County’s 6 vote centers open Nov. 8

Carroll County’s six vote centers will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 8, for the 2022 general election.

The county’s six vote centers are located at Freeman Heights Baptist Church, 522 W. Freeman Ave. in Berryville; St. Elizabeth Parish Center, 232 Passion Play Road in Eureka Springs; Green Forest United Methodist Church, 100 S. Springfield Ave. in Green Forest; Holiday Island Country Club, No. 1 Country Club Drive in Holiday Island; Oak Grove Freewill Baptist Church, 9546 Highway 103 North in Oak Grove; and Osage Baptist Church, 16475 Highway 103 South in Alpena. Eligible voters may cast their ballot at any of the vote centers.

In addition early voting will continue through Monday, Nov. 7, at the Carroll County Airport at 518 County Road 308 just west of Berryville and St. Elizabeth Catholic Church at 232 Passion Play Road in Eureka Springs. Eligible voters may vote early at either location.

Early voting is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 7.

Voters will elect a new county judge, a new mayor in Green Forest and possibly a new mayor in Eureka Springs. Meanwhile, Berryville Mayor Tim McKinney — the longest- tenured mayor in the state — is unopposed in his re-election bid.

Voters also will choose between two candidates for a seat in the state Senate, while three candidates are running for a seat in the state House of Representatives.

COUNTY RACES

Three candidates are seeking to become the next Carroll County Judge — Democrat James “Rusty” Rusterholz Jr., independent Kelly Wood and Republican David Writer. The incumbent county judge, Ronda Griffin, was appointed to complete the term of former judge Sam Barr and was not eligible to run.

Daniel Klatt will be the next Carroll County sheriff, having won a five-man Republican primary race without a runoff. Klatt is unopposed in the general election. Likewise, Sara Huffman won the circuit clerk’s position by defeating two other candidates without a runoff in the Republican primary. Huffman also is unopposed in the general election, as is Republican Krista Burnett, who will be the new county tax collector.

The Carroll County Quorum Court will have some new members in January, although there are no contested races for justice of the peace on the general election ballot. Incumbents Jack Deaton (District 1), Harrie Farrow (District 3), Matt Phillips (District 5), Craig Hicks (District 6), Kellie Matt (District 7), Roger Hall (District 9) and John Howerton (District 11) are all unopposed in their re-election bids.

Joining the quorum court will be Bruce Wright (District 2), Hunter Rivett (District 4) and Jerry King (District 10), all of whom are unopposed in the general election. Rivett won a contested race in the Republican primary.

JPs Chuck Olson (District 2), Don McNeely (District 8) and Larry Swofford (District 10) are not seeking re-election. McNeely is one of three candidates for mayor of Green Forest. His quorum court seat will be filled by gubernatorial appointment.

District 4 JP Duane Coatney was appointed to fill a vacancy and was not eligible to run for a new term.

County clerk Connie Doss, treasurer Makita Williams, assessor Jeannie Davidson and coroner David Slaton are all unopposed in their bids for re-election.

There is one contested constable’s race on the ballot: Independent Trace Glisson, Democrat Butch Hanby and Republican Todd Summers are running for constable in Central Township. Randal Dickinson is unopposed for Northeast Township constable after winning a contested Republican primary, while Jay Galyen is unopposed for Western District constable.

Also unopposed is Gene Bland, running for a seat on the Carroll Boone Water District board of directors.

BERRYVILLE

Voters who live inside the Berryville city limits won’t have to make any hard decisions regarding municipal candidates. McKinney, who was first elected in 1990 and took office Jan. 1, 1991, will win a ninth term in office without opposition. In addition, city council members Max Nichols, Linda Riddlesperger, Ashley Sharp and Jason Williams also are unopposed in their re-election bids, as are city attorney Clint Scheel and city clerk Leonda Davis.

EUREKA SPRINGS

Butch Berry is seeking a third term as Eureka Springs’ mayor, with opposition from three challengers — restaurateur Brandon Cox, former city events coordinator Tracy Johnson and former mayor Beau Satori.

Johnson, who formerly served as events coordinator for the Eureka Springs City Advertising and Promotion Commission on a contract basis, is the lead plaintiff in a civil lawsuit against Berry and several other current and former city officials centered around the CAPC.

Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson ruled Oct. 18 that Satori — who served as Eureka Springs’ mayor from 1999 to 2002 — is ineligible to run for or hold the position because Satori pleaded guilty to a felony tax charge in 2003. That case was later expunged. Satori’s attorney has filed an appeal as well as a motion to stay Jackson’s ruling. Satori’s name is on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Five of Eureka Springs’ six city council members are seeking re-election, with three of them facing challengers. Autumn Slane, who holds the Ward 1, Position 1 seat on the council, is being challenged by Laura Jo Smole, who held the Ward 1, Position 2 seat before resigning for health reasons in October 2021. Ward 2, Position 1 incumbent Melissa Greene is running for re-election against former council member Bob Thomas. Bill Ott, who holds the Ward 2, Position 2 seat is seeking re-election with a challenge from Steve Holifield.

Incumbents Terry Mc-Clung (Ward 3, Position 1) and Harry Meyer (Ward 3, Position 2) are unopposed in their re-election bids. Also unopposed is David Avanzino, who is a candidate for the Ward 1, Position 2 seat.

Ida Meyer is unopposed to become city clerk in Eureka Springs, while Forrest Jacobi is unopposed for city attorney. Jacobi was appointed to the city attorney’s position earlier this year.

GREEN FOREST

Green Forest voters will select one of three candidates to become their next mayor: longtime city council member Willa Kerby, McNeely and former mayor Charlie Reece.

Incumbent Mayor Jerry Carlton is not seeking another term in that office but is running without opposition for a seat on the city council.

Green Forest city clerk Morgan Darby-Gonzalez is unopposed in her re-election bid, as are city council incumbents Carroll Smith (Ward 2, Position 1) and Odra DeLeon (Ward 2, Position 2). Carlton is running unopposed for the Ward 1, Position 1 seat, while Allison Launius is unopposed for Ward 1, Position 2.

HOLIDAY ISLAND

Holiday Island Mayor Dan Kees is unopposed for re-election, as is city clerk Wesley Stille. Because Holiday Island is now classified as a city instead of a town, its city council will change from a five-member body with no ward designations to a six-member body, with two representatives from each of three wards. Current city council members Lynn Dumas, Ken Mills, Jerry Pittman and Linda Graves are unopposed in their bids to return to the council, while current council member Patrick Elwood is seeking the Ward 3, Position 1 seat with opposition from Brian Tagliaferro. Barbara Kuhn is unopposed for Ward 3, Position 2.

OAK GROVE

In Oak Grove, Robert Fairweather is unopposed as a mayoral candidate. City clerk Stephanie Shepard and city council members Gary Gray, Jayme Wambold and Terry Hutchison — all incumbents — are also running unopposed.

STATE SENATE DISTRICT 28

Former State Sen. Bryan King is seeking a return to the state capitol in the newly drawn District 28, with opposition from Democrat Jim Wallace. King won the Republican nomination in a primary runoff.

STATE REP. DISTRICT 6

State Rep. Harlan Breaux, who currently holds the District 97 seat in the state House, is seeking the District 6 seat after the state’s legislative districts were redrawn following the 2020 federal census. Breaux is being challenged by Libertarian Dakota Logan and Democrat Markeeta Tucker..