Freeman reelected as Van Buren mayor; Deffenbaugh wins District 66 seat

story by Marla Cantrell
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Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman survived a election challenge, and Gary Deffenbaugh handily won the right to represent the Van Buren area in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

However, a minor technical difficulty presents some races from being final in Crawford County.

Election officials in Crawford County will resume counting votes at 9 a.m., Wednesday. According to Ken Chitwood, with the Crawford County Election Commission, there was a discrepancy between the printout and the program device used to automatically tally votes.

The problem only affected the Hope’s Creek precinct, which is within the city limits. There are also 260 absentee ballots from across the county which will continue to be tallied. Chitwood said those are being tallied by hand and that because the ballot is so long, it’s taking longer than expected.

“It’s a great day to have the support from the community that we can continue on and move forward,” Freeman said of his win. “It’s been a rough four years for a lot of families and for the communities and it’s been difficult and we’ve dealt with some difficult issues.  We have a vision of the future and what we’re going to do.”

The first two things Freeman will focus on is opening the new library in mid-January and completing the expansion of Rena Road, which has been in the works for years.

Freeman said the area is still struggling with the effects of a lagging economy. He works weekly on the budget and is aware of the restraints felt by the residents of Van Buren. But the city does need a new police station and an additional fire station near Oliver Springs Road.

“We need road improvements, but in some cases that will cost millions of dollars,” Freeman said. “It will be up to the citizens to resource. We’re the lowest taxed city in the area. I’m not advocating raising taxes but the citizens will have to make the decision on whether they want to stay like we are and keep the low taxes or look around and say we need to step up.“

Max Blake, who challenged Freeman for the Van Buren mayor’s post, had no regrets.

“Most rewarding thing I’ve done in my life,” Blake said. “The campaign was clean and as far as I know nothing upset anybody. I’ve met a lot of great people and didn’t know I’d be embraced like I was. It reinforces that I did the right thing.”

Deffenbaugh, who defeated Dianna Faucher (D) for the District 66 seat, said education and working to bring jobs to the area will be his focus in the Arkansas Legislature.

“Through the whole primary and election I’ve had great encouragement and friends have helped immensely and have prayed for me, contributed,” Deffenbaugh said of the election victory. “I’m just so excited to have this opportunity, a new world for me.”
 
The unofficial vote totals for key races:
Van Buren Mayor
Bob Freeman 2,445 — 56%
Max Blake 1,956 — 44%

State Rep. Dist. 66
Gary Deffenbaugh, R, 4,764 — 73%
Dianna Faucher, D, 1,722 — 27%

Crawford County Treasurer
Joyce Landers, D, 4,398 — 31%
Beverly Pyle, R, 9,593 — 69%

Crawford County Tax Collector
Sandra Cook, D, 5,339 — 38.5%
Kevin Pixley, R, 8,530 — 61.5%

Crawford County Assessor
Ronnie Dale, R, 9,228 — 66%
Connie Beyerle, D, 4,658 — 34%

Alma Mayor
John Ballentine 661 — 57%
Woodrow Stewart 508 — 43%

Cedarville Mayor
Danny Armstrong 198 — 60%
Richard Harris 133 — 40%

Chester Mayor
Duane Butch Adams 9 — 24%
Shannon Smith 28 — 76%

Dyer Mayor
Randy Beard 134 — 59%
Richard Leakey 95 — 41%

Kibler Mayor
Gerald Wayne (Bubba) Bailey 143 — 46%
Gary O’Kelley 169 — 54%

Mountainburg Mayor
Ralph Bryant 109 — 63%
Stanley Moore 65 — 37%

Mulberry Mayor
Gary Baxter 448 — 89%
Tiffany Reedy-Robinson 58 — 11%