Candidates for Eureka Springs municipal offices got a chance to make their case to voters at a forum presented by the Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Oct. 27, at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center.
A total of 13 candidates spoke at the forum, answering questions from master of ceremonies Damon Henke — and occasionally from the audience.Among the candidates were Mayor Butch Berry, who is seeking a third term as the city’s chief executive, and challenger Tracy Johnson, former events coordinator for the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission.
A third mayoral candidate, Brandon Cox, was unable to attend because of a family situation. Beau Satori, whose name also is on the ballot as a mayoral candidate, was not invited after Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson ruled last week that Satori is ineligible to run for or serve as mayor because he pleaded guilty to a felony tax charge in 2003. Satori is appealing Jackson’s ruling.
During his comments, Berry emphasized his experience as mayor, calling his tenure “a wild roller-coaster ride,” saying that the city was “on the verge of financial disaster” in 2015 before enacting budget cuts.
Those cuts allowed the city to reverse its financial fortunes and begin rebuilding its reserves, Berry said.
“We had a record year for tourism and sales tax collections in 2019, and then COVID-19 hit,” Berry said. “The hardest thing to go through as mayor was seeing COVID come in. It was scary. The first couple of months with the health crisis and the economic crisis, I really wasn’t sure what was going to happen. We had to drastically cut our budget while keeping the city [at] full operation. … In addition, it was literally a matter of life and death to make good decisions to protect the health and well-being of our citizens and visitors. By spring of 2021, we were stronger than ever and had another record- breaking year, including growth in population. Even with all of our challenges and the situation that no one could have anticipated, we continue to deliver on critical city needs like infrastructure, water and sewer improvements and expansion, building a municipal solar farm that is saving taxpayers money and much-needed repairs and more sidewalks, auditorium restoration and much more.”
If re-elected Berry said he would maintain his focus on solid financial management and invest taxpayer money in the city’s infrastructure.
Asked to identify one issue that he would most like to address, Berry focused on water and sewer needs.
“Without water and sewer, we really can’t do anything,” he said. “We need water and sewer. We’ve been promising people out west of town that we were going to get them sewer, or water. We’ve been doing the same thing on the east side of town. So to me, that’s an important thing.”
Johnson said her background is in organizing and promoting events, which she did during her time working on a contract basis for the CAPC.
“I’m happy to say that while I was in that position, our events and tourism was thriving,” she said.
Johnson said a divisive political atmosphere is hurting Eureka Springs.
“One of the shortcomings I’ve seen in our city is a big disconnect,” she said. “There’s, for some reason, an inability to work together, and that hinders those of us who live here. We need to come together and work together and make things happen. That’s one of the main reasons why I stepped into this position, because though all of these things we all want are very wonderful and I aspire to have them happen, the reality of the situation is things are being taken away from us one at a time and it’s gut-punching our community.”
If elected, Johnson said she would work to manage Eureka Springs’ city council meetings and ensure proper procedure is followed.
“It is the mayor’s responsibility to implement parliamentary procedure to make sure our city council meetings are effective for everybody,” Johnson said. “Those are supposed to be a safe place where our council members can communicate with each other and our community can come and exercise their First Amendment right and give our input to this town. Everybody up here is elected to represent our community, and our community is our greatest commodity. We cannot forget that we need to take them into consideration.”
CONTESTED RACES
Also on the Nov. 8 general election ballot are three contested races for seats on the Eureka Springs City Council. Former council member Laura Jo Smole is challenging incumbent Autumn Slane for the Ward 1, Position 1 seat, while Ward 2, Position 1 incumbent Melissa Greene is seeking re-election against challenger Bob Thomas — also a former council member. Steve Holifield, chair of the city’s Historic District Commission, is seeking the Ward 2, Position 2 seat currently held by Bill Ott, who is a candidate for re-election.
Slane said she is “campaigning to create a vision for our future.”
“Unfortunately, planning sometimes is a dirty word around here,” she said. “As a result, there’s a misunderstanding of what’s happening at the city level and what we need to do as far as our future in planning. Failing to plan simply means planning to fail.”
