FAYETTEVILLE -- John La Tour, a tax lawyer and longtime west Fayetteville resident, is running for City Council in Ward 4.
La Tour said Wednesday he'll bring a conservative voice to the council if he's elected to replace outgoing Rhonda Adams.
John La Tour
Fayetteville City Council Ward 4, Position 1
Age: 58
Residency: Fayetteville resident since 1979
Family: Wife, Elizabeth; nine children
Employment: Owner, John S. La Tour CPA; president, La Tour Law Firm
Education: Doctorate degree in law, Oak Brook College; master of business administration degree, University of Arkansas; bachelor of science degree in management and accounting, Louisiana State University
Military Experience: None
Political Experience: None
"We need more business people on the council," La Tour said from his fifth floor offices in the E.J. Ball building. "That's why I'm running."
La Tour advocated for fewer city regulations, particularly from the planning office.
"Do we have to have all of the government regulation?" he asked. "Can't we do it better with less interference?"
La Tour challenged the constitutionality of the city's sign ordinance in 2003. He sued Fayetteville for $10 million after city officials fined him for using a flashing electronic sign that displayed religious and political messages. The lawsuit resulted in changes to several sections of city code, but federal Judge Jimm Larry Hendren denied La Tour any monetary awards.
La Tour was also one of several City Council candidates who showed up at the City Administration Building on Tuesday to speak against a contentious Civil Rights Administration ordinance. The ordinance prohibits discrimination in housing and employment practices based on someone's sexual orientation and gender identity.
La Tour said the ordinance could lead to frivolous claims of discrimination from employees who are fired for just cause.
"As a businessman making a wise business decision, I can be criminally prosecuted because I fired the wrong person," he said. "We should not make it criminal for a businessman to make an everyday routine decision."
La Tour is a father of nine and a member of New Heights Church. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in the University Heights neighborhood west of Reynolds Razorback Stadium.
Mike Emis, a longtime friend, called La Tour a "bright," "rational" man.
"I think he'd be a breath of fresh air on the Fayetteville City Council," Emis said.
Ward 4 encompasses a wide swath of west Fayetteville, including several neighborhoods west of the University of Arkansas campus and most land west of Interstate 49.
La Tour faces six opponents in the Nov. 4 general election: Ray Boudreaux, Michael Collins, Craig Honchell, D'Andre Jones, Phillip McKnight and Robert Williams.
There are two ways to win a municipal race with more than two candidates under state law. In the simplest way, one candidate must get a majority of the votes cast. A candidate can also win with at least 40 percent of the votes, but only if he has 20 percent more votes than his closest opponent.
If neither condition is met, the two candidates with the most votes would likely participate in a run-off election, which would be Nov. 25.
NW News on 08/21/2014