Mark Kinion / Photo by Robert Stafford
Mark Kinion has won a third term on the Fayetteville City Council.
Kinion, 61, has filled the Ward 2, Position 1 seat for nearly eight years. He defeated challengers Martin Bemberg and Raymond Burks for the seat in the Nov. 6 election.
He received 3,379 votes (71%), according to the final, unofficial results. Burks received 821 votes (17%) and Bemberg had 540 votes (11%).
Kinion is the current vice mayor of Fayetteville, and has been elected to that position several times, including 2014, 2015 and at the end of 2017. He is also chair of the council’s Water, Sewer and Solid Waste Committee and a member of the Nominating Committee.
Kinion was first elected to City Council in 2010 when he defeated Adam Fire Cat to replace outgoing Council Member Kyle Cook. He ran in 2008, but lost a close race to Matthew Petty, who is currently serving his third term.
He was re-elected to a second four-year term in 2014 when he defeated challengers Robert Patton and Joshua Crawford.
Earlier this year Kinion sought the District 86 seat of the Arkansas House of Representatives, but was defeated by Nicole Clowney in the May 22 Democratic primary. Two years ago he campaigned for the Washington County judge position, but that seat was won by Joseph Wood.
Kinion said he wants to build upon several initiatives the council passed during his tenure, including the Fayetteville First Economic Development Plan, the Solid Waste Initiative and Master Plan, the Long Range Water Plan, the Fayetteville Energy Action Plan, and the city’s Welcoming Plan.
Affordable housing, smart growth, environmental protection and careful shaping of the future of the city are also strong points of his platform.
Ward 2, which is typically associated with the downtown and Dickson Street areas, includes portions of the University of Arkansas campus and stretches west past Garland Avenue to Asbell Elementary School, and north to the Washington County Fairgrounds. The ward also includes the businesses along College Avenue in midtown, and many historic districts including Wilson Park.
City Council members are paid $12,504 per year.
