Candidate Crunched on Rogers Residency

A small rumble was made by the daily newspapers about Rogers mayoral candidate Kurt Maddox when he relocated his residence from Gravette to Rogers after an unsuccessful bid for the 3rd District Congressional seat.

One has to live in the town he or she may govern, after all. Maddox owns several properties in Rogers and his MDX Group Inc. family of companies is based there.

Maddox now faces a runoff election on Nov. 23 against Greg Hines.

What hasn’t been mentioned in the press is that a former tenant of Maddox’s, Mona Wiley, said she was asked to break her lease two months early so Maddox could move into the house at 3707 N. Second St. Wiley said one of Maddox’s employees promised to “buy out” the lease and refund deposits for her trouble.

She was caught off-guard by the request, but “I was trying to be agreeable,” she said. Wiley, her husband and a roommate moved out at the end of June.

Wiley said she was refunded her deposits, including a non-refundable pet deposit, but not the other $2,000 that was implied.

Maddox and Patrick Hall, an employee of Maddox’s and his campaign manager, don’t remember it that way. They both said only a month was left on the lease and that there was no pressure put on the couple to move.

Maddox had other options for residence, Hall said.

Pressed for details, Hall said he would have to pull some records, but did not return a call before press time.

Maddox said he’ll make the best candidate for the job, having 25 years of experience in the business community and as landlord to 70-plus residential and commercial properties in Benton County.

His platform, endorsed by the Benton County Tea Party, is essentially ultra conservative.

Outgoing Mayor Steve Womack will leave Rogers with about $13 million in general reserve funds.