Fayetteville council appointment right for city, members say

FAYETTEVILLE -- Kyle Smith knows his appointment to the City Council doesn't look good. He rents a room to the guy he replaced.

The council appointed Smith on Nov. 21 to fill a vacancy left by former Ward 4 representative Alan Long. Long, who gained re-election with 56 percent of the vote last year, had served 11 months of his second term.

Ward 4 includes most of the city west from Interstate 49 and about half of the area south of Wedington Drive.

Long resigned from the council in a letter Nov. 18, a Saturday. He cited family and professional obligations, along with the time commitment required of council members, as reasons for his departure. Long travels frequently as a buyer for Newly Weds Foods.

City administrators saw the letter Nov. 20.

State law requires the council to decide during its next meeting after a resignation to appoint someone or call for a special election. The council met Nov. 21 during Thanksgiving week and decided to make an appointment. They heard from seven residents seeking to fill the vacancy. They also considered a few more who wrote to the city putting their names in the hat.

Smith won the seat by a margin of 5-2, with Mayor Lioneld Jordan casting the deciding vote. A resolution required at least five affirmative votes.

Questions arose before Long's resignation about whether he lived in the ward he represented during his time on the council. The fact that Long moved into Smith's house in late October, and still lives there, compounded those questions.

"I can completely understand the appearance of that is not great," Smith said. "Hindsight being 20/20, I probably would not have offered him my back room if I had known he was about to resign."

Long needed a place to stay after he and his partner broke up, Smith said. A civil lawsuit between Long and his former partner alleges Long lived in Ward 3 since 2015.

Long referred all questions to his attorney, Matt Bishop.

An empty chair

A civil lawsuit filed on behalf of Steven Kay, Long's former partner, is mostly a dispute over money. It also claims Long lived with Kay at a home in Ward 3.

Property records show Kay's and Long's names on the deed of that Ward 3 residence, signed in January 2015. The couple owned a different home, in Ward 4, from 2006 to May 2016, according to records. Long put that address on his statement of financial interests form he filed with the city in January 2016 to run for re-election.

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Long listed a different address on his campaign contributions and expenditures form filed with the Washington County clerk in October 2016. The new address was the same as his campaign treasurer's address, a home across the street from Long's former Ward 4 home.

In a response to the lawsuit, Bishop denied Long lived exclusively with Kay at the Ward 3 residence since January 2015. Bishop said Wednesday he understood Long lived in Ward 4. Long didn't list living in a different ward as a reason for his resignation.

It becomes a question of a candidate's qualification if he runs for one ward but lives in another, Arkansas Ethics Commission Director Graham Sloan said. Questions of qualification go beyond the commission's jurisdiction, he said.

Such a matter is usually settled in court as a civil case and not on the criminal level, Sloan said. The Ethics Commission takes on more technical aspects of running for office, such as accurately filling out financial disclosure forms.

For example, the address line on a campaign contribution and expenditure form doesn't have to be the candidate's primary residence, but simply an address at which to receive mail, he said. If the address can't receive mail that might serve as grounds for a fine or letter of reprimand.

Arkansas law requires City Council members to live in the ward they represent. If at any point during the council member's tenure he moves out of the ward, he becomes disqualified from office and a vacancy shall occur, according to the law.

Council interactions

Smith said he knew Long through city events and causes, just like he knew other members of the council. Smith led the For Fayetteville campaign, which supported the civil rights ordinance in 2015. The ordinance passed, intended to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and is making its way through the courts system after a challenge from the group Protect Fayetteville and the state.

Smith said he worked for Long's campaign, but didn't know him much outside of the campaign or city-related business. He said Long called needing a place to stay and he had a room available.

"At that point it was a business transaction of a convenient timing with an acquaintance," Smith said.

Smith said Long's resignation caught him off guard. Long had been out of town on business for at least two weeks before he submitted the letter and Smith said he hadn't seen or talked to him. He was as shocked as anyone, Smith said.

"I generally don't make a habit of prying too deep into the personal lives of people who are paying me rent unless we become much better friends along the line," he said.

Council Member John La Tour voted against appointing Smith. La Tour also was among a group of candidates who campaigned in 2014 against the civil rights ordinance. La Tour said he didn't think the council members who voted for Smith met outside the chambers of City Hall, but they could have coordinated through a third party.

Per state law, elected policy makers aren't allowed to have private meetings to discuss city business. However, council members and mayors can speak to non-voting elected officials, such as the city attorney.

City Attorney Kit Williams clarified his interactions with the council members before Smith's appointment. He sent a memo to the City Council on Nov. 2 after the lawsuit against Long was filed. The memo reminded council members of the state laws regarding vacancy and the procedure if one were to occur.

"I conducted no discussions with City Council members about who should represent Ward 4 prior to the meeting of Nov. 21," Williams said. "Indeed, I merely advised the City Council of their option of either calling a special election pursuant to the resolution I provided, or to directly elect the replacement council member."

The four council members who voted to appoint Smith -- Adella Gray, Sarah Marsh, Mark Kinion and Matthew Petty -- echoed those sentiments. Council Member Sarah Bunch didn't attend the meeting. Council Member Justin Tennant voted against making an appointment.

Gray said she knew Smith through crafting the civil rights ordinance. Marsh said she saw Smith's civic engagement as evidence of his leadership capability. Kinion said he thought Smith was a good candidate whom he could support among many qualified applicants. Petty said he thought Smith might submit his name among others for consideration if a vacancy happened. None of them said they talked to other council members about appointing Smith or knew Long was going to resign.

Jordan said he felt Smith's frequent attendance at council meetings would make him a reliable council member. He also knew Smith through his work on the civil rights ordinance campaign.

"I don't have any problems making decisions," Jordan said. "Once the council decided on an appointment, I made notes on everybody who spoke, and I made my decision based on who I thought was the most qualified."

NW News on 12/03/2017