . 4,531 John Cooley . . . . . . . . . . . .4,462

All four ward positions were up for election this year, but only the Ward 3 and 4 races made it to the general election.

Keith Lau was elected to the Ward 1 seat by defeating two other candidates in the August primary. Andre Good was declared re-elected to his Ward 2 seat when no one else filed for the position.

In Ward 3, Lorenz said he believed that the city directors’ focus should be on the several projects that residents voted to fund in March when they approved reallocating a 1 percent sales tax.

Garner said he wanted to be the voice of the city’s younger generation on the board and said the directors’ efforts should be on economic growth, job creation and fiscal responsibility.

In Ward 4, Catsavis, who was elected to the board in 2008, said he represented the working Fort Smith taxpayers and would continue his policy of voting against any new taxes.

He said the city government had too many regulations and needed to be more businessfriendly to attract jobs to the area.

Cooley said his background as chief financial officer of a local company would be an asset on the board as he sought to ensure that the city spends its money effectively.

Economic development is the most important issue facing the city and it is the board’s job to make sure the city is positioned for success, Cooley said.