Rogers Council Candidates Push To Get Supporters To Polls

ROGERS -- Carrie Smith and Sam Jeffery, who are in a runoff for the Ward 4, Position 1 seat on Rogers City Council, hope to persuade supporters to go to the polls for a second time.

"I'm campaigning as hard during the runoff as I did for the general elections," Smith said. "I won't be able to knock on as many doors as I did in the run up to the general election, but I'm doing all I can."

Jeffery said he has his supporters working to get the voters to the polls for the runoff election. Jeffery, the general manager of the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Bentonville, said he doesn't have much time to knock on doors, but is talking to a many of his supporters as possible to make sure they vote.

"I've called people and have one more mailer going out before early voting begins. A lot of people have said they would vote for me during the runoff, but we won't know if that's true until we count the votes," Jeffery said.

The race between the two candidates was close. Smith received 3,754 votes (33.9 percent) and Jeffery polled 3,638 votes (32.9 percent), 116 votes behind Smith. Carlos Chicas and Antonio Covington also ran for the seat.

Smith and Jeffery had little to say on the federal complaint filed by Ben Lipscomb, city attorney, against Mayor Greg Hines and aldermen. Lipscomb asked the U.S. District Court to rule on the constitutionality of action that moved most of the city attorney's authority to a recently created staff attorney's position.

"It's an unfortunate situation. I really don't have enough information or know the details to make a comment on the situation," Smith said. "I do know it's an embarrassing situation for the city," she added.

Jeffery also called the situation unfortunate.

"As I understand it, because the city attorney is an elected official, there isn't much the mayor or the council can do about the situation. Beyond that, we'll just have to wait and see what the court does with the complaint," Jeffery said.

Lipscomb's job was changed after several incidents, including telling Hines he could fire former treasurer Jerry Hudlow. Hudlow sued and was awarded a $630,000 settlement, and his job back.

Lipscomb was investigated by a special prosecutor over an incident at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in which a Springdale police officer working security said Lipscomb used his city ID and flashed a badge to get into the VIP tent to buy his wife a drink. No criminal complaint was filed.

Lipscomb's name was also connected to a former city employee, who said Lipscomb had offered him Zanax, a prescription drug.

If elected, Jeffery said he will spend his first year on the council paying attention and getting to know the other aldermen.

"There will be a learning curve. I will be working to gain the trust of the other aldermen and learning about the interworkings of city government and the council. I'm certain I can work well with the other aldermen," Jeffery said.

He said he also plans to visit the sites impacted by pending legislation so he can see for himself what the situation is.

"I want to get out in the city and get first-hand knowledge of what people want and what changes they would like to see," Jeffery said.

Smith said she is interested in helping small businesses, improving landscaping, public transportation, the renovation of downtown and establishing better communication with residents.

"I will use every method of communication possible to keep residents informed. I will seek out concerned parties to see what the issues are and encourage residents to get involved in the city," Smith said.