Slane said housing is a critical issue for Eureka Springs. She also called for public workshops to allow more dialog between city officials and the citizens they represent.
“We need more public workshops allowing the conversation to be mutual,” she said. “Our council needs to be more educated in the budget and take regular classes on decorum and leadership. Over these last several years, I’ve seen our town change: More restrictions, more rules, less freedom. Education reduces the need for regulation. People and businesses will not embrace what they do not understand.”
Smole, who resigned from the Ward 1, Position 2 seat on the city council because of health concerns in October 2021, said she recently was declared cancer-free.
Smole said she would be an advocate for citizen needs, particularly with regard to the Americans With Disabilities Act and adaptations at city-owned buildings and property. She called for the construction of more parks and touted her many years of experience as a volunteer representing the city at the state level in the areas of historic preservation, tourism and transportation.
Smole said she would be an advocate for all residents, regardless of whether they live in her ward or not.
“I hope to foster issue-based conversations with all of you,” she said. “I would like the council to have public hearings about what you believe in.”
Greene cited her experience sitting on the city council, the planning and historic district commissions and the CAPC.
“I have a record of fairness, listening and respecting constituents’ concerns and bringing those concerns to the table,” she said. “I work for solutions. I recognize the changes and challenges involving the city that I have come to call home. I recognize we need a lot of work on housing, we need a lot of work on our infrastructure. And these are things I promise to tackle.”
Greene said she recently attended a function with Madison Dawson, the CAPC’s tourism director.
“Many attendees spoke with us to not listen to the 20 or so people who are loud, negative and damaging, but to listen to the other 99 percent,” Greene said. “The 99 percent are people like myself who we see live and work in one of the most beautiful places on earth. There is an old adage: ‘You must change to stay the same.’ The 99 percent, along with myself, see and embrace the positive changes for our future. We see the new people, the new businesses and ideas, while nurturing our own ways. We support and encourage our young people instead of tearing them apart. The 99 percent are the people who keep Eureka Springs the fantastic place we call home.”
Thomas said he has 30-plus years of experience, most of it working with a large school district. He also cited his involvement working with the disabled and with special-education students.
“So I am very much aware of the needs of that portion of our community, and I’m very concerned about them,” he said.
Thomas said the health, safety and welfare of residents, business people and tourists should be the primary consideration for all council members.
“I think we best do that when you come into the discussion and you’ve done your research and you’ve spoken to a broad base of people in the community, not just a few of your friends and your mentors,” he said. “… We have to reach out to people. You can’t just limit yourself to those in your little circle, telling you what to do and how to vote.”
Ott cited his civic involvement and his induction into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame as well as his position on the Arkansas Municipal League’s Economic Development Advisory Council.
“It’s been a joy to be on city council,” he said. “It’s been a joy to work with people. Our projects right now include a resident parking ordinance. … We’ve got to come up with a plan. We’re working hard, crafting this thing to at least get a test area going so the people who live here can have a place to park in front on their homes.”
Holifield said he moved to Eureka Springs about 10 years ago after retiring from a career as a crisis counselor with the Austin, Texas, Police Department. He has worked with The Purple Flower Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Resource & Support Center in Berryville.
“I think I bring a unique perspective to this position because I’m a retired person, and we have a pretty good size retired community here in Eureka Springs and we don’t have a lot of voice in stuff,” he said. “So I think we need a balance and I definitelysupport businesses and people at work, but also the people who are retired here want to make this a nice place to live, want to be able to walk down the street and feel safe. When I was collecting my signatures, I listened to what people had to say. Parking, of course, is a nightmare here. I understand that completely. Another thing people mentioned was sidewalks. And I’d like to use my position, my background with the police department to make our city a more safer city and maybe more connected city with the community, with the police department.”
UNOPPOSED CANDIDATES
City attorney Forrest Jacobi, who was appointed to his position earlier this year, is running unopposed for a full term in office. Ida Meyer is unopposed as a candidate for city clerk. City council members Terry Mc-Clung and Harry Meyer are unopposed in their re-election bids. David Avanzino is running unopposed for a seat on the City Council. All spoke at the forum.
