Community leaders comment on mayoral race

The race for Fort Smith mayor is heating up early, with Sandy Sanders and Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker announcing they will be candidates for the 2010 election cycle.

If another person enters the race, the election will be held in August. If a majority (50.1%) is gained, then the election ends. If no majority is gained, the top two vote-getters will face off in the November election.

Sandy Sanders announced Sept. 15 he would run, saying he would take on an economic development role in addition to the usual mayoral duties. Fort Smith Mayor Ray Baker announced Sept. 24 he would run for a sixth term, noting that the mayor’s job has no authority to lead economic development efforts.

The two announcements have raised valid questions as to the role of mayor and the qualifications (experience, background) of a mayor.

On Friday, The City Wire sought input from more than 60 area business and civic leaders on what is shaping up to be an important, lengthy and potentially testy race for Fort Smith mayor.

To be sure, the input is not meant to be considered a scientific poll reflecting any varied consensus of opinion. However, the responses did indicate a clear desire for a mayor to be more focused on economic development issues. Also, all respondents were agreed that most citizens don’t understand the roles and responsibilities of a mayor in the Fort Smith’s manager-council form of government.

Following is each question posed to the business and civic leaders, and a sampling of the responses.

QUESTIONS
• Do you think a majority of Fort Smith citizens understand the roles and responsibilities of mayor in the manager-council form of government?

“I don’t believe most citizens of Fort Smith could even accurately name the entire list of director members let alone give you a composite outline of the political highlights of each one.” — Eric Turnquist

“Unfortunately, I don’t think the citizens of Fort Smith have a complete understanding of the type of government in place, which creates confusion and leads to misguided assumptions of the mayor’s role.” — Travis Lea

• Mayor Baker has said the person managing the daily affairs of the city should be elected by the citizens. He has openly called for the city form of government to change from manager-council to mayor-council. What are your thoughts on the form of city government?

“I think any system will work if qualified people are in place. I think if we are going to have a manager then we need to do away with the mayor, or vice versa. Having a "cermonial" mayorship only confuses the public and confounds the governing process of running a city. I am in favor of doing away with either one – the mayor or the administrator.” — Travis Stephens

• Do you believe a mayor in the manager-council form of government is able to have a more direct leadership role in economic development efforts?

“I think the mayor is responsible for the long term direction of a city. He is the face people put on your city. If he is pushing economic development, then that is what the citizens of Fort Smith and potential employers of the city think is important.” — Craig Pair

“Absolutely. Being involved in the process is a choice of whomever is mayor at the time. Our present mayor is constantly getting involved with issues that have an effect on the city. However he picks and chooses the issues he wants to be involved in and uses the ‘ceremonial’ veil as a way out of others.” — Travis Stephens

• Sanders has said the next mayor should have a business background. Mayor Baker has said the mayor’s job does not require a person to have a business background. What are your thoughts on the necessary qualifications of a mayor?

“As evidenced by the current state of economic development, we should have ‘all hands on deck’ for an issue of this importance. The mayor’s ability to connect on business matters is critical. Too often the mayor takes up a cause which may ‘feel good’ but which hinders the ability of the City and Region to progress.” — Mike Callan

“(The person who is) mayor needs an understanding of how to attract and retain jobs to Fort Smith and the Region. This includes being able to converse with business leaders.” — Sam T. Sicard

“I prefer a mayor with business experience. Mayor Baker might not see it as a qualification, but it is to get my vote. Saying that, I expect all my city leaders to have a sound business mind and I vote accordingly.” — Travis Lea

“I think that economic development is the primary driver of every function that the city does. Everything that city wants to do, takes money. If our citizens are making the money and paying the taxes, we will have money for most problems that we face. All it takes is a little bit of travel outside the state of Arkansas to see how important economic development is and what happens when you do a good job. You don’t even have to go outside of the state, look at NWA or Conway or even El Dorado which all seem to be kicking our collective butts when it comes to development.” — Craig Pair

• Bottom line: Will Sandy Sanders, with his name recognition and years of working in the community, be able to unseat the popular Ray Baker?

“Only if we get those voters out who understand that, for example, keeping a local Post Office open is less important than ensuring continued, affordable mail service.” — Mike Callan

“Even though the race ended up not being very close, Steve Jackson was able to capture about 40% of the votes in the 2006 mayoral election. I think it will be tough to unseat Mayor Baker, but with all of Mr. Sanders community experience, he has a great shot to do it.” — Travis Lea

“I sure as hell hope so. I like Mayor Baker, but his management style is more suited to the Welcome wagon or as a Special ambassador for the city for tourism.” — Craig Pair