GARFIELD -- All three people seeking the mayor's seat in Garfield agree roads are a primary issue.
The incumbent, Laura Hamilton, is seeking reelection. Gary Blackburn, a current City Council member, and Gary Eckels, a former mayorial and council candidate, are also seeking the seat.
Blackburn
Blackburn, 64, who is currently a City Council member, said: "The election of a mayor, especially this election cycle, is of no little importance to the future of our city."
Blackburn said he plans to have City Hall open five days a week and have office hours for the mayor. "I have the experience and time to devote to the job. I'll be in City Hall on a regular basis, at the will of the council. There will be regular hours."
"As mayor," Blackburn said, "I believe you should have availability in City Hall. The current mayor has no office hours, her words not mine. I think that's important.
"I think the Arkansas code annotated requires it."
Eckels
Eckels, 50, for mayor in Garfield in 2002 and lost by one vote. He ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 1998 and 2006. Eckels said he served one term on the City Council in 1995.
Eckels said proper spending of "our tax dollars and getting our road maintenance under control" are the main issues. "They're (the current city officials) looking about buying another tractor."
Eckels said he believes money is spent unnecessarily on writing and then retracting ordinances. "Merlene said at a meeting that it is costing more for the aldermen to write the ordinance than for the lawyer to write them," Eckels said referring to city clerk Merlene Snoderly.
"We're a small agricultural town with a large summer draw. That needs to be in our sights for our future. We are agricultural. The SWEPCO issue is a civil issue... we've spent a lot of money with a lawyer that I'm not sure is qualified to fight that fight."
Eckels said he wants to see more business in town and said he and a partner, Charlie Pierce, have a liquor license and plant o open Elkhorn Liquors right behind the feed store when construction on U.S. Hwy. 62 is complete enough to allow him access to the land.
Hamilton
Hamilton, 54, said: "I want to be mayor again because I feel like we, as a city, have made a lot of headway so far and I feel like we have good momentum and I want to carry on with that."
Hamilton said roads is one of the biggest concerns and said she recently received money to provide for paving of Alvin Seamster and Wimpy Jones roads. She said that she has a good relationship with county officials and is working with them to get Sugar Creek Road paved inside the city limits.
"Roads are always going to be an issue," she said. "One of the reasons I moved to Garfield is because I like the rural atmosphere. Sometimes that's a downfall because you don't have the funds to do roads like the big cities do."
Hamilton said she has been instrumental in bringing improvements to town and is working on the purchase of a software program that will "digitize" the city's ordinances making finding an individual ordinance easier for the public. "It's a safer way to keep your records," she said, adding that it provides off-site backup.
"I have a love of this community. I try to attend community events. I'm supportive of our volunteer ambulance service. I just love it here and I want what's best for Garfield. I will be supportive of the city no matter what the outcome is," Hamilton said.
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Editor's note: More from the candidates will be in the Oct. 22 edition of The TIMES.
General News on 10/22/2014