Fort Smith director recall election could cost more than $15,000

Calls for a recall of Fort Smith city directors include petition tables set up around town. A recall election could cost more than $15,000 and the soonest one could be held would be November 2025, according to the Fort Smith City Clerk’s office.

Recent social media posts have called for a petition to recall Ward 1 City Director Jarred Rego, and Ward 2 City Director André Good. Some social media posts have suggested a recall for all seven city directors. A table was set up Friday (Oct. 25) with volunteers gathering petitions against Rego in the parking lot in front of the early voting site at Creekmore Park.

Recall reasons include allegations that primarily focus on financial mismanagement that result in higher fees and taxes for residents.

Fort Smith City Clerk Sherri Gard said the city has historically budgeted $15,000 for a singular ward election.

“However, the last time an election occurred in a singular ward was the primary election held on Aug. 9, 2016, and that cost was $16,585.17,” Gard said.

Good and Rego were up for reelection this year. Neither, along with Ward 4 Director George Catsavis, had an opponent file against them in the election. They were all declared winner of the election and will serve four more years in their respective seats.

Arkansas law allows for elected mayors, members of board of directors and commissioners of suburban improvement districts to be subject to recall. Features of the recall statutes in Arkansas are:
• The office-holder must have been in office at least six months before a recall can be begun;
• Specific grounds are not required;
• There is no time limit for collecting signatures; and
• The signature requirement for mayors and directors is 35% of ballots cast for all candidates for the office at the preceding primary at which the officials were nominated or elected.

The number of approved signatures needed in a recall petition for Rego would be 2,048 and for Good would be 1,167. Signatures must come from qualified electors of the subject ward as per the City Attorney opinion dated Feb. 17, 1982, a recall initiative referendum election information sheet prepared by the Fort Smith City Clerk’s office said.

According to information provided by the city clerk’s office, the number of signatures required for Rego was calculated from the 1996 general election between candidates Mary Jane Daily and Ken Pevehouse. This is the last time the position was on the ballot of a general municipal election.

The signatures needed for a recall of Good was calculated from the 2016 general election between candidates Good (incumbent) and Bruce Wade. The total votes cast in 2016 was 3,335, according to the city clerk’s office.

If other directors were to face a recall petitioners would need the following number of valid signatures:
Director Ward 3 Lavon Morton –  2,494
Director Ward 4 George Catsavis – 3,494
Director-at-Large Position 5 Christina Catsavis – 6,596
Director-at-Large Position 6 Kevin Settle –6,535
Director-at-Large Position 7 Neal Martin – 6,405

Morton’s term ends Dec. 31. He has chosen not to run for reelection. Russell Bragg, Lee Kemp and Carl Nevin are all running for this seat in the Nov. 5 general election. For a recall of Mayor George McGill, petitions would need 6,084 valid signatures.

“Also, since the Legislature approved only two special election dates per year, unless there’s an emergency, the next date to put this to a vote, assuming there are enough approved signatures, is November 2025,” City Administrator Carl Geffken said in an email to city directors and the mayor on Oct. 22.