Former Fayetteville City Council member sued by former partner; Long didn’t live in ward, filing states

A Fayetteville City Council member who resigned Saturday is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his former domestic partner and of not living in the ward he represented, according to a lawsuit filed late last month.

Lawyer Steven Kay filed the suit Oct. 31 in Washington County Circuit Court, against his ex-partner of 12 years, Alan Long, who served as Fayetteville City Council representative for Ward 4 and as the city's vice mayor.

The lawsuit accuses Long of engaging in an "apparent acceleration of financial diversion" as part of an effort to relocate to Chicago, "under the guise of working for his employer Newly Weds Foods [Inc.]."

"Since July of this year, Alan rarely returns to Fayetteville except when his position as the vice mayor or alderman requires it," the document states.

"Alan Long does no[t] live in the ward he represents, and he did not reside in the ward he represents at the time he ran for re-election in 2016," it adds. Newly Weds Foods supplies payment to Long for an apartment in Chicago, the suit states.

In his resignation letter dated Saturday to Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan, Long wrote that the decision came because of family and professional obligations and the time commitments associated with being a council member.

During the time they lived together, the couple had what Kay believed to be a "well-understood financial agreement and division of labor," the complaint outlines.

The suit accuses Long of taking thousands from a joint checking account he managed because he had a "keen skill for numbers" through his master's degree in business and work background.

The partners agreed to share bills tied to the household or joint enterprises "50-50," the document states.

After reviewing the finances, Kay said, he learned Long on many occasions would tell him that more money was needed than necessary to pay his share of joint bills.

Kay estimated that Long "methodically pilfered tens of thousands of dollars from him in small increments over the last three years alone."

After Long's departure, the City Council must appoint someone or set a special election during its meeting Tuesday.

Metro on 11/22/2017

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