We’ll be the first to admit that we haven’t dug deep enough into the mayoral candidates’ platforms to form any kind of an opinion about who should be in charge of Fayetteville for the next few years. With last week’s announcement from Mayor Dan Coody, we now realize it’s probably time to get with the program.
Last November, Mayor Coody announced that he would not be seeking re-election for a third term. Last Thursday, however, he changed his mind. “I am so energized and fired up to continue this trend, I just can’t stand it,” Coody said.
According to the NWAT, “As recently as May, (Coody) said the only way he would seek a third term was if the choices for the public were between one extreme or the other.” Even though Coody expressed back then that he didn’t believe this was going to be the case, apparently he does now.
Reaction to the news drew this comment from candidate Steve Clark, “That surprises me because I would have said he’s a man of his word.”
Lioneld Jordan, also in the running, wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, he’s been telling his committee that he expects Coody to jump in any minute since February.
Interesting stuff for sure. Like I said, it’s too early for us to jump onto anyone’s ship right now. However, I can say this: Mr. Coody, you’d better get your dang website in order ASAP. It’s 2008, sir. “Site Under Construction…Check Back Soon!” ain’t gonna cut it.
The Candidates:
Lioneld Jordan - Vice Mayor and Ward 4 Alderman. Has lived in Fayetteville for 35 years.
Walt Eilers - Private fundraising consultant. Moved to Fayetteville 8 years ago.
Steve Clark - Former Arkansas Attorney General. Made Fayetteville his permanent home in 2006.
Adam Fire Cat (website?) - Fastest bus boy EVAR. 14-year Fayetteville resident.
Dan Coody - Umm…current mayor.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:30 am
After riding my bike for an hour on some of our city’s fine new multi-purpose trails, I arrived home to find a Lioneld Jordan flyer stuck in my screen door.
Coody is a good mayor. He has done good things for Fayetteville. He gets it. He has raised the bar on our quality of life, and has refocused this city’s energies on smart growth and sustainability.
I wish I could think of something smarmy to say because I like to think that people are laughing when they read my posts, but I can’t.
Oh, wait, I did immediately throw that Lioneld Jordan thing in the trash. Nah, not funny.
Nothing personal Cat, Jordan, Clark, et al. I am just pleased with the Cood-meister and if it ain’t broke, I say don’t fix it.
July 14th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Totalbastard: I’m pretty interested in what these other folks have to say. However, I am not a Coody hater and I suppose if I had to vote right this very minute, I would go the “if it ain’t broke” route. Fortunately there’s still plenty of time to make sure I’m voting confidently. Anybody else got any thoughts? Who do you like? Who do you not?
July 14th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Well, I’m gonna throw my support behind Coody (even though he blew off my interview for the Flyer a few months ago). He has done a lot of good things for the city, and with him around, the projects he has started, especially the trails system (which is awesome) would be allowed to be finished. The other best choice would be Lioneld Jordan, as he’s pretty much running on the same platform as Coody, being vice Mayor and all. I don’t trust Eilers or Clark too terribly much to put city money in the right places, though not exactly for the same reasons. And while Fire is the best busser ever, I mean, really… I’m done with joke candidates.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:46 am
I bet Lioneld wishes he’d have waited about two more weeks before sending those flyers to the printers.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I apologize for interupting the intelligent political talk, but there is no way Adam Fire Cat is the fastest bus boy EVAR. I call bullsh** on that noise.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Uh, I thought the city of Fayetteville was operating in a budget deficit. Are things so good because you’ve been spending more money than you’ve got?
I could be wrong.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
I’m sorry to say, and I know this from personal experience, Coody isn’t the brightest crayon in the box. I’ve been surprised about how much sneaky, under-the-table bullshit goes on at the City, and I do think Coody is partly to blame. I do appreciate what he’s done with and for Fayetteville, but let’s move on. Let’s get some newby in office who can really make some good changes. And perhaps next year, we can get our fireworks back.
AND..yes. Fire is the fastest & most furious of all bus boys.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Uh, yea…something about politics… FIRE IS THE MAYOR OF VILLAGE INN!!!
Woo!!!
July 14th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
OK Nisc: I’ve seen this dude bus a table and it was mind-blowing. Not kidding. I’m sticking with my statement until someone can produce proof of somebody faster.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I’m definitely not aboard the Coody train to re-electionville. He’s done some good things, but on the whole, I’m not to happy with where our city stands at the moment. Budget mis-management is my primary point of conflict with Mayor Coody. Let’s not even mention the “traffic calming” measures that are clogging up the streets at record pace. Ugh.
I have no idea who I’m going to vote for, but it will not be Coody.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
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July 14th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Coody talks of sustainability, but he misses many good chances to make it happen. Then there is that gross mismanagement of funds to the tune of 65million that we are still paying for. If he gets re-elected we will have to pay him a large pension for the rest of his life, if he doesn’t get re-elected then he gets no pension! Can’t forget the TIFF district that gives his buddies a place to put a crane (and then take it down) while waiting on their development to go down the tubes. Kyle Cook is the guy getting the trails done NOT Coody. Let’s not forget the Barber tower stuff that Coody was backing all the way or the Legacy building, taking the good parts out of the hillside ordinance. The list goes on and on. What has Coody done FOR the city that any other mayor would not have?
