SPRINGDALE -- Irvin Camacho on Thursday filed a lawsuit against City Council member Rick Evans, claiming Evans' campaign material made xenophobic, false and defamatory comments about Camacho, three candidates for the Springdale City Council and one for Washington County Quorum Court.
Camacho is a Northwest Arkansas activist known for his work in the areas of immigration reform, bail reform and employment rights, the lawsuit reads. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Arkansas House in 2016.
Evans represents Ward 2, Position 2, in the southeastern part of the city. The lawsuit includes unknown members of Evans' campaign.
His lawsuit seeks damages and a retraction by Evans.
Evans faces Kevin Flores in Tuesday's election. Evans issued an apology in July after being heard in a City Council livestream referring to Flores as "some little Mexican lawyer."
The flyers, purportedly from Evans' campaign, refer to Flores, other council candidates Derek Van Voast and Mayra Carrillo and Laurie Marshall, a candidate for justice of the peace, as Camacho candidates. The flyers were mailed to homes in Springdale.
The lawsuit contends Evans and his associates intended to defame Camacho with the flyers and thus the candidates with whom he is associated.
The suit called the actions of the defendants an unnecessary personal attack, which have emotionally harmed Camacho and future business opportunities.
A statement from Evans calls the lawsuit a "political stunt."
"The residents of Springdale care about the future of our great city, not this petty kind of politics," Evans said.
The flyers mentioned Flores as being a friend of Camacho.
"The flyers have a lack of focus on residents of Springdale and the issues facing the community," Flores said. "And the comments are careless in a community such as ours," he said.
Camacho's lawyer, Victor Rojas, said Thursday, statements in the flyers about Camacho being anti-police were false. He also noted the flyer says Camacho lost an election to Arkansas House District 90. Camacho actually lost District 89 in 2016 to Rep. Jeff Williams.
Other statements on the flyers, such as Camacho's local job with the Soros Bail Project, are true, Rojas said. Camacho's job title is "bail disruptor" for the organization that pays bail for people who can't afford it, "reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence," reads the website of the national organization.
As stated on the flyers, Camacho also serves as a board member with the Arkansas American Civil Liberties Union, an affiliate of the national group working to protect individual liberties.
Laurinda Joenks can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWALaurinda.