Runoff Likely To Draw Few

Many Residents Did Not Vote For Any Council Candidate

— Voter turnout for the City Council runoff election will be key to winning, candidates said.

Early voting begins today, and because of the Thanksgiving holiday, there will only be three days of early voting. Residents can vote early today, Wednesday and Monday. County offices will be closed Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving. The runoff is Nov. 27.

Keith
Keith

Keith Jackson and Andrew Hatfield received the most votes in the three-man race for the Ward 3, Position 2 seat. Jackson received the most votes with 5,573, and Hatfield polled 4,931 votes. The third candidate was Mauricio Herrera, who captured 3,573 votes.

Andrew Hatfield
Andrew Hatfield

The runoff is necessary because neither Hatfield nor Jackson received a plurality of the votes. Candidates seeking municipal officer must receive at least 40 percent of the votes cast and 20 percent more than the second place candidate.

Carlos Chicas
Carlos Chicas

There is no incumbent running for the Ward 3 position. Betsy Reithemeyer represents that ward, but a change in boundary lines moved her to Ward 4, where she is running unopposed for Position 2.

Bob Goodwin
Bob Goodwin
Schumaker
Schumaker
Breland
Breland

In the four-person race for the Ward 4, Position 1 seat, incumbent Bob Goodwin received 4,988 votes with Carlos Chicas in second with 3,675 votes. Rachel Cox tallied 3,386 and Carrie Smith won 2,286 votes.

Cox said she would support Goodwin in the runoff.

Many Rogers residents didn’t vote for any council candidate, although they voted in other races, according to totals from the Benton County Clerk’s office. In the Ward 3, Position 2 contest, 3,868 voters did not cast a ballot. In the Ward 4, Position 1 race, 3,601 voters didn’t cast a ballot.

“It concerns me a little,” Goodwin said Monday about the number of people who didn’t vote. “I guess people didn’t think the council race was important.”

Voter turnout for a runoff election is traditionally small. The candidates said they would be pleased if 1,500 residents voted in the runoff.

“I feel good about the election. I think I will win,” Goodwin said. “I hope my supporters turn out. I would like to have one more term on the council.”

Goodwin has been on the council for 27 years.

Chicas said he is excited about the runoff election, and likes his chances of winning.

“I discovered while I was campaigning that many people don’t know what the role of aldermen is. They don’t know how important the City Council is in their life,” Chicas said.

However, Chicas said, “it’s going to be hard to get people out to vote because many people aren’t thinking about the election, they are thinking about the holiday.”

Jackson said he is pleased to be in the runoff, and will continue to do what he did in the general election.

“This is all new to me,” Jackson said. “I’ve never run for office before. I just talked to people before the election and tried to meet as many people as I could. I guess I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing.”

As former police chief, Jackson said he reached out to the police and fire departments for support.

“I don’t know if they supported me or not, but I do know I want to be on the council, I want to serve this community. My background has prepared me for this and I think I’m qualified,” Jackson said.

Hatfield said he is working hard to get his supporters to the polls.

“I’ll be using my family and friends to make phone calls and urge people to vote during the runoff, but I know it won’t be easy,” Hatfield said. “It going to be a challenge, but we are going to do the best we can to win this election. It comes down to getting your supporters to the polls.”

There is also a runoff in Lowell for the Ward 4, Position 2 position on council. Guy Schumaker received 647 votes, with Ronnie Breland trailing by 20 votes at 627. Robert Benson finished third with 535 votes. Incumbent Paula Allred did not run for re-election.

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