Today's endorsements feature the executive leadership positions in Rogers and Fayetteville, among the state's largest cities and the most populus in their respective counties. Voters in the Nov. 8 election can begin casting early votes on Monday for the Nov. 8 General Election.
FAYETTEVILLE MAYOR
Lioneld Jordan is in his eighth year as mayor and has asked voters to send him back to the post for another four-year term. He faces two challengers: Fayetteville native and developer Tom Terminella and Ron Baucom, a Wal-Mart store employee.
We're fairly confident suggesting this is primarily a contest between Jordan, who previously served as an alderman in Ward 4 when he was employed by the University of Arkansas Physical Plant, and Terminella, a hard-charging personality who says Fayetteville needs to dramatically improve how it approaches business development and regulation. We mean no disrespect to Baucom and commend him for stepping into the race, but his limited campaign hasn't found traction among city residents.
Both Terminella and Baucom say Jordan has been in office too long.
Terminella says Fayetteville has "sort of lost its way" under Jordan. He notes commercial and retail growth exploding in Benton County and suggests the Jordan administration has not done enough to retake momentum in economic development.
"Fayetteville hasn't been the most hospitable place lately for commerce to occur," Terminella says.
Jordan, Terminella says, governs to a minority population of city residents. Terminalla says he will lead a charge for less government and let people thrive.
Jordan disputes that minority constituency theory regularly, saying he wants to be mayor for all residents. He says he's proud of the advancements made during his two terms on issues such as transportation/roads, alternative transportation such as bike trails, getting through a recession without laying off city workers, and improving the quality of life through popular amenities. Those include development of a new regional park, building a parking deck that aided the expansion of the Walton Arts Center, expanding trails and favoring a civil rights ordinance designed to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender residents from discrimination. The city over the last several years has earned high praise as the "best place" to do a lot of things. Even acknowledging many of those rankings include all of the Northwest Arkansas area, Fayetteville's humming along pretty good.
Jordan defends the development processes, saying the city could make development easier if it wants to eliminate regulations like the streamside protection ordinance or the hillside overlay district, which is designed in part to protect people downhill from the effects of development above them. Those aren't protections the city should give up, he says. The city is supporting development the "Fayetteville way," Jordan says.
We think a Jordan administration ought to listen to what Terminella has to say and understand he's not the only person with concerns about the city's direction on, say, developing as though Fayetteville is New York or Chicago or Seattle.
Ultimately, however, we're convinced Jordan has taken Fayetteville where its residents have wanted to go, at least those who have spoken up. Perhaps more accurately, Jordan has followed the lead of the city's residents and gone where they wanted.
We don't agree with him on every policy, but he seems the right fit for Fayetteville today. We recommend a vote for Lioneld Jordan as Fayetteville's mayor.
ROGERS MAYOR
Greg Hines has been mayor since 2011, having the rare distinction of serving a six-year first term because the city's population moved it into a new classification of government under state law. He's running for a second term, this one a standard four-year variety, and faces a challenge from Carrie Perrien Smith, whose previous political experience included unsuccessful campaigns for the City Council in 2012 and 2014.
Hines served as an alderman for 12 years before running for mayor.
Smith is critical of Hines, saying much of what's happened in Rogers during his term got its start under the previous administration. She also claims many people don't know who their mayor is. Being mayor, Smith says, is a public relations, sales and people business. Which works out for her, as that's what she's done professionally for years.
We think running the city is more of a nuts-and-bolts kind of job, and Rogers is thriving. Hines' experience in city government runs deep. He credits his work and that of the City Council for guiding the bond issue projects approved by voters years ago to completion while increasing the city's general fund reserves through efficiency. He anticipates developing a new bond issue for Rogers' voters to include parks rehabilitation, building out Mount Hebron Park on the west side, improvements for public safety/law enforcement and new road projects.
Rogers has the leadership it needs in the mayor's office, so we recommend the city's voters continue a successful course by electing Greg Hines to a second term.
Commentary on 10/23/2016