Sanders wins Fort Smith mayoral race; Settle reelected

For the first time in 20 years, Fort Smith will soon have a new mayor.

Mr. Sandy Sanders defeated longtime Mayor Ray Baker in what was a relatively quiet race with a few sparks near the end of the campaign. Sanders captured 53.98% of the vote (10,148 votes), compared to Baker’s 46.02% (8,652 votes).

The Fort Smith municipal races also saw George Catsavis defeat Patrick Jacobs in the City Director, Position 4 race; Pam Weber defeat Juan Martinez in the City Director, Position 5 race; and, City Director Kevin Settle defeat Eric Arthur in the City Director, Position 6 race.

Fort Smith businessman Philip Merry Jr. ran unopposed in the City Director, Position 7 race.

“I am pleased and grateful for the opportunity to serve Fort Smith. The whole emphasis of our campaign is to focus on the vision of what Fort Smith could and should be,” Sanders said when it was confirmed he had won. “I also want to thank Ray Baker for his many years of service to Fort Smith and we pray for him and his continued healing.”

Sanders also faces a new challenge when he is sworn in as mayor. The Fort Smith board of directors voted Tuesday to fire City Administrator Dennis Kelly. His dismissal was effective immediately.

Baker, 71, sought a sixth, four-year term for what is primarily a ceremonial mayor. Fort Smith’s day-to-day business is conducted by a city administrator who is managed by the elected board of directors. Baker was in the hospital for many weeks of the campaign, including more than a week in the hospital just a few weeks prior to election day.  The most recent hospitalization was Baker’s third 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.

Sanders, 66, campaigned by advocating that a mayor needs to do more to boost economic development, while Baker said Fort Smith’s form of government (manager-council) limits the mayor’s job to largely ceremonial work.

In the first ever professional survey of the mayor race, The City Wire Election 2010 Poll showed Baker with a 42% to 34% lead over Sanders as of Oct. 19. The survey of 600 likely voters in Fort Smith also showed that 24% remain undecided. The survey has a +4%/-4% margin of error.

The City Wire Election 2010 Poll also showed Weber and Settle ahead in the races for Fort Smith City Director, Position 5, and Fort Smith City Director, Position 6, respectively.

The mayoral survey suggested that Sanders would have to work hard in the last two weeks of the campaign to convince an overwhelming majority of the undecideds to vote for him.

“Mayor Ray Baker has a plurality of voter support, but only leads challenger Sandy Sanders by 8 percentage points in our poll, 42-34%. With 24% undecided, there is potential for much movement in this race and there would appear to be a high number of voters considering both leaders for the mayor’s post. If Sanders is to be successful, he will need to offer persuasive arguments in these final two weeks to convince voters that he has a more appealing vision for the future of Fort Smith than Baker,” Roby Brock, owner of Talk Business Research, said in the survey analysis.

An Oct. 22 forum between Baker and Sanders was without incident until the end, when Baker accused Sanders of being supported by “little groups” who seek to “squelch progress that doesn’t benefit them.” Baker said he has fought against such silent, behind-the-scenes groups in the past and will continue to do so. Sanders took exception to remark, saying he and his wife have lived in Fort Smith for decades and have been part of efforts to make Fort Smith better. Furthermore, Sanders noted, since he and his wife are retired, they are beholden to no particular group. Sanders added that a small group of friends encouraged him to run for mayor, just like a group of Baker’s friends encouraged him to run for re-election.

CITY DIRECTOR RACES
George Catsavis defeated Patrick Jacobs in the City Director, Position 4 race with 57.3% of the vote.

Pam Weber defeated Juan Martinez in the City Director, Position 5 race with 74.9% of the vote.

City Director Kevin Settle soundly defeated Eric Arthur in the City Director, Position 6 race with 81.6% of the vote.

“Going forward, we need to come up with some long-term plans, not just for the convention center … but with quality of place initiatives and to drive home some economic development issues,” Settle said.