Jacksonville Mayor Gary Fletcher is withdrawing from the Nov. 6 general election, he announced in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Fletcher, 63, had filed for re-election in May along with three other candidates for mayor. Fletcher has been Jacksonville's mayor since winning a special election in 2009.
He will continue in office until his term is over at the end of the year.
"Now is the time that I need to refocus my life upon those that need me the most and I cannot pass the responsibility on to anyone else," Fletcher said in a statement emailed from the mayor's office late Tuesday afternoon. "While I am optimistic about the future of Jacksonville and still support the resurgence of our great city, as I believe the best is still ahead, I feel it is necessary that I step aside after this term ends on December 31 to allow new leadership to guide our city."
Fletcher would have faced Debra Fulton, 49, state Rep. Bob Johnson, 64, and Patrick Thomas, 58, in the general election. The mayoral position pays $85,670 annually for a four-year term.
"I wish nothing but the best to the other candidates and we as a community need to support their candidacy whether we support their election or not -- with dignity and respect," Fletcher said in his statement.
He went on to thank Jacksonville residents for his 9½ years as mayor and 40 years in elected offices.
"I will always be humbled and touched by your confidence as you've allowed me the opportunity to try to have a positive impact upon you and your families," he said.
Fletcher becomes the third Pulaski County mayor to decide against a re-election bid. Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola and Maumelle Mayor Mike Watson already announced they won't seek re-election.
"That's a big change for us," Sherwood Mayor Virginia Young said of having three fellow mayors in the county leave at once. Young is unopposed in the general election.
"When you know that's what you need to do, that's what you need to do," Young said of Fletcher's announcement. "He knows what's best for him and his family. They don't come any better character-wise than Gary.
"I have a lot of respect for Gary, and I wish him the best," she said. "I know him to be a good Christian man, and [he] is a man of his word."
Fletcher faced controversy in 2017 after the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Police Chief Geoffrey Herweg was disqualified from holding the position because of a past conviction for filing a false report. Fletcher had hired Herweg in April 2016. City Council member Tara Smith filed a lawsuit to remove Herweg from holding the position. Fletcher then installed City Attorney Robert Bamburg as interim police director.
This spring, two Jacksonville Police Department employees filed separate lawsuits against the city claiming that acting department leadership violated their rights through demotions.
In May, Fletcher appointed John Franklin, a former Chicago police commander, to be Jacksonville's police chief.
Before becoming mayor, Fletcher served as a Ward 4 City Council member from 1978-2009 and was on the city's planning commission in 1975. In 1986, Fletcher was named the city's "Citizen of the Year." He is a two-time former president of Jacksonville Jaycees.
Metro on 08/29/2018