Election season is fast approaching, and residents of Siloam Springs will have the chance to cast a vote in one contested race for a seat on the Board of Directors.
Early voting for the general election starts Nov. 1. Election day is one week later, on Nov. 8.
The board, which votes on many city issues, has two kinds of seats. Four seats are designated for specific areas of the city, while the three remaining seats are "at-large" seats on which the whole city can vote.
All three at-large seats on the Board of Directors are up for grabs this year, but both Director Carol Smiley and Director Bob Coleman are running unopposed for another term on seats six and seven, respectively. Seat five, the other seat up for election, was previously held by Scott Jones, who moved to Russia earlier this year. Jerry Cavness has been serving as an interim director and is not running for election, so a new person will occupy seat five in 2017.
Two men are in the running for seat 5. Both candidates, Don Cundiff and Lucas Roebuck, are familiar names on the Siloam Springs political scene.
For Cundiff, this will be the third time campaigning for a Siloam Springs city board seat. Cundiff said he wants to bring a change to Siloam Springs' city government since the city changed from a Mayoral form of government to its current City Administrator format.
Cundiff said the change in government styles made Siloam Springs too insensitive to its citizens, and he promised to be available to hear from citizens at any time.
"If you can't take the heat, don't apply for the position," Cundiff said.
Cundiff named four issues that are important to him. One is a slowing to city spending. Cundiff said he would be antagonistic to the board on a lot of projects.
"They're going to hear 'no' a lot if I'm elected," Cundiff said. "If I were to be elected, I would be one against six."
Cunditt also said he doesn't think the Main Street area should be as high of a priority for the city.
"There's better ways to use that money, that they're using for beautification of downtown," Cundiff said.
Another issue that Cundiff has spoken about is public/private partnerships. He said he wanted to bring an end to the partnerships, naming Cale Properties and John Brown University specifically.
The fourth issue Cundiff spoke about was sidewalks.
"Of course, my favorite thing is sidewalks," Cundiff said, referencing the many times he has brought them up to the board. Cundiff said he wants to bring sidewalks to areas that are currently missing them.
Most residents of Siloam Springs may recognize Lucas Roebuck's name from his role at John Brown University or his involvement in local politics. Roebuck ran against Robin Lundstrum for State Representative, winning the vote in Siloam Springs, but losing the overall election.
"I think the job of the board is a very important one for anyone who cares a lot about quality of life in the city," Roebuck said.
Roebuck has been familiar with the workings of the board since the early 2000s, when he worked at this newspaper, as managing editor. He was brought up in politics, and has been following city issues for years.
"I think the board is doing a lot of things right," Roebuck said.
Roebuck said he respected former director Scott Jones and the way he took great care in the way the city spent its money. He said he wanted to bring that care and conservatism with him onto the board.
Roebuck identified four priorities that would shape his decisions, if he is elected to the board. They are economic development for job growth, quality of life improvements for the greatest number of people, limiting taxes by making government more efficient and less costly, and limiting the size of government.
Roebuck said he understands the frustration many people share about the state of current politics. While a city director has no control over national elections, Roebuck said he wanted to keep civility in local politics and cooperate to find solutions.
General News on 10/19/2016