The Morning News: News : Mayoral Candidate Takes Shots At Opponent

Mayoral Candidate Takes Shots At Opponent

Springdale Forum Debate Leads To Allegations

Last updated Tuesday, November 18, 2008 9:34 PM CST in News

By Steve Caraway
THE MORNING NEWS

SPRINGDALE -- The mayoral race in Springdale took a turn toward a prizefight Tuesday at a runoff candidate forum with candidate Mike Overton throwing blows about campaign ethics and special interests at opponent Doug Sprouse.

Citizens for a Future Springdale held the forum at the Pontiac Coffee House for the mayoral and council candidates in next week's runoff election.

A question about the filing of an campaign ethics complaint with the state sparked an exchange between mayoral candidates Overton and Sprouse.

Overton, along with Nancy Jenkins and Ken Watson, former candidates for mayor, filed a complaint about e-mail from Sprouse's campaign sent to teachers in the Springdale School District. Sprouse is a member of the Springdale School board and is its former president.

"It was a clear violation of ethics," Overton said. "It went from a superior to his subordinates. It wasn't 42 e-mails. It was 488."

Sprouse acknowledged e-mail had been sent out, but only 42 to teachers. The number was backed up by an investigation, he said.

"Mike has seen this election slipping away for a while," Sprouse said. "He needed something to make a issue. This is the best he could do."

Sprouse topped the returns in the Nov. 4 election unofficially with 5,524 votes (35 percent). Overton finished second with 3,778 votes (24 percent) in the six-way race. Jenkins finished third with 2,923 votes (19 percent) and Watson fifth with 1,327 (8 percent).

Overton also said Sprouse was supported by special interest groups, with a large percentage of his campaign money coming from people who had land near Arvest Ballpark.

Sprouse said if he was supported by people who have been successful in Springdale, he would take that as a positive.

"I have a wide range of people who have supported me and I thank them for their support," Sprouse said.

Overton, an alderman running to replace outgoing Mayor Jerre Van Hoose, said he had the experience to get the city moving.

"I think you'll see a big difference in the next three to four years if I'm elected," Overton said. "You'll see more movement in the next 90 days than you've seen in the last 10 years."

Sprouse said his qualifications were better than Overton's.

"More important than experience is judgment," Sprouse said. "If you don't have judgment to exercise, experience is worthless."

In the council debate, the candidates for the Ward 2, Seat 2 positions seemed to agree on many issues. Incumbent Rick Evans said his experience of 10 years on the council would be hard to replace by someone learning during hard times.

"The council takes a lot of time," Evans said. "I'm fortunate to work for a company that allows me the time to work for the city. I'm not sure everyone will be able to do that."

Challenger Randy Pounders said he could help the city broaden its tax base, needed when revenue is falling.

"Springdale needs to look for opportunities to bring in businesses which will attract the family dollar," Pounders said.

The debate from the Ward 3, Seat 2 position showed more friction, with incumbent Jeff Watson taking offense at challenger Josh Jenkins' allegations of missing votes.

Watson said he was sick of the negative campaigning and his voting record taken out of context. Jenkins said people could check the record of council meetings.

AT A GLANCE

Runoff Information

Runoff election: Nov. 25

Early voting: Began Tuesday.

Washington County: Voters must go to the courthouse in Fayetteville during regular business hours to vote.

Benton County: Voters may go to the County Administration Building in Bentonville or the county annex in the old Rogers City Hall at Third and Poplar streets.

Source: Staff Report

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Reader Comments (8 comment(s))

The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.

NWAnative wrote on Nov 18, 2008 10:07 PM:

" Mike Overton is an old washed up has been. Douge Sprouse is a young vibrant business owner who has a vision for Springdale. Do we really want to listen tot eh old hat people like Jenkins and Watson who are cut from the same old boring mold as Overton. If FBC will vote then this election is over before it starts. "

krazo wrote on Nov 18, 2008 11:25 PM:

" Sprouse's connections to the Tyson, George and Matthews familys. Check the vast amounts of money these 3 families "donated". Over $20,000. Do you think someone would give so much money and expect nothing in return? "They" have big plans for the west side of Springdale. Big money plans. Sprouse can get this done for them.
Now, Mike Overton clearly represents all of the people equally. He will be making big changes from day one. Sprouse has no clue where to start. He will be able to handle the job, but with a 2 year learning curve. Guess we'll see. "

shoutitout2 wrote on Nov 19, 2008 12:15 AM:

" Mike Overton is our man! "

tootsie wrote on Nov 19, 2008 4:59 AM:

" Krazo. You are right. Does a mayor need to be elected if all they are gonna do is pander to the rich in your town? Is not Tyson hiring all the Mexicans. I would vote for Overton. Tyson's is one of the companies who started bringing those people up here. I would not vote for a person who was gonna help them in any way. Vote Springdale and do something about your town or continue to come back here day after day and gripe about all the things you don't like. Big business wants things that will not be in your best interest. You need a mayor to clean up your town. Overton told a friend of mine he had a lot of things he wanted to do for Springdale that have been neglected for years. I would place my vote for Overton. I care because all my family live there and I worry about the crime going down in your city daily. Sometimes older means wiser. He can remember what Springdale used to be. Go OVERTON "

brneyedgirl821 wrote on Nov 19, 2008 6:16 AM:

" What exactly has Mike Overton done in the past few years he has been on city council? Springdale is in worse shape than ever. NOW Mike Overton is ready to make changes. I guess it is all the mayor's fault and none of the blame lies with the city council for the shape Springdale is in. Doug Sprouse may have the backing of prominent people but at least he doesn't have a proven track record of being on the city council and letting the city go downhill.

The same thing can be said for Rick Evans. We need to replace the entire city council as well as the mayor if we want change. "

krazo wrote on Nov 19, 2008 8:31 AM:

" Look at Overton's voting record. What do you expect him to do as one person on the council? Go ahead, support prominent people as you say it. They are in it for them, not you. "

nwanative wrote on Nov 19, 2008 2:43 PM:

" You Overton people are dilusional. So Sprouse was able to get the backing of successful people, God forbid. If it were up to many of you Springdale would remain the 1960's juke joint city of Northwest Arkansas. Look at the economic growth of Fayetteville and Rogers and here sits Springdale sandwiched between them still living in the days of Fonzy and Leave it to Beaver. Overton will be nothing more than another old guy extension of Van Hoose who collects a paycheck to shake hands at the Rodeo parade. You better hope we have big economic plans for the area surrounding that ball park or else we are wasting a lot of tax money for some cow fields and ponds. "

mnreader wrote on Nov 19, 2008 6:25 PM:

" For those of you who seem to be so irritated by "prominent" supporters, perhaps you have forgotten that these are the same people who put Springdale on the map and have contributed greatly to the growth we have achieved thus far. They employ a large percentage of our population and are the first to contribute when a need exists. Where would springdale be without them? Frankly, I would be taking notice of who they are placing their trust and confidence in. Quite a compliment if you ask me.

And I couldn't agree with brneyedgirl821 more! If we retain the same council as we have had over the last few years, change will be slow to come as I expect they will fight the new mayor every step of the way, with Mike Overton leading the charge. In with the new all the way around! I'm with Sprouse! "

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