La Tour, Kinion Victorious In Fayetteville City Council Races

Phaneuf, Gray Headed To Nov. 25 Runoff Election

Paul Phaneuf
Paul Phaneuf

FAYETTEVILLE -- The City Council will have at least one new member come January, according to final but unofficial results in Tuesday's general election.

John La Tour, 58, a certified public accountant who has rallied for a hands-off approach to government this election season, won a plurality of votes in a crowded race for outgoing Alderwoman Rhonda Adams' Ward 4 seat, according to the Washington County Election Commission.

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Go to nwavote.com for final but unofficial election results from the Washington County Election Commission.

"People want conservative voices on the City Council," La Tour said about 1 a.m. Wednesday.

"We want less government in our lives and respect for property rights and ... the market freedom to bring new businesses into Fayetteville," he added.

With all precincts reporting, La Tour received 2,006 votes (43 percent) to Ray Boudreaux's 963 (20 percent), D'Andre Jones' 672 (14 percent), Phillip McKnight's 447 (10 percent), Craig Honchell's 376 (8 percent) and Robert Williams' 240 (5 percent).

That's enough to win the Ward 4 race outright.

Municipal candidates must earn at least 50 percent of votes cast or 40 percent of votes cast with 20 percent more than the second-place candidate. Otherwise, the top two candidates head to a Nov. 25 runoff election. Ward 4 includes most land in west Fayetteville.

In a three-way race for Alderwoman Adella Gray's Ward 1 seat, Paul Phaneuf received 1,759 votes (39 percent) to Gray's 1,661 (37 percent) and Sonia Davis Gutierrez's 1,110 (25 percent). That means Phaneuf and Gray will square off in a runoff. Ward 1 encompasses a wide swath of south Fayetteville.

In the Ward 2 contest, incumbent Alderman Mark Kinion narrowly avoided a runoff. Kinion, 57, received 1,759 votes (49 percent) to Robert Patton's 982 (28 percent) and Joshua Crawford's 828 (23 percent). Ward 2 spans downtown and north-central Fayetteville.

"I just really am so appreciative of those people in Ward 2 that got out and supported me," Kinion, a home mortgage officer with the Bank of Arkansas, said early Wednesday. "I'm very humbled." Kinion has said he will continue to work to protect historic neighborhoods while supporting smart growth and infill development.

Phaneuf, 65, said Tuesday's results provide a clear indicationWard 1 voters are ready to move in a new direction -- away from Gray, a two-term incumbent.

"At this point, we're just going to have to wait and see what happens and develops over the next three weeks," said Phaneuf, an author, minister and Libertarian political activist. "I intend to work hard and to turn it into a victory."

"I'm extremely optimistic that the voters of Fayetteville are going to send the message in a runoff that they sent in the general election, which is, 'We've had enough,'" he added.

Phaneuf, who moved to Northwest Arkansas about two years ago, has called government an "attack dog" and "the lazy man's way of imposing his good intentions on other free people." Both he and La Tour have said they decided to run for public office, in part, because of a Civil Rights Administration ordinance the City Council approved Aug. 20. The ordinance, which prohibits discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on someone's sexual orientation or gender identity, will be the subject of a Dec. 9 public referendum.

Gray, 74, was one of six alderman to support the Civil Rights Administration ordinance.

"Though I know it's not perfect, I'm willing to, as I've always said ... address and modify it," Gray, a former school counselor and the council's longest-serving member, said Wednesday. "I think we have a need for a similar kind of ordinance."

Gray called Phaneuf a "single-issue" candidate and added local government is about more than one policy.

"If we hadn't heard of (Chapter) 119 (of the Fayetteville City Code), we probably never would have heard of Paul Phaneuf," she said.

She noted Gutierrez's quick support of her candidacy in the runoff election.

"I think the fact that 62 percent of Ward 1 voted with Sonia and me says that Ward 1 is much closer to wanting to maintain the status quo -- that is, looking carefully at wonderfully progressive ideas," Gray said. "But at the same time recognizing that we do have to balance a budget and we do have to see if those progressive ideas are appropriate for Fayetteville."

Early voting for the Nov. 25 runoff election will begin Nov. 18.

Incumbent Alderman Justin Tennant won his uncontested race for City Council in Ward 3, according to results from the Washington County Election Commission. Ward 3 encompasses northeast Fayetteville.

City Attorney Kit Williams and City Clerk Sondra Smith also ran unopposed in Tuesday's election.

NW News on 11/06/2014

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