Catsavis, Jacobs head to November race for Fort Smith city director post

George Catsavis and Patrick Jacobs will face each other in November in the race for Fort Smith City Director, Position 4.

Catsavis received 522 votes (41.17%) in the municipal primary, with Jacobs gaining 463 votes (36.51%) and Marshall Sharpe coming in third with 283 votes (22.2%).

Position 4 opened after City Director Bill Maddox decided to step down in the middle of his four-year term.

The 1,221 votes in the primary fell short of the 1,466 votes cast in the 2008 municipal primary for Position 3. In the 2008 board of directors primary race between Don Hutchings, Gary Marcotte and Ric Parrish, the election ended with 1,466 votes cast and Hutchings capturing 912 votes, or 62.2%. Because Hutchings received more than 50%, he did not face a November opponent that year.

There was no such luck for the Position 4 candidates.

Catsavis is a restaurant operator in Fort Smith. Jacobs is the assistant general manager at Fort Smith-based Carco International. Sharpe is the manager of audit programs at Fort Smith-based OK Industries.

“I had a good group of people behind the scenes and they worked hard for me and they believe in my position on the issues, and it turned out good,” Catsavis said of his showing in the primary.

His strategy for November will be to “just try to get my message out to more people” in a municipal ward with more than 11,300 voters.

“And that’s no taxes and cut out the money we don’t have to spend,” Catsavis said in explaining his key messages.

According to Jacobs, Sharpe has endorsed his November election.

Jacobs said he was “thankful” for the support of family and friends. What he has to do between now and November is “focus more on getting the vote out” and “letting people know where I stand on the issues.”

In the primary, Jacobs took the lead in terms of fundraising. As of July 31, Jacobs had raised $9,925 in contributions. He spend $6,955 on his campaign and ended the reporting period with a $2,969 balance.

Catsavis had raised at least $1,714 as of Aug. 2, and spent $1,409 on the campaign. Sharpe raised $1,750 as of July 30, with $1,200 of that being a loan to his campaign. He spent $1,169 on the campaign as of July 30.

Three board seats will be contested in the November election.

Catsavis and Jacobs will face off in the Position 4 race.

Juan Martinez and Pam Weber are on the ballot for the Position 5, and Eric Arthur and City Director Kevin Settle are on the Position 6 ballot.

Philip Merry Jr. did not draw an opponent for Position 7.

Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker will seek a sixth, four-year term for mayor against Fort Smith businessman Sandy Sanders.