Peck to join Little Rock board; Fortson defeats two foes

Judy Robinson of Little Rock celebrates as early presidential returns appear on the television during a Democratic Party gathering Tuesday evening in downtown Little Rock.
Judy Robinson of Little Rock celebrates as early presidential returns appear on the television during a Democratic Party gathering Tuesday evening in downtown Little Rock.

Restaurant owner Capi Peck will be the only new face to the Little Rock Board of Directors next year after voters chose her Tuesday to fill the Ward 4 position and re-elected three incumbents to open at-large seats, according to unofficial results.

Incu

mbents Gene Fortson, Joan Adcock and Dean Kumpuris all regained their seats representing the city as a whole, according to unofficial vote totals. Adcock and Kumpuris were unopposed.

Fortson, 79, defeated two opponents: Clayton Johnson, 65, a science teacher, and Jason Ferguson, 49, a pastor and chaplain.

As of 11:30 p.m., unofficial results in that race were:

Fortson 32,883

Johnson 16,958

Ferguson 15,396

The Pulaski County Election Commission didn't provide the number of precincts reporting.

Peck, 63, owner of Trio's restaurant, defeated Jeff Yates, 50, managing partner at ARK Commercial and Investment Real Estate.

As of 11:15 p.m., unofficial returns in that race were:

Peck 6,028

Yates 5,395

The Pulaski County Election Commission didn't provide the number of precincts reporting.

A third candidate's name also appeared on the ballot, even though he dropped out of the race before early voting began.

Before the results were announced, Peck said she was nervous but optimistic.

"I feel really good. I'm ready to get to work -- I have been," she said. "I really believe in celebrating our diversity. I hate all the negativity and the fear some people have raised during this campaign about diversity, and I'm all for inclusivity, and I want to represent all the people of Little Rock, and not just be a voice for Ward 4."

Peck said she has plans and ideas to improve public safety and is supportive of the steps the city is already taking to get more police patrol officers on the streets. She also said she wants to advocate for a local school board regaining control of the city's school district -- which is under state control -- and for strong public schools that can compete with charter schools.

Peck is supportive of the Coffee With a Cop and Neighborhood Watch programs that get residents more acquainted with patrol officers. She also said she's concerned about the vacancies in the city's Police Department but is encouraged that the city board hired a consultant to review Little Rock's hiring process.

"We need more patrol cars on the streets and to really look at the hot-spot enforcement areas and to have more focused deterrents," she said.

Yates had said he wanted more after-school programs for troubled youths to deter juvenile crime.

Peck will be taking over a seat that's been occupied by Brad Cazort for the past 20 years. Cazort decided to not seek re-election this year.

After the majority of votes were reported, Yates conceded defeat about 10:30 p.m.

"I'm proud of the positive, issue-based campaign we ran. Unfortunately, we came up short," Yates said, before congratulating Peck and wishing her "the best."

Fortson and Peck both watched the results from a watch party at Cajun's Wharf.

Fortson said he is gratified at the turnout that re-elected him to a seat he's held for the past 10 years.

"I think one thing that came very obvious during the campaign is, the paramount issue in the public's mind right now is public safety. We've got to take whatever steps necessary to bring our police population up to the standards -- the numbers we want -- and take steps to make sure we're focusing on all aspects of public safety. That's got to be our paramount concern," Fortson said.

After that, he will work toward the city's capital and street improvement plans, and he's excited about working with the school district on the implementation of the Youth Master Plan to keep youths from turning to crime, he said.

Johnson had also said a focus needed to be put on public safety, but he had different ideas than Fortson. He wanted to create a citizens advisory council to the Police Department that gave residents more say in overseeing policies. He also said the public funding dedicated to infrastructure and street improvements needed to be directed to the areas of town that most needed the resources, instead of being evenly divided as they are now.

Ferguson campaigned on the idea of having more civility and less ego on the city board. He said he wanted to change city policy so that directors had to recuse from votes that involved people or companies who donated to their campaigns. He also wanted to advocate for a change in state law so someone appointed to fill a term on the city board couldn't then run for election to that seat.

Fortson was appointed to his position in 2006 and has been re-elected ever since.

Metro on 11/09/2016

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