Russ Racop, who writes a blog critical of city government, announced online that he plans to run for the Ward 6 seat on the Little Rock Board of Directors.
Incumbent Doris Wright is believed to be running for re-election next year, but she couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
Racop created a "Russ Racop for Little Rock Board of Directors" page on Facebook over the weekend.
He runs the website badlittlerock.blogspot.com, as well as some other blogs critical of Arkansas agencies and governments.
On his Facebook page, he said he will not accept campaign contributions from any developer because it creates a "quid quo pro attitude/expectation from developers when they appear" before the board. He accompanied the statement with a copy of campaign contributions to Wright from a developer in Ward 6.
Racop uses the hash-tag #CleanOutLRCityHall on many of his posts. H̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶t̶u̶r̶n̶ ̶a̶n̶ ̶e̶m̶a̶i̶l̶ ̶s̶e̶e̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶a̶s̶n̶'̶t̶ ̶s̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶a̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶m̶a̶l̶ ̶n̶e̶w̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶e̶a̶s̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶n̶o̶u̶n̶c̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶r̶u̶n̶.̶ He sent a news release to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday evening announcing his plan to run, along with a brief statement saying he is not soliciting donations at this time
Six of the 10 city director seats and the mayor's seat are up for grabs in the November 2018 municipal election.
Candidates cannot formally file for the election until August 2018, and a city ordinance prohibits them from accepting campaign contributions until June 1, 2018. However, candidates for the mayor race have gotten around that by accepting money for their exploratory committees, which is allowed by state law.
City directors are elected to four-year terms. They set city policy, have the final say on zoning and land-use issues, approve large contracts and meet nearly every Tuesday at City Hall. The job pays $18,500 per year.
Ward 6 encompasses neighborhoods east of Woodlands Trail to University Avenue and south of Markham Street, Mara Lynn Drive and Kanis Road to Colonel Glenn Road.
Metro on 10/06/2017
*CORRECTION: Russ Racop, who writes a blog critical of city government, emailed a reporter a news release about his run for for the Ward 6 seat on the Little Rock Board of Directors on Tuesday evening, along with a brief statement saying he is not soliciting donations at this time. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated he hadn’t returned an email seeking comment or sent out a formal news release.