Unhappy with mayor, PB group seeks recall

— A coalition of Pine Bluff residents wants to recall Mayor Carl Redus Jr. for what they describe as poor leadership skills and an inability to attract and retain businesses in the largest city in southeast Arkansas.

At a news conference Friday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center, nearly two dozen members of the Concerned Citizens of Pine Bluff coalition began collecting the 10,275 signatures needed to put a recall effort on the ballot.

“Just as Judas betrayed Jesus, Mayor Redus has betrayed the city of Pine Bluff,” said Gary Wilson, a Pine Bluff resident and spokesman for the group. “It is our stand that this mayor has made far toomany bad judgment calls that have resulted in the decline of the morale of both the citizens and employees of this city.”

Redus described the recall effort as “sour grapes.”

“Me commenting on a bunch of dissenters with some dissension is just not on my calendar at this pointin time,” Redus said. “I don’t think it’s representative of the citizenry of this city, and I definitely don’t like responding to disinformation.”

Joe Woodson, an attorney for the secretary of state’s office, said the group would need to get signatures from at least 25 percent of the registered voters in Pine Bluff, or 10,275 signatures. There are 41,100 registered voters in the city, according to the elections division of the Jefferson County clerk’s office.

Arkansas Municipal League Executive Director Don Zimmerman said Act 362 of 2009 allowed for the recallof a mayor in a mayoral/city council form of government. He said he believes this is the first recall effort of a mayor in Arkansas under that new law.

Like many cities in southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff is struggling to retain old businesses and recruit new ones. The city’s population has been declining for years. From 2000 to 2008, the city’s population went from 55,085 to 50,408, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Wilson admits that he has had personal problems with the city and Redus involving a home he owned that the city wanted demolished.

Wilson said Redus told him the city would pay to take down a storage building on his property. Instead, the city demolished the building, then sent Wilson a bill for $1,851 and immediately put a lien on his property, he said.

Redus said he told Wilson the city would take down the storage building, but he claims he never said it would be for free.

Frank Williams, a member of Concerned Citizens of PineBluff, said he simply wants a mayor who will move the city forward, and he said Redus is not doing that.

“I want someone who will work with the City Council, bring in new and better-paying jobs for the citizens, revitalize downtown, cut the crime rate and have a plan for the city,” said Williams, a retired pharmacist.

He said the mayor’s recent termination of former police chief John Howell “was the straw that broke the camel’s back” that led to the recall effort.

Redus terminated Howell on March 8 for what the mayor said was insubordination. Howell, who said crime was down under his tenure, has since filed a federal lawsuit against Redus and the Pine Bluff City Council seeking his job back.

After the termination, a groundswell of support among citizens led the City Council to take a vote to potentially override the mayor’s decision. The council needed a two-thirds majority to reinstate Howell and fell short by one vote, five in favor of reinstatement and three against.

“Just as Carl Redus apparently has the legal authority to fire John Howell, the citizensof Pine Bluff have the legal authority to fire Carl Redus,” Williams said.

Williams, who is white, said the recall effort against Redus, the city’s first black mayor, is not racially motivated. Wilson and some other members of the Concerned Citizens of Pine Bluff are black.

Other complaints the coalition listed at Friday’s news conference include: lawsuits against the city, including Howell’s; the lack of progress in revitalizing downtown; the demolition of poor people’s homes; and the mayor’s successful campaign to defeat a Jefferson County economic development tax proposal in 2008.

The proposed 0.5 percent tax failed by a vote of 4,525 to 3,348. It would have generated an estimated $45 million over 10 years to fund economic development and work-force training in Jefferson County.

“If you’re going to campaign against it, give us an alternative,” Williams said. “There was no alternative.”

In response to that, Redus said the city has put together a comprehensive economic development plan, which will be released to the public within the next two months.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/10/2010

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