Fayetteville residents will have several opportunities to learn more about the candidates running for mayor and City Council during a series of independently organized public forums planned throughout the month.
Events
Event: Ward 4 Meeting
Date: Monday, Sept. 24, 2012
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Fayetteville City Hall, Room 111 – 113 W. Mountain St.
Info: All five candidates vying for the Ward 4, Position 2 seat have been invited to attend the regular Ward 4 meeting to answer questions from Ward 4 residents.
Event: Chamber of Commerce City Council Candidate Forum (Ward 3 and Ward 4)
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012
Time: 6 to 8 p.m.
Location: Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce – 123 W. Mountain St.
Info: The Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce will host a forum for City Council candidates in Ward 3 and Ward 4. A second forum is planned for Oct. 3 and will include Ward 1 and Ward 2 candidates.
Event: League of Women Voters’ Mayoral Candidate Forum
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012
Time: 7 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Fayetteville City Hall, Room 219 – 113 W. Mountain St.
Info: The League of Women Voters of Northwest Arkansas will host a mayoral candidate forum with Mayor Lioneld Jordan and former Fayetteville mayor Dan Coody.
Event: Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods Mayoral Candidate Forum / Council speeches
Date: Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012
Time: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Fayetteville City Hall, Room 219 – 113 W. Mountain St.
Info: The Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods will host an hour-long mayoral candidate forum with Mayor Lioneld Jordan and former Fayetteville mayor Dan Coody. Following the mayoral portion of the event, all City Council candidates in attendance will be allotted two minutes to give a brief presentation.
Candidates
Mayor: Mayor Lioneld Jordan (incumbent), Dan Coody
Ward 1: Sarah Marsh (unopposed)
Ward 2: Alderman Matthew Petty (incumbent), Ryan Abshire, Adam Fire Cat
Ward 3: Martin Schoppmeyer (unopposed)
Ward 4: William Chesser, Terry Coberly, Mike Emery, Alan Long, J.P. Peters
Town Hall Meeting
Tuesday. Septemper 25th, 5:30
This is your opportunity to ask Dan Coody questions and share your ideas about city issues. We have also invited all the council candidates to bring there campaign material and visit during the social time before the program begins at 6:30. Doors open at 5:30. There will be refreshments available.
Fayetteville Town Center
15 W. Mountain St. , Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701
Just to clarify: the events posted in the article are non-partisan events. Thank you for laying them out, Todd! The event Mr. Harper referenced in his comment is a campaign fundraiser for the challenger in the mayoral race. It is appreciated that his comment more clearly laid out the format than did the campaign ad in Thursday’s Times. Any implication that it was ever honestly intended for any other purpose is disingenous. Reminds me of those junk mail dinner invitations masking a slick hard sell of goods or services you neither need nor want or the free nights offered by condos to get you to buy in. It’s all about the money and the pitch. Plain and simple. Don’t sign on the dotted line until you do your research and read all of the fine print.
The city council candidates will be there to meet with folks from 5:30 to 6:30. This is not a fundraiser, it is a chance for the public to ask their questions of the mayoral candidates. This is the invitation that Lioneld received.
Tue, September 11, 2012 8:50:57 AM
Hey, Lioneld!
From:
Dan Coody [Chat now]
To: Mayor ; ljordan@ci.fayetteville.ar.us
Dear Lioneld,
I would like to invite you to something I think would be fun and unusual. And I think it would be really very good for the citizens to get a three dimensional view of our positions.
Here’s the issue. All the debates that are lined up, and there aren’t that many, have a strict format and time frame that limits the amount of information we can exchange with the public.
We should try something different and add more life to the political debate in Fayetteville, sort of like the old days. I have rented the Town Center for the evening of the 25th. I was going to just take random questions and comments from the audience for an hour and a half and have the people who attend learn my positions and I could hear what they have to say.
But I think we would be missing a great opportunity for Fayetteville voters to hear from both of us in a more informal conversational style of discussion. No written speeches, no canned answers, just an open dialogue about our perspectives and records.
I am inviting to you to come join in a public discussion about city policy and projects. I will ask a third party to “moderate” the talks, someone you would agree to, like Kyle Kellams, if he is willing.
I have checked your calendar and see that there is the agenda session that starts at 4:30. I know they never run long and there is nothing on your schedule after that. We will start at 6:30 and go to 8 and it can run long until everyone’s questions are answered. The City Council candidates are coming to introduce themselves from 5:30 to 6:30 since it is open to everyone.
Please accept this invitation and let’s raise the bar on political discussion in Fayetteville. It should be fun and informative for the citizens of our community.
Thanks, Dan Coody
That should have been sent out under my name.–Dan
This from the NWA Times: “Coody said he intended to have both mayoral candidates answer audience questions.
Jordan on Thursday called the forum a campaign event for Coody. He said he had no plans to attend.”