July 14th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Smiller, you might want to get your facts straight. Clark never went to prison. And while he admittedly screwed up, it was for misusing less than $2500 over a 5 year period. He’s been pardoned, it was 18 years ago - as far as I’m concerned he’s the smartest guy in the mix with the most to offer. And you aren’t exposing anything to the masses here, he’s addressed it in every speech and on his website.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
Pattin: I stand corrected on the prison sentence. His buddy Clinton pardoned him immediately. The jury at his trial ruled he’d only misused $2,500. However, a state audit in 1990 found $28,564 in inappropriate charges. The Arkansas Gazette repotred he’d spent over $115,000 in meals and trips in 1988. I’d say he got off lightly. You have your opinion, I have mine. I think he’s a douche.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
I misspelled “reported.” Sorry.
July 14th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Smiller: you are a joke - Clinton could not pardon him as it was not a federal crime. Huckabee pardoned him, not immediately, but in 2004. And as to the DemGazette’s reporting, that is the amount that was investigated, the $2500 is what was proved. You are welcome to your opinion, but try a little research before you pretend to be an authority.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Sorry to point out the facts, but the city is not operating in a deficit. It is operating slightly ahead of the budget projections (Times). The council, not the mayor, approve the budget(Times). The street committee, not the mayor, distribute the speed tables(Demzette). No fireworks is Coody’s fault? The council cut it (and much more) when they approved the 2008 budget(government channel, Times). The trails program is definitly Coody’s deal. He started it and got the council (thankfully) to go along (Times). All in the papers.
July 14th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Coody does trails. Coody is improving College Ave.
I think Fayetteville has recovered well since the Promenade opened.
The sewer deal was a bust, but I don’t think we can hold the mayor solely responsible for bad construction projections.
I like Coody, but then again, I am old enough to remember Mayor Hanna.
We have a good one in Coody.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Thank you fact checker. I will assume I was wrong. Unless someone proves you wrong.
There’s still that big hole up near the square and will SOMEONE (I’m looking at YOU fact checker) find out if the NOCK Hole Gang is paying the monthly penalty for not meeting the terms of the development agreement.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Yeah the Nock Renaissance deal is a big disappontment.
I think the intentions of all were good in this deal, and according to the developers, it is still going to happen.
If it takes 5 years to get a shiny new Marriot downtown, it will still have been well worth the cost of demolishing the old building in tax collections alone.
It may be a “brother-in-law” deal, but this is a small town. Like-minded people run in the same circles, and nobody from out of town wanted to do a project like the Renaissance.
As for the approval of other in-town projects, namely Barber, we’ve all got to decide what we really want.
The City Plan 2025 planning process found that the majority of Fayettevillers expressed a desire for “infill” development.
Ok, thats great. But when it comes down to brass tacks, a lot of these same people who are opposed to “sprawl” also want to keep central Fayetteville unchanged. You can’t have it both ways. Fayetteville is growing. It either grows in the already established urban boundaries (which means some degree of growing “up”) or it sprawls from Goshen to Lake Wedington and beyond.
Something has to give.
Coody is steering a hystrionic dysfunctional ship here. I think the man deserves a lot of credit for the positive steps this city has obviously taken in the past 5 years.
Frankly, I don’t believe a single one of the other candidates is better qualified or has expressed a better overall vision for the city.
Coody isn’t perfect, but he’s got my vote.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:50 am
@totalbastard: I think you hit the nail on the head there.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:57 am
I attended the kickoff for Coody yesterday, and the people who spoke for him where very impressive. I don’t know how he got her but the Great x 7 great granddaughter of Marquis de Lafayette for whom our city was named for was the first to speak up for him. She met him during a cultural exchange that she arranged last year in France. Next was Collis Geren(Maybe misspelled) who spoke the relationship with the university and how it hasn’t been as good in the 30 something years he has worked there. Then George Faucette spoke about his support for businesses while maintaining Fayetteville’s unique character. Then Judge Jerry Hunton and a developer that is working with the city to build affordable housing. I think his name was Rausch. Last was Moshe Newmakr who is well known in the activist community and has known Dan for 20 years. He had some really nice things to say from the perspective as a friend and green business owner. They represented the varied perspectives in Fayetteville but they are all in agreement that Coody is the best person for the job. It really strengthened my support to see How broad his base really is.
July 17th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
@fact checker:
thanks for that update. that really is an impressive list of speakers. it’s interesting to note that Collis Geren had such good things to say, as I’ve met him a couple times, and he seems like a tough guy to impress.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:45 am
Yep, you’ve got to remember what it was like under Herr Hana and his crew. It was a fantastic breath of fresh air to get Dan into office, even after he’d been kicked in the head a couple zillion times beforehand. And, as long as we want to bitch about the problems with the deficit — remember, you shouldn’t be surprised to see most cities working with one with a suck-o economy, and remember that it also takes a council to get the ball rolling too. You can pat councilmembers for getting trails done, but you shouldn’t forget to hold them responsible for the money problems too. Everyone wants a freakin’ bike trail and they want the water fixed, but no one wants to pay anything for it. Dan has had a handle on both managing growth and saving the local environment…he’s had to try to get both sides to work together smartly, and that’s always been a tall order, but he’s done a great job. when’s the last time you tried to keep things nice, and compete with the Tyson money up north and all those tax revenues leaving town? You want change? You’ve got it, and you’ve had it for some time…Dan is and has been a huge change from the good ol’ boy Hanna days of the past. He deserves a 3rd term by anyone’s standards.
August 20th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Please visit http://www.Recallcoody.com to see why Dan should go home and stay home!