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Who Will Replace Alderman Gaines? |
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Written by Scott Miller
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Saturday, November 21 2009 |
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Friday afternoon Alderman Cary Gaines resigned his seat as Ward 3 Alderman for the City of North Little Rock. You can find a link to his resignation letter here, courtesy of the Arkansas Times. Council can vote to hold a special election or simply by majority vote appoint someone to fill the remaining 13 months of Alderman Gaines term. According to long time Council watchers, Council has rarely voted to hold special elections in the past. Given the tight City budget and likely special election cost of over $20,000, which would have to paid by the City it seems probable that Council will appoint someone to the Ward 3 seat. So who are the likely candidates
- John Parker, former alderman who lost his seat to current Alderman Sam Baggett on the Ward 3 election last year. Parker was appointed by the Council to the Planning Commission after his loss last year.
- Steve Baxter. Steve came in a close third to John Parker and Sam Baggett in the last Ward 3 election
- Tony Vestal. former Ward 3 alderman who lost in a runoff election to Cary Gaines in 2006.
- Ron Treat, current NLR School Board member and president of the Amboy Crime Watch
- Bruce Foutch, ran for Ward 3 alderman in 2008 and came in 4th in a five way race. Bruce has recently been actively campaigning for County Justice of the Peace, so he may not want the alderman appointment
There are many others in the neighborhood groups who would make fine alderpersons, they just may not be well known enough. In event it will be interesting to see how the process unfolds (more on that later)
Written by ctyankee, on 21-11-2009 13:13
If the members of the city council appoint someone to fill Cary's seat, will that person be able to run for re-election to that position when the term is up? I seem to recall that in judicial positions if someone is appointed to fill an open seat, that appointee cannot run for re-election to that seat when that term in office expires. |
what?
Written by FLavaMalo, on 21-11-2009 15:58
What, no woman candidates? |
Written by angry guy, on 21-11-2009 17:36
Let's see, we have John Parker whom the voters voted out of office and was replaced by Sam Baggett. Steve Baxter who came in 3rd in the above mentioned election. Then Bruce Foutch. He came in fourth in the election. Then there is Tony Vestal. Do you give the 2nd place guy the seat when the 1st place guy gets discraced out of office? Maybe. At least there is some logic there. And finally Ron Treat. At least he is an elected official. Someone the people of NLR wanted to hold office.
I don't see how Parker, Baxter or Foutch should be considered. The voters already rejected them. Please council members, listen to the people that got you elected for once. The people of the 3rd ward rejected these three already, respect their wishes! So of the people mentioned, you could give an arguement for Vestal, otherwise the only real consideration should be for Ron Treat. Surely there is another qualified candidate that the voters haven't rejected that lives in the 3rd ward. Get it right guys, and remember that you are all elected officials as well. If you can't respect the wishes of the voters, then I can't see myself having enough respect for you to vote to re-elect you. |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, November 22 2009 )
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