Candidates for the open and contested seats on the Little Rock Board of Directors discussed housing and neighborhoods during a forum Saturday sponsored by the Coalition of Greater Little Rock Neighborhoods.
There are four seats up for election Nov. 8 -- the three at-large seats that represent the city as a whole and the Ward 4 position.
Vying for the Ward 4 seat are Capi Peck, owner of Trio's restaurant, and Jeff Yates, managing partner at ARK Commercial and Investment Real Estate. Roy Brooks, a former Little Rock schools superintendent, was previously running for the seat, but withdrew his candidacy last week, according to the city clerk.
Three incumbents are running for re-election to their at-large positions. They are Joan Adcock, Gene Fortson and Dean Kumpuris. No one is running against Kumpuris, so he wasn't a part of Saturday's forum.
Fortson has two opponents: Jason Ferguson, senior pastor at First Christian Church of Sherwood and chaplain at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; and Clayton Johnson, a teacher at Premier High School of Little Rock, a charter school.
Running against Adcock, the longest serving city board member with 24 years in her position, is Molly Miller, the cessation coordinator for the Arkansas Department of Health's Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Branch.
Miller didn't attend Saturday's forum nor one Thursday hosted by the Downtown Neighborhood Association. Kathy Wells, president of the coalition, said she was expecting Miller on Saturday and that Miller didn't return a text or phone call from Wells.
Miller also didn't respond to a request for comment from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The coalition asked a series of six questions to each candidate present, most of which focused on various housing and neighborhood issues.
Candidates were reminded that during a recent vote by the city board on a police residency mandate, which failed, many police officers said they didn't live in the city because they could buy more property for less money outside town.
The coalition asked the candidates what they would do to "overcome the lack of housing" in Little Rock.
Both Fortson and Adcock mentioned the land bank program, where condemned and foreclosed properties can be turned over to the city, and are available to city and school district employees at no cost to renovate.
Of Fortson's opponents, Ferguson said he wasn't sure what the city could do, but said it would be worth looking into incentives for developers to build in Little Rock.
Johnson said the city needs to focus on the area south of Interstate 630 to fill in empty lots and restore affordable housing already there to a livable condition.
Peck, a Ward 4 candidate, said she favors a city incentive program passed recently by the board that gives $5,000 to newly hired city employees who don't live in Little Rock to help them move to the city and buy a house within one year of their hire date.
Yates, Peck's opponent, said the board needs to "address the patchwork quilt of city ordinances we have for planning and development to do a better job of proactively bringing together resources necessary to provide public infrastructure." He said homebuilder associations say it's cheaper and easier to build houses outside the city.
During closing statements, Yates said he's the right person for the Ward 4 seat because of his experience serving on the city's planning commission and board of adjustment. He would listen to his constituents and start a quarterly newsletter to foster communication, he said.
Peck said that despite not being a "career politician," she's worked with her restaurant patrons for 30 years. She's also served for 10 years on the city's advertising and promotion commission, of which she is now chairman. She's got the energy for the job and will listen to other people's ideas on how to "grow Little Rock in a good, mindful way," she said.
Adcock touted her record of meeting attendance and accountability, saying she is always available to city residents. She's worked with various city commissions, including the Land Bank and the Animal Village, and she recently started the Working Together in the Community group to help Little Rock's Hispanic community with its particular needs.
Fortson also said he has a good record, and pointed to jobs, quality of life and safety as his main focuses. Numerous jobs have come to the city through the renovation of the Robinson Center, which Fortson played a role in through his seat on the advertising and promotion commission, as well as through the construction and opening of the Outlets of Little Rock, he said.
Ferguson said that if elected, he would do a better job of listening to people who usually don't have a seat at the table. More civility is needed in city government, he said, and less ego.
Johnson said he has proven leadership skills, having been a part of various neighborhood and civic groups in the past that worked on city issues. Little Rock officials need to focus more on neighborhoods and build up the city's communities, he said.
Metro on 10/09/2016