A judge dismissed the city of Little Rock's lawsuit Tuesday against the Arkansas Ethics Commission and two men exploring a run for mayor, saying the city had no standing to bring the suit.
Little Rock's elected Board of Directors now must decide whether to appeal that decision to the state Supreme Court or drop the matter and amend the city ordinance on campaign fundraising that is at the center of the dispute.
One board member said he'd like to suspend the ordinance to make fundraising an even playing field for incumbents and challengers, but no action was taken Tuesday.
The city filed the lawsuit in January asking a judge to rule that Warwick Sabin and Frank Scott Jr., who are both collecting campaign contributions through exploratory committees, are in violation of a local ordinance saying candidates cannot start accepting contributions until the June before a November election. The city also asked that the Ethics Commission be made to enforce the rule.
Instead, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled from the bench Tuesday that Sabin and Scott legally set up exploratory committees under state law, which allows them to collect money two years out from an election, and that the men are not officially candidates until they file. Therefore, Fox said, the men are not in violation of the city ordinance that applies to candidates.
Fox also ruled the Ethics Commission does not have to enforce city ordinances.
"I am very grateful to our legal team for their diligent work to have this politically-motivated lawsuit thrown out of court," Sabin said in a statement released by his campaign Tuesday.
Scott's campaign also issued a statement.
"This case was an inappropriate attempt by Mayor Mark Stodola to use city resources to compel the Arkansas Ethics Commission to enforce a misguided ordinance, which the Court rightfully dismissed," Scott said in the statement. "It feels great to finally be vindicated."
Stodola disputed both men's comments in his own statement Tuesday, pointing out that the Board of Directors ordered the city attorney to file the lawsuit.
"Today's ruling allows would-be candidates to continue to intentionally circumvent the laws of the city that they are seeking to lead, including the ordinance in question which the court stated was valid on its face," Stodola said. He later added, "No one is trying to prevent Scott and Sabin from running for mayor. That is laughable."
Right now, Stodola cannot collect campaign contributions because of the city ordinance and an Arkansas Ethics Commission rule that prevents him from creating an exploratory committee for an office he already holds.
At the same time, Stodola has a little more than $78,000 leftover from a prior campaign at his disposal, which critics have said unfairly gives him a leg up.
Stodola said his re-election campaign "will be fine" despite the fact that Sabin and Scott have had a head start on fundraising. Sabin's campaign said it has collected more than $150,000 so far, and Scott's campaign said it has raised more than $80,000.
"Instead perhaps one should ask, if either get elected, what other ordinances of the city they will choose to ignore when the city attorney advises them about what the law prohibits," Stodola said.
While the question over how the state law and local ordinance interact has centered around Little Rock's mayoral race, there are six city board seats up for election in November as well.
Challengers to the sitting city directors could form exploratory committees and begin collecting money ahead of the June start date that incumbents must follow. Many have said they will follow the timeline set in the city ordinance.
At a Tuesday afternoon board meeting, At-large City Director Dean Kumpuris suggested the board pass a resolution suspending the city rule until after this year's election.
"I think it's a travesty that we're at a point where we are trying to do good government and people won't let us," Kumpuris said. He added that by the time the city could appeal the ruling on the lawsuit, the June 1 deadline would be close.
City Attorney Tom Carpenter said he will prepare a full memorandum for the board laying out its options before next Tuesday's regular meeting. If the ordinance is changed, it would make the matter moot before the court and the city couldn't appeal.
Metro on 02/28/2018