(Edited 11-01-2022)
Early voting is underway. For those of you who plan to cast your ballot before Election Day, November 8, we at The Alexandrian thought you would like to know something about the candidates running for the city council and mayor.
This is Part-4 of a four-part series. In Part-4 we are covering the mayor’s race. Crystal Herrmann and Tom "TJ" Gaylor Jr. are challenging incumbent Mayor Paul Mitchell. Each biography is placed in the order the candidate will appear on the ballot.
Questions posed to the candidates were the same, except some were tailored to either the incumbent or challenger. The questions are;
1-How long have you lived at your current address?
2-Have you lived any place else in Alexander, or the area formerly known as Woodland Hills?
3-(Incumbent) How long have you held your current position on the council?
3-Have you served on the council before? Have you ever held other similar elected positions before?
4-Are you employed, own/operate a business, or retired?
5-If retired who was your previous employer/company and what did you do there?
6A-(Incumbent) What in your employment history has been beneficial in serving in the office you currently hold?
6B-(Opponent) What in your employment history, or what skills do you possess, that you believe will be beneficial in serving on the city council?
7-(Opponent) Why are you running for office?
Ballot Position #1
Scott Chaloner
Scott Chaloner did file to run for mayor, but on September 26 he withdrew from the race. Unfortunately, the withdrawal was not in time to have his name removed from the ballot. Therefore, any votes cast for Chaloner will not be counted.
Ballot Position #2
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| Photo provided by candidate. |
Address: 15505 S Alexander Rd., Alexander
Cell Phone: 501-707-8092
Email Address: crystalherrmann72002@gmail.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/crystal.herrmann.56
Crystal Herrmann has lived in Alexander throughout her life. “I was brought up here and have experienced Alexander as a child, teenager, and through adulthood,” she said.
According to Saline County records Herrmann has lived at her current residence since 2017.
During her time at UA-Little Rock Herrmann says she was also starting a “small business.”
“While finishing my Bachelor's degree from UA-Little Rock with Honors I was starting my ongoing twenty years of being a successful small business owner,” she said. “These life experiences have allowed me to gain many skills such as: Team Leadership; The ability to manage project budgets ranging from twenty-thousand to over a million dollars; In addition, yearly budgets up to three and a half million dollars; Managing, developing, and interacting with employees, department heads, and government officials; Successfully executing state, local, and government contracts.”
In her response as to why Herrmann decided to run for Mayor she said, “I am running for Mayor not as a politician but as a citizen. I chose to build my home here for my child because Alexander offers a great school district, it's affordable and safe. I have witnessed for years the advantages and disadvantages of our city. I will roll up my sleeves and work hard to find a solution for the different issues in each neighborhood of Alexander.”
Posted on her Facebook page is a flier which states, “As Mayor, I will: have an open-door policy to promote a culture of trust, communication, and feedback to ensure all citizens' voices and ideas are heard; make sure that transparency of all operations and activities including the financial budgets for all city departments are correct, current, and easily available to the citizens; address our individual neighborhoods' infrastructure needs for repairs, updates, and additions; (For Example flooding of city roads and homes, outdated sewer and culverts, and continuing street improvements but making sure that no neighborhood is left behind); addressing vacant and abandoned properties for the cleanliness and safety of the city; focus on cleaning up and revitalizing city-owned properties creating a city center to support community outreach programs, parks & recreations for all ages, and city department use. This will make our city more attractive to commercial developers and residents; and work on improving the quality of life in our city. For example, updating 20-year-old playground equipment, restrooms in public parks, crosswalks in high-traffic areas, animal control partnerships, and trash services.”
The flier ends with, “I'm ready to work hard and inspire the people of Alexander to make the right choice and vote for Crystal Herrmann so we don't have to wait another fifteen years to shape our city into a community where all of the citizens are safe, proud, and treated equally!”
Fact Check:
One of the many issues Herrmann wants to address is the, “outdated sewer and culverts.” The City of Alexander does not provide water and sewer services. Water and sewer are provided by Central Arkansas Water and the Little Rock Water Reclamation Authority, in the Pulaski County portion of the city and some areas of Saline County along the Pulaski County line. Nearly all of South Alexander, in Saline County, is served by Saline County Waterworks Public Facilities Board, which provides both water and sewer.
Mayor Paul Mitchell says the Alexander Street Department has been replacing culverts for the past several years as the need arises. They are also replaced before a street is repaved as part of the preparation process.
Herrmann plans to continue “street improvements.” Beginning in 2011, newly elected Mayor Paul Mitchell repaved Evergreen Drive and Pine Manor Road with available city funds. Since his return as Mayor January 1, 2015, up to and including 2022, an additional 23 worst-of-the-worst and longest streets in Alexander have been repaved. The remaining 43 streets, which are mostly short and least traveled, are scheduled to be resurfaced in 2023 as part of the ArDOT Connect Arkansas program. That leaves three streets, in the original part of the city, that will not be repaved for now; Earl D. Miller lane (still in good shape), the concrete portion of Kelli Place, and Alexander Mountain Road.
Herrmann wants to provide “a city center to support community outreach programs.” Alexander already has a building that will be used for a community center. It’s located on the former Alexander Human Development (HDC) property and it has been designated Alexander Community Center #2.
