PINE BLUFF — The election season isn’t over yet.
After a long and contentious mayoral campaign, Pine Bluff voters will return to the polls starting Tuesday to begin voting in two remaining races - runoffs for Ward 1 alderman and treasurer.
Lloyd Holcomb Jr. will face off against Alfred Carroll for the Ward 1 seat, and Greg Gustek and Janice Roberts will vie for the treasurer’s position.
Certified results from the Nov. 6 general election were:
Ward 1 alderman: Holcomb. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,683 Carroll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,298 Milton Jenkins . . . . . . . . . . .749 Melanie Perkins. . . . . . . . . .309 Jean Painton . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
City treasurer: Roberts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,150 Gustek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,189 Lloyd Franklin Sr.. . . . . . 3,658
Early voting will be held at the Jefferson County Courthouse from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Nov. 26.
Election runoff day is Nov. 27.
Holcomb, 36, said he was “excited and honored to be in the runoff. I am happy that so many people had confidence in me that I was the candidate receiving the most votes. My adrenaline is still flowing, and I know that I can win this.”
If elected, Holcomb will replace his mother, Irene Holcomb, who has held the Ward 1 alderman position for the past 23 years.
“My mother has done an outstanding job for the first ward of this city,” Holcomb said. “It means a lot to continue the legacy - not only continue it, but also create my own. I really want to continue the work she has done.”
Holcomb is the pastor of the Barraque Street Missionary Baptist Church and is also a licensed funeral director.
If elected, Holcomb said, he would work to preventcrime. Also, he would work on encouraging more small businesses to seek guidance from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff’s Business Support Incubator.
In addition, he said, he would encourage more parental involvement in children’s educations.
Holcomb’s opponent criticized his lack of political experience.
Carroll, 54, has served on the Jefferson County Quorum Court for 14 years and is the current principal at Southwood Elementary School in the Pine Bluff School District. His justice of the peace seat expires Dec. 31.
“We are running on my experience, because we can’t criticize my opponent’s record, because he does not have one,” Carroll said. “I have a long history of service to this community. My opponent does not.”
If elected, Carroll said, he would propose creating an education committee made up of aldermen that would “keep the city abreast of what’s happening with education and interact with various learning institutions. We have no one who gives that any attention.”
Carroll said the city needs to “collaborate with schools to see how we can help them. There is just a need for better leadership from the city in terms of education.”
The state Department of Education took control of the Dollarway School District, which is in Pine Bluff, earlier this year.
Three schools in the Dollarway district and five schools in the Pine Bluff School District are listed as “priority schools,” meaning they are among the lowest-achieving 5 percent of schools in the state based on state exam results for 2009-11, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.
Carroll also said he would work closely with the county government, because “one cannot prosper without the other. We must work together on economic development.”
In the city treasurer’s race, Janice Roberts, 52, said she was happy to have led voting in the Nov. 6 race and is confident heading into therunoff.
Roberts served on the Pine Bluff City Council for 25 years and said “I appreciate the citizens of Pine Bluff for knowing that they have a candidate who has served them before with integrity and honor, and I will do the same in the city treasurer’s position.”
Roberts said that she is eager to work with mayorelect Debe Hollingsworth, who defeated incumbentMayor Carl Redus Jr. and seven other candidates Nov. 6.
During that mayoral campaign, it was unclear if there would be an election, because Redus had sued, saying a drop in Pine Bluff ’s population would require the city to reset its mayoral election date. But a judge disagreed and the election continued.
“I think we are all ready to move Pine Bluff forward,” Roberts said. “The citizens have made a change and are looking to have a different landscape here. I certainly believe that they want me to be a part of that landscape. We are starting anew.”
Gustek, 58, said he “feels good” about his chances in the runoff race.
“I have had a lot of good response,” he said. “Very good.”
Gustek served as city treasurer from 1998-2008 and is the director of the Pine Bluff Convention and Visitors Bureau. He also serves as the executive director of the Pine Bluff Festival Association.
In a news release issued by Gustek when he announced his candidacy, Gustek said that he wants to “promote this city in a positive way every day with my positions, and I am its number one advocate. We must all defend our city from the unfair negativity that it receives.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 11/19/2012