Baker scheduled to appear at mayoral forum

A mayoral candidate forum to be conducted Friday (Oct. 22) by the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce may be the first election event Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker has attended in at least the past 60 days.

The chamber and Manufacturing Executives Association of Fort Smith are hosting the forum held Noon to 1 p.m., Oct. 22 at the Holiday Inn City Center. (Cost is $10 per person, and reservations are required by calling the chamber at 783-3111.)

Whitney Yoder, vice president of operations at the chamber, said Baker confirmed with her during a telephone call that he would attend the forum.

“He told me he would be there. I have to go with that,” Yoder said when asked about the liklihood Baker will attend the event.

Baker is back in the hospital after an almost 30-day hospital stay that ended around Sept. 13. With little to no communication from his office, it is unclear why he is back in the hospital and when he might be released.

The race between Baker and Mr. Sandy Sanders has been relatively quiet, primarily because of Baker’s recent illness.

Baker, 71, entered St. Edward Mercy Medical on Aug. 18 with severe dehydration and was released around Sept. 13. However, has not not attended city board meetings since his release, and has not responded to media requests for information — including no response to numerous efforts by The City Wire to reach him through his home phone message or the secretary in his city office.

The recent hospitalization is Baker’s second in the past 11 months. He entered the hospital Nov. 15, 2009, after becoming weak from an infection. Baker was in the hospital several days to recuperate and convalesce after the illness. Baker successfully underwent surgery and chemo for colon cancer in late 2007.

OTHER FORUMS, DEBATES
The chamber forum is one of several candidate debates and forums scheduled in the last two weeks prior to the Nov. 2 general election.

Progressive Arkansas will conduct a debate between 3rd District candidates David Whitaker (D) and Rogers Mayor Steve Womack (R). The debate, to be moderated by Dr. Robert Willoughby, a history and political science professor at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, is scheduled for 7 p.m., Oct. 21 at the Fort Smith Convention Center. The debate is open to the public.

“At the end of the evening, the audience will be polled on who won the debate. Progressive Arkansas will then count the votes and release the results on its website the following morning,” noted a statement from the group.

Whitaker will need the classic October surprise to win the race. A recent Talk Business Poll shows Womack’s lead over Whitaker has grown from 55-31 on Aug. 25, to 59-21 as of Oct. 14.

Also, the Student Government Association at Arkansas Tech University’s Ozark Campus will host a “Meet the Candidates” forum at 3 p.m., Oct. 25, in the Student Services and Conference Center room 117B. Legislative candidates in the area served by ATU-Ozark have been invited to attend the forum.

“Participation in this forum is an excellent opportunity to discuss regional issues with our students, who number nearly 1,400 this fall, and with our Ozark Community,” noted an ATU-Ozark statement.

The City Wire editor Michael Tilley will moderate a brief question and answer session that will follow the three-minute opening remarks by each candidate.