OAK GROVE : Wards, no at-large , is the law for towns
Posted on Sunday, September 7, 2008
When Oak Grove residents head to the polls this November, some familiar races will be missing from the ballot: five Town Council seats.
Carroll County election officials tossed out six candidates’ petitions last month after finding that the town never passed an ordinance setting up elected positions for the council.
The candidates filed for five at-large positions on the Oak Grove Town Council. Four candidates were incumbents, with two newcomers — Van Clayton and Gary R. Gray Jr. — seeking to join them. Gray is married to Veronica Gray, a current Oak Grove alderman who wants to step down in January.
Under state law, A. C. A. 7-7-304 D, candidates must file for specific positions or wards when there is a contested office.
Carroll County officials decided Aug. 27 that since the town of 376 residents near the Missouri border didn’t have an ordinance defining its wards or districts, none of the candidates filed correctly and threw them all off the ballot.
“They all filed at-large. The city needs to pass an ordinance,” County Clerk Shirley Doss said. “They’re an incorporated town, and they’ve got to set their positions. If there are five positions and six people file, we don’t know who’s running against whom.” The decision left aldermen in the 40-year-old town baffled.
“I’ve filed the same way before and was elected that way,” said Alderman Josh Peden, who has served on the council for four years. “Never before have we had Position 1, Position 2 and the like. We’re all just general aldermen for Oak Grove. I don’t know what would change about that after all this time.” The county’s decision has little impact on Peden or other incumbents because they will keep their seats.
Article 19, Section 5 of the Arkansas Constitution states that incumbents remain in office until successors are elected. This means that the five incumbent aldermen, including Veronica Gray, will retain their seats for two more years. Gray said she plans to resign in January, which will allow the Town Council to fill the vacancy by appointment.
“The other two candidates are going to have to campaign with the other council members instead of the voters,” said Don Zimmerman, executive director of the Arkansas Municipal League. “All vacancies in incorporated towns are filled that way.” For candidate Clayton, the prospect of waiting two years for another election doesn’t sit well.
“I’m disappointed in the fact that things like this have been running this long in a small town,” said Clayton, who moved to Oak Grove less than two years ago. “I’m disappointed in the fact that a town council, even in a town this size, wasn’t aware of this law. The town needs to be run right, according to the law.” Officials are taking steps in that direction.
Pat Carlton, town treasurer / recorder, said she has contacted the Arkansas Municipal League to help set up an ordinance that would designate aldermen by position. According to the Arkansas secretary of state’s office, the ordinance must be passed by the Town Council before the next election in two years. Otherwise, incumbent aldermen could hold their posts indefinitely.
“I thought that we were all right. I was under the impression that we were doing everything legal. We’re going to have to rectify it,” Alderman Sam Jones said. “It kind of shocked me. We just didn’t check into it far enough. It was really our fault. We have a fairly old law book out there at the town office. I guess we need a new one.” The specter of small-town politics is not uncommon throughout the state, Zimmerman said.
“There will be a lot of towns where no one will file and people will be holdovers,” he said. “I’ve really been trying to get candidates to file correctly. We’ve tried to put the information out there as broadly as we could. Every election cycle, I’ll see some town where they will say, ‘Here are the candidates for Town Council. Vote for five.’ And that’s not right. What Carroll County has done is more following the statute correctly than I’ve seen in other instances. They ought to be applauded for that.”
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