Northwest Arkansas municipal candidates start filing for office

NWA Democrat-Gazette/STACY RYBURN The Washington County Courthouse is seen Friday near College Avenue and Dickson Street in Fayetteville.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/STACY RYBURN The Washington County Courthouse is seen Friday near College Avenue and Dickson Street in Fayetteville.

The first round of municipal candidates made their campaigns official Friday, marking the beginning of the local election filing period.

Anyone who wants to run for an open City Council, city attorney, city clerk or mayoral position can do so until noon Aug. 17. The Benton and Washington county clerks' offices are open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Candidate filings

The following candidates filed for municipal offices in cities other than Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale on Friday.

Benton County

Avoca

Recorder/Treasurer

Nanette Barnes*

Bella Vista

City Clerk

Wayne Jertson*

Mayor

Peter Christie*

Ward 1, Position 2

Dylan Shaddox

Ward 2, Position 2

Christian Henning

Cave Springs

Mayor

Randall Noblett

Ward 3, Position 1

Mike Middlecamp

Centerton

Mayor

Bill Edwards*

Ward 2, Position 2

Josie Reed*

Ward 3, Position 1

Wayne Low*

Ward 3, Position 2

Darren Warren*

Decatur

Mayor

Bob Tharp*

Gravette

City Clerk

Mike Von Ree*

Mayor

Dale Ayres

Kurt Maddox*

Ward 1, Position 2

Jeff Davis*

Ward 2, Position 1

Margo Thomas*

Lowell City Clerk

Liz Estes

Ward 1, Position 2

Lonnie Jones*

Washington County

Farmington

City Attorney

Steve Tennant*

City Clerk

Kelly Penn*

Mayor

Ernie Penn*

Ward 1, Position 2

Abigail Spinks

Ward 2, Position 2

Linda Bell*

Ward 3, Position 2

Bobby Morgan*

Ward 4, Position 2

Shelly Parsley*

Greenland

Mayor

Bill Groom*

Ward 3, Position 2

Justin Reed*

Prairie Grove

Mayor

Charles “Sonny” Hudson*

Ward 2, Position 1

Robert Cunningham*

*denotes incumbent

Source: Staff report

Staff members at both offices said filings ran smoothly Friday.

Stephanie Orman, one of Bentonville's Ward 1 representatives on the City Council, filed to run for mayor. Terry Shannon also put his name in the hat. Incumbent Mayor Bob McCaslin has said he isn't seeking re-election. City Attorney George Spence filed for re-election.

Every elected office in Bentonville is up for grabs. Robert Carr Jr. and Timothy Robinson filed for Ward 1, Position 1. Chris Sooter filed for re-election to Ward 2, Position 2. Aubrey Patterson filed for re-election for Ward 3, Position 1. Two incumbents filed in Ward 4, Octavio Sanchez for Position 1 and Jonathan Terlouw for Position 2.

Four candidates filed to fill the same Ward 1 seat in Rogers. Mandy McDonald Brashear, Clint Hopper, Rick Stocker and Shawn Wright all filed to replace Buddy Wright, who isn't running for re-election. Gary Townzen and Barney Hayes each filed for re-election in Ward 2 and Ward 4, respectively. City Attorney Andrew Hatfield also filed for re-election.

In Fayetteville, four City Council positions are open, along with city attorney. Sloan Scroggin, a planning commissioner, filed to represent Ward 3. Teresa Turk, who serves on the Historic District Commission, filed for Ward 4.

Springdale's city clerk accepted filings Friday and will take them to the Washington County Courthouse. Ernest Cate, the city attorney, filed for re-election. Brian Powell filed to replace Jim Reed on the Ward 1 City Council seat, and Mike Overton filed for re-election for Ward 2.

All municipal contests are nonpartisan. No fees are associated with running for local office.

Candidates need to file three forms with their county clerk -- a petition with ward-specific signatures to get on the ballot, a political practices pledge stating the candidate will comply with state laws for running for office, and an affidavit of eligibility.

A statement of financial interest, which covers sources of income, investments, business interests and other financial information, has to go to the city clerk. That form is due Aug. 20.

A guidebook on running for local office is on the Arkansas Municipal League's website, arml.org.

NW News on 07/28/2018

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