It has been used as a polling place starting with the 2020 November General Election. In the past it’s also been used as a classroom for fire department training classes. Mayor Mitchell plans to rent it out for private activities, use it as an emergency heating/cooling center and build a splash pad nearby. Any needed renovations to the building, and development of the HDC property in general, couldn’t be done until Pathfinders’ lease expired this past August.
Herrmann wants to develop “animal control partnerships.” Mayor Paul Mitchell is already working with Bryant Animal Control, other mayors and Saline County to develop a plan to bring animal control services to both rural areas of the county and in the cities.
Finally, Herrmann wants to establish city-wide, mandatory “trash services.” As stated above, Alexander doesn’t have a water and sewer department. In other municipalities that is always the key to having a data base and billing system able to add the cost of trash service to an existing system. You hold over them the threat of losing water service if they don’t pay the trash bill. In every system what ever amount a resident pays it goes to trash first, then water and sewer.
Ballot Position #3
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| Photo from candidate's Facebook page. |
Address: 16110 Mountain Dr., Alexander
Home Phone: 501-283-1800
Cell Phone: 501-283-1800
Email Address: argunsmith@att.net
Facebook Page: Tom Gaylor Jr. | Facebook
The candidate did not respond to any of the questions sent him. However, he did post a response on the Nextdoor social media site dated 10-20-22. His posting is below. The only changes are breaking it up into paragraphs.
“We're getting down to the wire on the Alexander Mayors (sic) race and I just want to clarify a few things real quick. Several places have sent me lists of questions pertaining to the race and the Mayors (sic) office that they want to publish along with the other candidates.
“As I have said many times before, I am not a politician, nor do I enjoy all the verbal fighting back and forth that goes along with it. As Mayor my objective will be the citizen, the rules, the City, working with the City Council as best I can and trying to return civil, legal, fruitful behavior and an administration that the people that live here and pay taxes here can finally begin to get actively involved in shaping their city.
“Every time I've posted any comments all I've experienced is hate, jealousy, attacks and childish back and forth. Those things have nothing to do with being the Mayor. My ability to communicate with citizens will be my most important job. My favorite part of my job.
“The next issue basically revolves around the Municipal Experience and the ability to prove you can do the job. Well, the current Mayor has a long list of background history supposedly making him qualified to the teeth. In my honest opinion, it's been a joke, always has been a joke and all his "experience" just makes it easier to keep it a joke. He's experienced at screwing things up. I'm not perfect, I make mistakes, but I also know that if I surround myself with the right people great things can happen.”
Ballot Position #4
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| From The Alexandrian files. |
Address: 16202 West Azalea Dr, Alexander
Cell Phone: 501-765-1930
Email Address: pemitchell@att.net
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100017112280228
https://www.facebook.com/PaulMitchellforMayor
Paul Mitchell has lived in the same home for over 25 years. First as a resident of what was Woodland Hills, now known as South Alexander since the annexation in 2006.
Mitchell retired after 25 years with AT&T Construction & Engineering Digital Electronics Group. Before working for AT&T his employment background includes serving as a municipal police officer/deputy sheriff, a certified EMT, firefighter, an engineer with Snider Telecom & KARN Radio, a store manager for AutoZone Corporation, and a store manager for Quik Lube Corporation.
At the end of the current term Mitchell will have served 10 years as Mayor of the City of Alexander. The first two from January 1, 2011 to mid November 2012 when he lost a recall election. He was elected again in November 2014 and was sworn-in January 1, 2015. He has been mayor ever since running unopposed in the 2018 election.
Prior to being elected mayor, Mitchell was one of the first Woodland Hills residents appointed to serve on the Alexander city council after the annexation in 2006. He was on the council for two terms (four years). Before that he served 10 years on the Woodland Hills Fire Board.
“Total 24 years to the Alexander Community,” he said.
Mitchell is currently a member of the Emergency Services Board Saline County (responsible for choosing Pafford EMS to provide ambulance services to all of Saline County), a member of the Metro Plan Board in Little Rock and a member of Recycle Saline County Board (operates the County Landfill).
Other achievements Mitchell points to are; earning a Degree in Electronic Engineering, graduating from the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy, attended FBI training courses, is a Certified Alarm Technician (State of Arkansas), received the Medal of Merit from Desha County Sheriff, and is a Certified Municipal Official.
“We have doubled the Alexander Police presence on our streets and created one of the premier law enforcement agencies in Saline County,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell also points to converting the, “[A]ll volunteer fire department to a 24-hour manned 7-day a week” department as another one of his accomplishments.
He added this gives the department an ISO rating of 2 (two), best being 1 (one). He noted the ISO rating is one of the standards used to determine the cost of fire insurance.
Other improvements to the city listed by Mitchell includes building a fully functional street department. Mitchell said when he became mayor the street department had a, “[Z]ero turn mower and a couple of gas trimmer’s and a broken down tractor.” Now he says the department has, “[A] bulldozer, dump trucks, many Heavy Equipment,” and, “Machines too numerous to list.”
The one improvement to Alexander most visible to residents is the condition of the streets.
“We have asphalted streets at a cost of over $1,000,000.00 with grants and tax payers’ money,” Mitchell said. “[C]losing in on getting all streets overlaid.”
Looking to the future Mitchell said he is, “Still working with Entergy to light up all streets … in South Alexander. It has been very difficult if you have ever dealt with that company.”
Finally, Mitchell said he is, “Working with (the) Director of Animal Control in Bryant on a county-wide Animal Control Center.”
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