Don’t you mean Glutenfree?
All due respect to Dan and Deborah, but not all of the Council candidates will be there. I turned down the invitation because I decided not to appear at any of Coody’s or Jordan’s events so that the public would not interpret my attendance as an implicit endorsement and so that I will remain able to work with either candidate for the next term no matter who wins the Mayor’s race.
However, I wouldn’t be able to attend anyway since there are committee meetings after the Agenda Session. I don’t think appearing at campaign events is a good reason for me to skip.
Matt Petty Endorses Dan Coody for Fayetteville Mayor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rltzt0eRb4c
Petty told the truth in that video.
Four years ago. Man, our local politics is embracing the deception and BS of the national level. Yay?
Wasn’t it sweet of you to invite Mayor Jordan to an event totally organized by you. Gee, can’t imagine why he would chose to limit his debate appearances to those that have not been organized by his opponent’s campaign. It was outrageously slimy to run the Times ad as if this were actually a mayoral forum and not something funded and organized by your campaign. But then, considering the source, none of us should be surprised.
I didn’t see the ad. What did it say?
It was an ad for a “mayoral forum” inviting the public to come out and ask questions of the candidates. It was not presented as an event organized by Coody. Where it listed the candidates it said “invited” next to Jordan’s name, which is supposed to be Coody’s disclaimer that the ad didn’t say Jordan would be there. It was seriously misleading, but then, Coody’s never been known for being honest.
Here is a link to the ad in question. I don’t know if the paywall will cause problems with it.
http://tinyurl.com/d7lxqu4
I see. It did fool me. At first I thought it was legit, but it is pretty deceptive.
Yes, Barb, isn’t it just peachy keen of Dan to schedule a meeting at his own time and with his own guidelines, and pretend it’s “a great opportunity for Fayetteville voters to hear from both of us in a more informal conversational style of discussion” and then expect everyone to jump at his command? Actually, it’s a whole lot like his previous administration.
Did Dan really think Mayor Jordan would actually show up to one of his campaign funded events? Name dropping is tacky anyways but what is worse is Dan and his supporters have bombarded Mayor Jordan’s Facebook page slamming people that are not even involved in the election. We know Mayor Jordan has a larger audience and they are trying to reach more people by using his Facebook page but is that really the way to go about it? Do they want everyone to dislike him?
Petty – That is very respectable and no one can be upset with your decision on not attending.
And it will be interesting to see how much mileage Mr. Coody tries to get by talking smack about how Mr. Jordan refused to show up to an opportunity to answer questions from the voters. Especially in light of how Mr. Coody is now appropriating the title “Town Hall Meeting”, after Mr. Jordan has been holding those across the city several times a year since he took office….something Mr. Coody never did. At least not to my recollection.
jmo
Yeah, you all are right. Thinking that people would want to ask questions of candidates running for office is pretty silly. The bumper sticker should be plenty good enough.
The good news is no one has to come who does not want to. And anyone who does want to come ask serious questions is welcome. I just thought it was a good idea to stand in front of a crowd and take questions and give straight, unvarnished, unpracticed answers. If you are perfectly happy voting for someone who will not do that, it’s your right. If you are a person who is seriously interested in issues and wants to ask questions and voice concerns, this is your opportunity. We can discuss TIF, parking, College Ave., equal rights, planning, off-campus student housing, budgets, future vision, trail safety, crime, “taxpayer funded trips to ski resorts and foreign countries”, or other issues. The only ground rule is that everyone be respectful of everyone else. Thanks!
I’m perfectly happy, Dan, at people not trying to play cute political games. Thanks!
can we discuss the sellout of wilson springs? or the 6+5 million dollar cost over run on the sewer plant? maybe the shifting of money from one thing to another to cover your reckless spending?
Think I’ll pass… heard all your lies before.
Dan tends to get a little pissy when he is behind in the polls. Jordan would be a fool to go to your set up campaign party disguised as a town hall meeting. Talk about bad press. I think the voters will see enough at the LWV and FCON forums.
I just hope the questions are about more than Dickson st parking and the downtown deck. There are a lot more issues in town.
I’m sure that Coody would attend a Jordan campaign event if he was asked to. I didn’t find the ad misleading, I think it was pretty clear that it was a Coody sponsored forum that’s aim was to include all candidates. The definition of town hall meeting is “an informal public meeting. Everybody in a community is invited to attend, voice their opinions, and hear the responses from public figures.”
No one else has setup one of these. Dan took the initiative to make himself available. Why hasn’t Lioneld?
RE “No one else has setup one of these.”
There are two mayoral candidate forums listed in the article above, organized by the League of Women Voters and the Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods.
Melanie, you are joking, right? Lioneld has five Town Hall meeting a year. One in each Ward, one at the U of A. Open mic, every time. Lioneld is a busy person with a job, a family and a campaign of his own. From the way the “invititation” reads, it’s obvious no prior contact to confirm open dates was done.
