BENTON — The Benton City Council has nine applicants to consider in filling the vacancy left by its most senior member, Charles Cunningham, who died April 18. Interviews for the Ward 2, Position 1 seat are scheduled for 6 p.m. June 22.
The candidates include Patricia Ashley, Glynda Brinsfield, Jocelyn Cash, Willie Floyd, Robin Freeman, Shane Knight, Leslie Kowalski, Quinn Marshall and Martha Slaughter.
In a pursuit of fairness, Alderman Bill Donner, chairman of the Benton City Council Personnel Committee, said the committee has devised six questions to ask each candidate, and they will be given a 15-minute time limit to answer the questions. The questions will not be released until the night of the interviews so that no candidate has an advantage over another, he added.
After the question-and-answer portion of the interviews are completed, Donner said, the committee will pick one candidate to present to the full council for a vote at its June 26 meeting.
Donner, who has served on the council since 2006, noted Cunningham’s unwavering commitment and fortitude to the community.
“[He] can’t be replaced,” Donner said. “We’re just filling a vacancy.”
Cunningham, born in 1933, had served on the council since 2003 after retiring from his long career as director of the Central Arkansas Development Council, as stated in his obituary. The council was not his first stint at public service. He was appointed mayor of Benton in 1981, becoming the first black mayor of the city.
A U.S. Army veteran, Cunningham moved his family to Benton in 1959 to teach at Ralph Bunche High School. He continued his commitment to the Church of Christ, serving as an elder of the Johnson Street Church of Christ. After his short stint as a teacher, he became a chemist for Reynolds Aluminum, as shared in a blog post of the city of Benton. He would go on to help create the CADC and served as its leader for 37 years.
About the candidates
Patricia Ashley, 68, is a longtime community supporter, especially of her neighborhood. According to a previous news report, her family, particularly her grandfather, played a part in the establishment of the Ralph Bunche community, a portion of which Ward 2 represents.
Ashley declined to provide further details and comment.
Glynda Brinsfield, 43, has lived in Benton since 1997. A nurse for Arkansas Heart Hospital, she and her husband, Zeke, founded Gilgal Ministries in 2010, a nonprofit that helps those with “life-controlling issues,” as she states in her application. Most recently, the organization opened the House of Esther, a pregnancy crisis home.
The Brinsfields have recently acquired a church building in the Ralph Bunche community. She said their fellowship, called Tent Builders, has more than 100 people and is growing.
Many people in Ward 2 “feel we are the last to receive services and city administrative assistance related to infrastructure problems and community improvement projects,” she states in her application.
“My husband and I have already taken many drastic measures to build up this community, and I believe that more can be done.”
Jocelyn Cash, 65, serves on the city of Benton Planning and Zoning Commission — a post she’s held since 2015. She has been married to Norman Hurst for 10 years. When they married, she was a widow, and he was a widower.
In her application letter, Cash states that she has been retired for more than 20 years after serving as a personnel officer with the U.S. Forest Service. She has a Master of Publication Administration degree from Auburn University. For the past 10 years, she has been involved in missionary work in Dubois, Wyoming. She also serves as a volunteer adult literacy instructor and is a Mary Kay consultant.
Cash moved to back to Benton in 2010. She graduated from Benton High School in 1969 and grew up in the Ralph Bunche community, where her parents, W.K. and Jesteen Hannah, have resided for more than 65 years.
A former Benton City Council alderman, Willie Floyd has lived in Benton for more than 30 years and said he can’t imagine living anywhere else.
Floyd, a bus driver for the CADC and pastor of Little Rock’s Grace Temple Church of God in Christ, previously served on the council from 1995 to 2004. He states, “In the words of Honorable [Benton Mayor] David J. Mattingly, I too am a firm believer in ‘energizing a community to take advantage of opportunities when they present themselves instead of having to explain actions, which must be implemented to correct problems.’”
Robin Freeman, 48, chair of the Benton Planning and Zoning Commission, has lived in Benton for more than 24 years, “supporting its growth and development and working hard to be a positive addition to the broader community,” she states in her application letter.
Noting her family’s support of the Benton School District, Freeman adds that her daughter will be a senior this coming school year.
“Benton is a great place to live, work and raise a family,” Freeman said. “As a member of the council, I will be an advocate for our city’s continued economic growth, support development of an infrastructure where all citizens can flourish, support sustainable investment in public safety and encourage citizen participation.”
Formerly the planning director for the CADC, Freeman now works for the University of Arkansas as director of UA CURRENTS.
Shane Knight, 40, regulatory and compliance manager for Saline County Regional Solid Waste Management District, thinks that his experience in managing budgets and people for municipalities and nonprofits qualifies him for the council position, as stated in his application.
“In addition to fundraising achievements, community and government relations, I have worked continually to build strong coalitions with political, community and business leaders throughout the area, all with the end design to benefit the city of Benton,” he states.
Knight is also an adjunct instructor at Southern Arkansas University Tech/Arkansas Environmental Training Academy. He has a doctorate from Louisiana Baptist University and a Master of Arts degree in education leadership and administration from Andersonville Baptist Seminary.
Leslie Kowalski calls herself “the underdog” in this process. “I am a younger citizen, a woman and probably with the least experience and education,” she states in her application.
However, she states, “I am one of the hardest-working individuals you will ever know, disregarding any and all rewards or benefits. … But one guarantee I can make you is that I will not let this city down. I am the one and only person whose perspective, knowledge and experience, combined with other great leaders, could make a difference in the right direction.”
Kowalski attended Pulaski Technical College’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute, earning culinary arts and hospitality management certificates in 2014, as well as mixology and wine studies certificates. She most recently was a chef for Southern Gourmasian in Little Rock.
A lifelong resident of Benton, Quinn Marshall, 54, states that his involvement and giving nature qualifies him for the alderman position. A master plumber, he was worked in the plumbing field for the past 17 years.
Given the opportunity, he says, “ I will be the voice of the people one person at a time.”
Marshall, a 1992 Benton High School graduate, is self-employed as Bottom Dollar Plumbing, while also working for N & S Plumbing in Little Rock as a master plumber.
Martha Slaughter, 70, has lived and worked in and around Benton for 50 years, as stated in her application. She is retired from a 22-year career with the state of Arkansas, where she was a social-services assistant.
With a vested interest in the community, Slaughter said, she is a good alderman candidate because she has the time and knowledge to devote to the position.
“Due to the various ways in which I have already been involved within the community, such as connecting with and maintaining positive relationships with residents, facilities and institutions, and keeping up to date with local issues and decisions made by the current City Council, I feel that the next natural step is for me to become actively involved in local politics.”
Safety, responsible fiscal decision-making and support for youth through school and recreational involvement are a few things Slaughter said she would like to focus on if chosen for the position.