Terry Hartwick defeated Tracy Steele on Tuesday night in North Little Rock's hotly contested mayoral runoff.
With all precincts reporting, unofficial results are:
Hartwick 5,417
Steele 4,737
Around 9:30 p.m., Hartwick and his campaign team claimed victory in the runoff, noting that Hartwick had a lead of nearly 700 votes.
"First off, I want to congratulate Tracy and his people on their campaign, and now I got 5,400 people to say thank you to," said Hartwick, who served as North Little Rock's mayor from 1985-88. "I am honored to be mayor again."
Steele said late Tuesday night that he called Hartwick around 10:30 p.m. and congratulated him on his victory.
"I want to thank all of the people in North Little Rock who worked hard on our campaign," Steele said in a statement. "I thank all the people who supported me, especially the many young people."
Hartwick succeeds Mayor Joe Smith, who chose not to run for reelection and will leave office in January after two terms.
Hartwick and Steele were the top vote-getters in the Nov. 3 general election, which also included Alice Kunce, a teacher at Dunbar Middle School in the Little Rock School District, and Debi Ross, a City Council member who represents Ward 1. Steele received 11,291 votes in the general election, while Hartwick received 8,121.
Hartwick, 71, is the director of the North Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department.
He touted his previous experience as mayor and said he would prioritize establishing covid-19 pandemic offices within the city if elected. Hartwick also said he wants to focus on underserved parts of the city along East Broadway and Camp Robinson, and he mentioned his desire to bring urgent care facilities to those areas.
Steele, 56, is a member of the North Little Rock School Board and director of the Arkansas Health Services Permit Agency. He previously served in the state House of Representatives and the state Senate.
Steele announced Nov. 4, 2019, that he would make another bid to become North Little Rock's mayor after running in 2012, when he led a field of four on election night before losing to Smith in a runoff.
He campaigned on uniting North Little Rock and focusing on neglected areas within the city, saying that older communities such as Rose City, Glenview and Dixie have been forgotten.
Hartwick said Tuesday night that he believed his campaign message about experience helped him win over voters in the runoff.
"People have seen what I have done in the past," he said.
Hartwick said he also wants to bring the city together after a tough campaign season and that he will treat every neighborhood as important.
He said he wants to get started immediately on setting up pandemic offices and moving forward with the rest of his campaign promises.
"I need to talk to the mayor [Smith] and see what our plans are right now," he said. "We've got a lot of work to do."
North Little Rock's mayor serves a four-year term with an annual salary of $128,220.27.