BELLA VISTA — Christian Henning has lived in Bella Vista since 2008 and moved here after his father retired from the Navy, he said.
Henning said he is currently a preschool teacher and has entrepreneurial experience doing contract work as well as managing finances.
“I have managed nonprofit businesses before, so I have experience with large budgets,” he said.
Henning also ran for city council in 2018 and, while he was not successful, he said he believes he was able to campaign effectively and engage with the people of Bella Vista.
Those people, he added, are why he’s continued to live here.
“The people around here have kept me here for so long. It’s the best place to live, in my opinion, in the country,” he said.
“I’m running for city council because we have a very large disconnect between the elected officials and the people of Bella Vista. My platform has many ways to bridge that gap … and I have every intention on doing so,” Henning said.
Council members have a duty to interact with their constituents in order to better represent them, he said.
Henning said he’s currently hosting weekly town hall meetings via Facebook and he intends to host monthly meetings to speak with the general public if elected.
An official who isn’t engaged with the general public is not going to know what members of the public want and won’t be able to properly represent them, he said.
“Council members should be a voice for the people of Bella Vista,” he said.
Henning said he believes the city will continue to grow over the next five to 10 years, but it’s important that growth is planned in a way that helps benefit the city.
“I see the city continuing to trend towards economic growth in a controlled manner,” he said.
The city benefits from a strong community of residents who work to keep Bella Vista a great place to live, he added.
On the other hand, he said, the city does see some issues that Henning said he attributes to a lack of communication.
“We have confusion about which entity handles what regulations,” he said.
Henning said neighbors may disagree on things that could be worked out with a bit more communication and the city should provide a solid line of communication to residents.
Henning said he has three major points informing his platform — economic development, community involvement and public safety.
Economic programs could be used to support local small businesses and encourage new businesses in town, he explained.
It’s also important for officials to get the general public involved in the governmental process and make its work accessible, he said.
“The absolute first thing, when elected to city council, I would make sure we are live-streaming our city council meetings. We should have been doing that years ago,” he said.
Ensuring the city remains safe is also an extremely high priority, he added.
“We need to do everything we can to support our law enforcement while making sure they are held to the highest standards,” he said.
Keith Bryant may be reached by email at [email protected] .