BENTONVILLE — Long lines and a lack of paper ballots at many polling places, along with confusion over wrong ballots led to a muddied scene in races for City Council late Tuesday night.
Partial early voting results showed Mary Baggett, Chris Sooter, Leah Williams, Bill Burckart and Burton Head with leads in their races in Wards 1, 3 and 4.
Three council members had no opposition. The new council will be sworn in in January.
There was confusion in the council races as voters received the wrong ballots at the First Assembly of God Church in Bentonville until midday Tuesday, said Kim Dennison, Benton County election coordinator.
Dennison said volunteer poll workers were confused on which ballot to give voters. She said about 400 voters could have received the wrong ballot before the error was fixed.
Unofficial totals had incumbent Baggett with 4,016 votes to Stephanie Orman’s 3,260 votes for the Ward 1, Position 1 seat. Baggett has served on the council since 2000 and also sat on the council for a two-year term starting in 1972. Orman is an in-house marketing manager for several local businesses.
Incumbent Sooter had 5,038 votes to Joey Williams’ 2,070 votes in Ward 1, Position 2.
Sooter has served on the City Council since 2002. Sooter is executive vice president of finance and marketing for Member Services and Williams works for Walmart.
Ward 1 covers the section of Bentonville north of Central Avenue and east of Northwest A Street. It extends north to McNelly Road in Bella Vista.
Newcomer Leah Williams had 3,818 votes to incumbent Eddie Austin’s 3,006 votes in Ward 3, Position 1. Williams is a compliance manager for Walmart. Austin was first elected the council 25 years ago.
Incumbent Burckart had 3,969 votes to James Smith’s 3,049 votes in Ward 3, Position 2.
Burckart, owner of Burckart Construction, has served on the council since 2009. Smith served on the City Council for around eight months in 2007 before resigning to take a job in Houston. He moved back to Bentonville in 2010 and is a commercial loan manager at Great Southern Bank in Rogers.
Ward 3 covers the section of Bentonville west of Southwest A Street and south of Central Avenue and Arkansas 72.
Burton Head had 3,527 votes to Octavio Sanchez’s 3,512 votes in Ward 4, Position 1.
Head served on the Benton County Quorum Court from 1971-76 and worked for the city’s Road Department for eight years. Sanchez is a database administrator for Walmart.
Ward 4 covers an area east of Southwest A Street and south of Central Avenue to Rogers.
Aldermen must live in the ward they represent, but city residents can cast votes in all races. The city is divided into four quadrants, with each of the four wards having two positions.