Molly Miller has suspended her campaign against incumbent Joan Adcock for an at-large seat on the Little Rock Board of Directors, leaving just two contested races for city board seats this election.
In a news release emailed to media outlets just before midnight Monday, Miller said she is dropping out of the campaign due to "a continuous battle with mental illness."
"I promised to run a transparent campaign and in keeping with that promise, I want my supporters to know that I'm leaving this race after being admitted to The Bridgeway for intensive mental health treatment after chronic anxiety turned into a major depressive episode and suicidal thoughts," Miller wrote.
She had missed several campaign events last week, including neighborhood meetings and two candidate forums hosted by neighborhood groups.
Despite her announcement, Miller's name will still be on the Nov. 8 election ballot, and votes for her will be counted, said Bryan Poe, director of elections for the Pulaski County Election Commission.
If she wins, a vacancy will be declared, per Arkansas Code Annotated 7-5-315(b)(2)(A), Poe said. When there is a vacancy on the city board, board members hold interviews and appoint someone to fill the spot.
Miller wrote in her news release that she hopes her truthfulness about her reason for leaving the race will help do away with the stigma of mental illness. She pointed out that one in four adults -- about 61.5 million Americans -- experience mental illness in a given year, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
"In order to have the potential to make a positive change in Little Rock, even if it is just in my own neighborhood, I have to make sure that I am caring for myself and my mental health. I hope that calling attention to this issue will encourage others to share the stories of their struggles and seek treatment for their own mental illnesses," Miller said.
"Even though we have made progress in the acceptance of mental illness as a legitimate disease in need of treatment, I plan to keep speaking out on these issues until mental illness stigma and bias are a distant memory," she wrote later.
After paying off her campaign debt, Miller will donate any remaining funds in her campaign account to the National Alliance on Mental Illness - Arkansas, she said.
Miller was running against Adcock, who with 24 years in her position is the longest-serving city director.
The three at-large seats on the Little Rock board and the Ward 4 position are up for election Nov. 8. Incumbent At-large City Director Dean Kumpuris is unopposed.
At-large City Director Gene Fortson is being challenged by 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.
Ward 4 incumbent Brad Cazort is not running for re-election after two decades on the board. Vying for his seat are Capi Peck, owner of Trio's restaurant; and Jeff Yates, managing partner at ARK Commercial and Investment Real Estate. Roy Brooks filed to run for the seat, but has since withdrawn. His name, like Miller's, will also remain on the ballot and votes for him will be counted.
Metro on 10/12/2016