Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore, the city’s top administrator for the past two decades, has died, according to a statement issued by the city on Saturday.
Moore, who had turned 57 on Wednesday, “passed away peacefully overnight in his Little Rock home,” the statement said.
Mayor Frank Scott Jr. ordered flags in the city to be flown at half-staff in his memory.
“During his time in service to the residents of Little Rock, City Manager Moore personified servant leadership,” the city's statement said. “He earned awards and accolades from across the country and around the world for his effective management, organization and expertise.”
As city manager, Moore was responsible for essential tasks. He executed contracts, oversaw a series of department heads and worked with the Little Rock Board of Directors, often fielding elected officials’ inquiries on this or that issue.
He served as city manager under three different mayors: Jim Dailey, Mark Stodola and Scott. The city’s statement called Moore “the longest-serving city manager in Little Rock history.”
During his tenure, Little Rock voters made the office of mayor a full-time position via a 2007 referendum.
Last year, Moore shepherded a $161.8 million capital-improvement bond proposal with six project categories through the city board. Voters later approved all six categories in a citywide referendum that reauthorized the long-running millage.
According to the city, Moore is survived by a son, Luke Thomas Moore, and fiancée Siobhan Osborne.
Raised in El Dorado, Moore earned a bachelor’s degree from Henderson State University.
Beginning in 1989, he worked for the Arkansas Department of Human Services in Arkadelphia, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported in a 2004 profile. Moore was called to active duty from the U.S. Army Reserve in 1990 and spent approximately nine months in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm.
He later left the Human Services Department to earn a master’s degree in public administration from Arkansas State University.
Moore began his lengthy career with the city in 1994 as an administrative intern under then-City Manager Charles Nickerson. He was appointed assistant city manager in 1999 after serving in several other roles, including as an assistant to Dailey.
During then-President Bill Clinton’s 1996 reelection bid, Moore took a brief leave of absence to assist the campaign, the Democrat-Gazette reported.
Moore was named city manager in December 2002, beating out two other finalists after holding the job on an interim basis following the departure of Cy Carney.
The question of who would become the next city manager coincided with a municipal budget crunch. Even as he was under consideration by the city board to occupy the post permanently, Moore had to work with officials to prepare a budget for the following year amid an anticipated decline in revenue.
“I can’t imagine why anyone would want to be city manager of Little Rock right now,” Dailey said at the time, according to a 2002 Democrat-Gazette article. “There’s going to be more saying ‘no’ than saying ‘yes.’”
Nevertheless, the city board said “yes” to Moore. At age 36, he got the job.
Those who knew Moore recalled his ability to work with others and solve problems. They also noted his dedication as a father.
“Bruce was a dear friend and brother to me,” Scott said in a statement provided by a spokesperson. “I’ll always be grateful for his wisdom and advice, both before and after I was elected Mayor. Bruce was an exceptionally good leader and expert at municipal administration. He looked out for the best interests of everyone in Little Rock, from our first-time visitors to our forty-year team members.”
The mayor called Moore a “consensus builder” and said he cherished the time they spent together as they discussed how to best conduct the city’s business.
“I pray for his loved ones, and I know that being a parent to Luke was his proudest and greatest responsibility and accomplishment,” Scott said.
“He was the rock,” said City Director Joan Adcock. “He was the person that held our city together. Through every situation we came through, there was always Bruce.”
His involvement extended to everything, and he remembered every detail, according to Adcock. “He was a can-do person. He was always there to work out the details and show us how to do things,” she said.
City Director Brenda “B.J.” Wyrick said she considered Moore to be her “lifeline” when she was trying to resolve issues, and she had the utmost confidence in him.
“He just had that knack to know how to deal with things,” Wyrick said. “It’s a tremendous loss for the city. It’s a tremendous loss for the board. I really do not have any idea who might step into his place to work with the city business as Bruce has done.”
She recalled telling others, “Bruce knows where all the bones are buried and the money is hid.”
Moore managed to keep at least 6 of the 10 elected city directors happy at all times, City Director Lance Hines said.
“The fact that he knew how to navigate taking care of 10 politicians who sometimes don’t always think rationally, I think that to me is his greatest accomplishment,” Hines said.
Moore was an intern when City Director Ken Richardson first met him through Richardson’s gang intervention work, he recalled.
Moore “grew up with the city,” Richardson said. “As Bruce grew, the city grew.”
He was integral to the development of the city’s prevention, intervention and treatment work as well as initiatives tied to marginalized children, youth and families, Richardson said.
Richardson liked Moore’s ability to anticipate challenges and address them, he said. “He played chess rather than checkers,” he said.
Along with City Director Dean Kumpuris, Moore helped review potential sites for Clinton’s presidential library.
“There were some nights that Dean and I would talk late into the evening not sure whether or not the next day we would still have the project,” Moore said in a 2002 Democrat-Gazette article. “But without a doubt, our community is going to be a better community once the library doors are open.”
Kumpuris called Moore “the heart of the city.” He was the one person who could always bridge any racial or wealth gap, Kumpuris said.
Mark Stodola, who served as mayor from 2007 through the end of 2018, said Moore was dedicated “110%” to the community and to improving the city. He also was well-recognized and respected as an administrator on a national level, according to Stodola.
Moore went to work for the city about a month before Bryan Day, and the two became fast friends, Day recalled.
Day, the executive director of the Little Rock Port Authority, said that Moore “loved the city more than anybody. He cared for people. He sacrificed so much to make sure Little Rock was better.”
Even as a young man, Moore worked “endless hours,” Day said, describing him as outgoing and gregarious. As he grew older, Moore seemed to get wiser and smarter, Day recalled. He focused more on solving the bigger problems.
Becoming city manager meant Moore took on the huge responsibility of overseeing a capital city with complex problems at a young age. He “aged overnight,” Day said, but in such a way that was good for Moore and the community.
“He always knew he wanted to be a city manager, and he fulfilled that dream and left his mark,” Day said.
This story has been updated. It was originally published at 11:47 a.m. under the headline "Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore dead at 57."
Gallery: Bruce Moore, 1966-2023
