Matthew Petty re-elected to Fayetteville City Council in Ward 2

Matthew Petty / Courtesy photo

Matthew Petty has won a fourth term on the Fayetteville City Council after defeating William Chesser in Tuesday’s general election.

He received 4,075 votes (64%), according to the final, unofficial results. Chesser received 2,272 votes (36%).

Petty was first elected to the council in 2008 after defeating Mark Kinion, and was re-elected in 2012 with a victory over Adam Fire Cat and Ryan Abshire. Petty won a third term in 2016 with 60% of the votes against Gary McHenry.

Ward 2 Results

The final, unofficial results were:

Matthew Petty – 4,075 (64%)
William Chesser – 2,272 (36%)

Ward 2 Candidates

The following candidates ran for election in Ward 2 this year. All candidates were sent a request for more information about their candidacy. Responses were posted in the order they were received.

» William Chesser
» Matthew Petty

Petty has since been present for 272 out of 299 council meetings for a 91% attendance rate.

He thanked his supporters in an Instagram post late Tuesday.

“We worked hard, just like we have the last 12 years,” said Petty. Thank you, Ward 2, for reelecting me. I’m ready and excited to keep working for a better future for all of us.

“I’m committed to expanding opportunity for those of us who have been left out and making decisions to prepare us for the future. As we all await the results of our country’s election, I’m honored that Fayetteville has entrusted me with another term of service.”

Chesser ran for City Council in Ward 4 in 2012. It was a crowded field that year with five people vying for the position, including Terry Black Coberly, Mike Emery, Alan Long and J.P. Peters. Chesser received 9% of the votes in 2012 with Long eventually winning a runoff election against Emery.

Chesser also ran for County Assessor in 2018, but lost to Russel Hill, who took 56% of the votes.

Petty and Chesser reported over $12,000 in total combined donations to their campaigns this year. That’s over eight times the amount of money raised in Ward 2 in the 2018 election.

Chesser received the most money in Ward 2, gathering $8,970 in contributions with 19 donors giving more than $50. Petty raised $3,145 with 18 donors giving more than $50.

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.