Koenig ends bid : Health issues force candidate from race to become mayor
Posted on Wednesday, April 30, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/64665/
Businessman Jeff Koenig is dropping out of the Fayetteville mayoral race, citing health reasons.
Koenig’s campaign officials issued a press release Tuesday announcing the decision.
“ It is with deep regret that I am withdrawing my name from consideration for mayor of Fayetteville due to a nonlife-threatening, health-related issue, ” Koenig, 56, said in the release.
The press release states that Koenig decided not to seek office after consulting with his doctor and will, “ instead, spend my time and energy working toward a quick recovery. ”
His campaign manager, Fred Vorsanger, commented Tuesday afternoon on the development.
“ I share Jeff’s disappointment, but I am happy for him that he was able to find his health problem at this time, ” Vorsanger said. “ He is a great public servant and would have made an outstanding mayor. We all wish him the best for the future. ”
Koenig could not be reached by the Northwest Arkansas Times for comment.
Katherine Skordal, assistant campaign manager, said Tuesday afternoon that Koenig was unavailable for comment about the decision.
“ He’s not available for the next few days, ” she said, adding that he is out of town and visiting with a doctor. She did not specify where he was.
It was Koenig’s decision not to comment further on the press release, Skordal said.
In the release, Koenig stated, “ I sincerely wanted to serve the citizens of Fayetteville as their mayor, but unfortunately this is not the time.
“ Right now, I must devote my time to recovery, for myself and my family. I am making the decision to withdraw early to help ensure that the political process moves forward and others who may be interested in this position will have the opportunity to announce their candidacy. ”
Skordal said Koenig’s health problem has been “ coming on for a while, but he thought he could continue on. ”
Asked what the problem is, Skordal said, “ It’s a private health issue — enough to make him withdraw from the race. ”
Skordal said Koenig did not know about the problem before he announced his candidacy “ or he wouldn’t have jumped in with the vigor he did. ”
The Web site www. koenigformayor. com remained unchanged Tuesday afternoon, making no mention of the candidate’s decision to withdraw from the race.
As recently as April 13, Koenig advertised his run for mayor in the Times. On that Sunday, he published an advertisement listing about 300 supporters urging voters to “ join us in supporting our candidate for mayor of Fayetteville. ”
On April 21, he confirmed that he paid for a recent phone survey to gauge name recognition but declined to discuss specifics about the survey.
Koenig is past president of Upchurch Electric and past chairman of the Fayetteville Economic Development Council. His resume cites several other areas of community involvement throughout the years.
He serves on the Arvest Bank, Fayetteville, board of directors and is a member of the Northwest Arkansas Council. He is vice president of Bikes, Blues & BBQ board and is vice chairman of the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce board of directors. He is a University of Arkansas graduate with a degree in electrical engineering.
Three other people have announced their candidacy for mayor: Ward 4 Alderman Lioneld Jordan, Steve Clark and Walt Eilers. The final date to file for the contest is Aug. 26. The official filing period does not open until Aug. 6, so nobody has formally filed for the office yet. The election will be Nov. 4.
Vorsanger said he had no knowledge of Koenig endorsing any of the other candidates.
“ I don’t have the slightest idea, ” Vorsanger said, adding that he has not discussed that possibility with Koenig.
Skordal said Koenig was not endorsing anybody at this time.
“ We haven’t even discussed that, ” she said.
Jordan said Koenig’s announcement to withdraw does not affect his race.
“ I certainly wish him all the best and hope that he does well, ” Jordan said. “ This is just an election. There’s more important things than an election and running a race, to me. ”
He said he will continue running his race on his voting record, experience and the issues.
“ I knew Jeff was running his race, and I’m running mine, ” Jordan said. “ I’m sure Mr. Clark and Mr. Eilers will run their own races as well. ”
Asked about Koenig’s role in the campaign, Jordan said, “ He seemed very business-oriented and had a plan to bring the tax base back, as we all do. I think we all have our own economic plans. We all have our own environmental plans. ”
Koenig’s plan may have been different than his, he said, but “ I think every candidate is businessfriendly. ”
Eilers said he was almost speechless upon hearing the news.
“ My standing in the race won’t change because I’ve got a lot of work to do to get name recognition, ” said Eilers, who works as a consultant. “ This will just mean that there’s just one less candidate for the people to choose from. I think it will simplify the race. ”
He said Koenig had some good ideas and it would have been “ an interesting debate. ”
He said Koenig’s role was more as a “ the business candidate in the race” moving the city toward a more business-friendly environment.
Clark could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening. Clark was Arkansas attorney general from 1979 to 1990 and was expected to run for governor before misuse of a state-issued credit card led to a felony theft conviction.