Taxpayer, I’m with you. We’ve all heard them before. Someone should introduce Mr. C to sincerity and truth. I doubt they’d get along well. He’s too deeply involved with pretense, untruths, and pandering. They’ve had a thang going on forever.
Looks like Mr. C needs more funds to pay his campaign workers and further litter the town with his propaganda. Lioneld has friends and supporters enough to be able to completely rely on volunteers in his campaign.
We have seem this desperation before in 2008 when Jordan won. I’m thinking this go around it will be 70/30 win for Mayor Jordan this time.
I have not seen the ad in question but I am very surprised that there is so little debate or exposure to candidates in this Mayoral election cycle. Mayor Coody scheduling an event and inviting Mayor Jordan to come into an open forum to simply answer questions from a broad spectrum of citizenry is certainly a plus and greatly appreciated. To advertise it in the paper means that people from all stripes are invited to show up and I hope that they do. We need some real debate on serious issues; voters can not cast an intelligent vote based on yard signs and advertisements. As to the tone of some of the folks who have responded with snide remarks I think that speaks for itself,,,,,very unfortunate,,,at the end of the day we all live in this town as neighbors.
RE “As to the tone of some of the folks who have responded with snide remarks I think that speaks for itself,,,,,very unfortunate,,,at the end of the day we all live in this town as neighbors.”
One of them being Mr. Coody. If I had to make a choice between a candidate who “talks like a hick” while he’s doing his job well and a candidate who gets peevish while he’s applying for the job, I’d choose the hick over the peeve.
If enough Fayetteville voters have the same attention to detail as Melanie shows above, Mr. Coody’s campaign should do adequately well.
Coody’s never addressed my questions about his stance on this ridiculous sludgefest set to take over Dickson for the next five days. He wants to portray himself as responsive, but I’m not seeing it on this issue.
If it doesn’t have anything to do with parking or if you are informed about local government he will tuck his tail and run.
I must have missed your question about BBBQ. I really don’t spend all my time on this site so I do miss stuff. My opinion? BBBQ is here to stay. My feelings toward it have evolved over the years. I was afraid it would attract a rougher crowd than it does, but after seeing how the organizers manage things and how the different local, state, and federal law agencies interact I feel better about that. I know a lot of businesses that see black on their balance sheets for the first time in the year after the event. I still am not crazy about loud pipes, but I have gotten used to the idea that some folks love it and some do not. Since it’s only 5 days, I simply adjust my senses to allow for those who love it to have some fun. There are people who live here that think the trails are a waste of money and I feel differently. I think there is room for people with differing views to live in Fayetteville.
Instead of “to allow for”, please replace with “not to begrudge.” Thanks!
Uncharacteristically gracious of you, Mr. Coody, to allow for differing views. Does that mean you won’t call the police or threaten to do so anymore on citizens daring to speak contrary to your views at Council meetings if you were (God Forbid!) to get reelected? Or is your new agenda to practice stand-up for a future career? “This is not a fundraiser…” is a pretty good one. There was an audible groan when you got up to take the mic at the most recent legitimate Mayor’s Town Hall meeting. If you have all of these brilliant ideas about how things could be done better, and if you really care about Fayetteville, where’ve you been for the last almost four years these meetings have been held regularly?
Mr. Coody, how do you address the number of Dickson Street and Dickson-adjacent businesses that shut down completely during the BBBQ weekend because their regulars stay away from the downtown core? I know, personally, three business who plan to close their doors during this event because their most profitable items, food, are not being purchased.
How will you address the excessive noise due to modified bikes, the accidents due to bikers driving improperly?
If I blast Black Sabbath on ELEVEN for five says straight, is it ok as long as I’m having fun and buying beer?
I don’t doubt that 90% of the visitors are bored accountants, and I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate me bringing this level of disruption to their office.
I for one am going to set up my annual Confederate Flag/Jesus stuff/Skull things/Obamacare-with-a-big-red-X-through-it t-shirts/muffler-removing kit/Fayetteville-maps-marked-with-the-nicest, quietest-neighborhoods-to-ride-through-after-midnight booth and make a mint. Yay Fayetteville.
RE: “I was afraid it would attract a rougher crowd” isn’t that called stereotyping?
Everything changes during election year!
To be fair, the remark isn’t stereotyping. There is in fact a “rougher crowd” of motorcyclists, and it is fair to mention it.
Pretty easy to be nonchalant about the intolerable noise and stench of this biker festival when you live in the middle of 30 acres atop MtSequoyah, ain’t it MrCoody. Git on down here with the rest of us pleebs. How about 11pm Sat. night. meet you at College and Center—we can sit on the curb, have us some beers, pee in the street—and I’ll give you a hundred dollar bill if we see police patrolling while we’re there–regardless of what happens.