The Little Rock City Director for Ward 1, Erma Hendrix, has requested a board discussion on the need for at-large directors.
Hendrix notified board members and City Attorney Tom Carpenter of her request last week after Tuesday's board meeting.
"Origin of At-Large Board of Directors & Concept," read the subject line of a printed letter she passed out.
She requested that a discussion "regarding the need for change of the City of Little Rock Board of Directors, based upon the U.S. 2010 Census" be placed on the board's agenda within two weeks.
Hendrix said at public meetings earlier this year that she supports doing away with the three at-large board positions and instead have those positions designated for specific zones, with people in those zones electing their board representatives.
Hendrix did not return an email or phone messages left for her about the request.
State Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, attempted to change the designations on the city board through legislation earlier this year but failed to get the bill out of committee.
He argued that any city in which members of minority groups make up 10 percent of its population should be required to have a seven-member board with ward seats only.
At the time, Walker said board seats that are filled by the city at large disenfranchise black voters and enable white people to be more easily elected, giving them more power and thus canceling out the votes by ward-elected board members who are black.
The 2010 Census shows that 46.7 percent of Little Rock's population is white, 42.3 percent is black, 6.8 percent is Hispanic and 2.7 percent is Asian.
Less than 1 percent is American Indian, Alaska native, native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
Little Rock's three at-large directors -- Joan Adcock, Gene Fortson and Dean Kumpuris -- are all white. Hendrix and two other city directors -- Ken Richardson and Doris Wright -- are black.
The other four ward directors are white, as is the mayor who serves as a tie-breaking vote on the board.
Hendrix attended House committee meetings when Walker proposed his bill and spoke in favor of doing away with at-large positions.
Hendrix said then that her vote is canceled out by white at-large directors and that in her eight years on the board she hadn't been able to get a single piece of legislation through.
Earlier this year, however, the board approved an ordinance proposed by Hendrix that amended policies for the public-comment period at board meetings.
Adcock told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that she is in favor of keeping the at-large seats.
"[Hendrix] has been, for the last several years, wanting this to happen. I personally think people need to look at what the three at-large directors that we have now accomplish and look at how they use their positions for visions that affect the whole city and things that deal with the whole city, whereas ward directors deal mostly with their wards," Adcock said.
Fortson said the current system has served well, and he sees no reason for a discussion on the topic.
"If anyone wants to change it, it was put into place by vote of the people, and it can be changed by vote of the people," he said.
In a 1993 special election, Little Rock voters opted for the current city manager form of government -- a directly elected mayor, seven ward directors and three at-large directors.
Voters gave the mayor veto and appointment powers in 2007.
Kumpuris didn't return a voice mail seeking comment.
Hendrix's request asked for the discussion to be placed on the board's agenda by the May 19 meeting. The board will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall to go over the agenda for that meeting.
Metro on 05/11/2015