Bob Caudle Seeks Springdale City Council Seat

SPRINGDALE -- Bob Caudle will challenge an incumbent for a City Council seat this fall.

Caudle, 58, will face Jim Reed. Caudle and Reed were the only two candidates who filed for Ward 1, Position 1.

Caudle said he's lived in Springdale for 17 years and grew up in West Fork. He recalled traveling to Springdale to play baseball and football games while in school. He got to know many Springdale residents while playing sports, he said.

Springdale has changed a lot since he was a child, but the community atmosphere is still the same, he said. Caudle said he wants to give back to the community he's lived in and grew up around.

His priorities include increasing the city's reserve money, paying police officers and firefighters higher salaries as an incentive to stay in Springdale and making the city more visually appealing.

He explained his desire to make the city look better by telling a short story. He said he was walking down the sidewalk near Parsons Stadium one day when he saw a large weed growing from a sidewalk crack. He said it's important for the city to look nice with amenities such as the Razorback Greenway available.

"They're common sense things that have been overlooked," he said. "We don't want them to have to walk through weeds to get to the trail."

Caudle also said he worked as a full-time journalist in Springdale for 20 years and wrote about Springdale City Hall some of the time.

"I've been there for the good times, and I've been there for the bad," he said.

Rex Bailey, Springdale resident and owner of Bailey's Barber and Style Shop, said he's known Caudle for 20 years. They met each other while Bailey was an alderman and Caudle was writing about the City Council as a journalist.

Bailey said Caudle was fair in his writing and made sure to get both sides of every story. Caudle is also knowledgeable about the city because of his time spent reporting on local issues, he said.

Jack Clark, Springdale resident and owner of Ozark Press on 40th Street, said he's known Caudle for eight to 10 years. He thinks Caudle is capable of making good decisions and thinks he would do well as an alderman.

"I think Bob is kind of a go-getter," he said. Clark also said he doesn't think aldermen should stay on the City Council for too many terms.

This is Caudle's first time running for City Council and Reed's third time.

Ward 1 encompasses the northwest portion of Springdale. All of the area is north of Sunset Avenue, and most of it is west of Thompson Street.

Six candidates filed for four Springdale council seats as of Friday afternoon when filings closed, according to the Washington County Courthouse. The election is Nov. 4.