Alexander voters are being asked to choose two council members who will serve the next two-year term. In the Saline County portion of the city, voters are being asked to select their State Representative for District 81. The current office holders, in all three positions, are seeking re-election.
Early voting in Arkansas begins Monday, October 21. Alexander residents will be able to vote in different locations depending on whether they live in Pulaski or Saline counties. A list of early voting locations provided at end of article.
Only two Alexander council members on ballot
A questionnaire was Emailed, or sent by text, to the four candidates. Some of the answers came directly from the candidate, while others are based on answers from previous elections, or both.
Questions asked of all the candidates are:
Have you lived any place else in Alexander, or the area formerly known as Woodland Hills?
How long have you held your current position on the council?
Have you served on the council before? If so what Ward/Position? Have you ever held other similar elected positions before?
Are you employed, own/operate a business, or retired? (If employed provide the name of the company you work for and what you do. If you own a business provide name and location of business.)
If retired who was your previous employer/company and what did you do there? What in your employment history has been beneficial in serving in the office you currently hold?
For candidates who have never served on the council, this additional question was asked.
Why are you running for office?
The information provided below includes the city council seat, the ballot position of the candidate and how their name will appear on the ballot.
WARD-3 POSITION-1
Ballot Position #1
Daniel L. Bates
Describing his employment experience Bates said, "I work for Anderson Engineering Consultants Inc. (formally Anderson Engineering & Testing Company), now for over 40 years. I'm an Engineering Technician having worked in the field and laboratory (now just laboratory) inspecting & running tests on construction materials such as soils, concrete, asphalt, steel and geotechnical samples."
"This is the first time I have run for office," Bates said. "As I have gotten older and nearing retirement I felt it was time to start giving back to the community any support that I can."
Bates said he will be able to bring his work experience to the council. "I have a (sic) understanding of construction projects and can read civil / structural drawings and testing requirements which may be beneficial."
Ballot Position #2
Council Member Harold Timmerman
Listing his past life experiences Timmerman said, “I earned my pilot’s license at the age of 12, by 17 I had over 5,000 hours flying as a crop duster, served in the Navy as a pilot for 30 years,” (combination active duty and reserve), “came out of Viet Nam as a Quad Ace (20 verified kills), was a law enforcement officer in North Carolina over 20 years, sports official (various sports) for 45 years, always been a busy person.”
Timmerman said, “I’ve lived in Alexander for 19 years, flying an airplane you need to make instant decisions, never late, honest and trustworthy."
[Information for this section is based on The Alexandrian election archives and has been updated.]
WARD-4 POSITION-2
Ballot Position #1
Juanita Wilson
For nearly 25 years Wilson was employed as an Over-The-Road truck driver and held a Commercial Driver’s License. She had to leave that job to take care of her ailing mother until she passed away about two years later in 1998. She began working in home health care in 2000 and eventually retired in 2016.
Wilson says her work experience has provided her, “[C]ommon sense, ability to work hard, and [I] put it all to use when I became a council member.”
Wilson defeated incumbent Andy Mullins in the 2012 election to represent Ward-2. Mullins was elected in 2010 and served from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2012.
Wilson first took office on January 1, 2013. During the 2013/2014 term on the council, Wilson became a Certified Municipal Official under the Arkansas Municipal League program.
In the 2014 election Mullins took back his seat from Wilson. In the following 2016 election Wilson returned to defeat Mullins again.
Prior to being elected to the city council in 2012 Wilson had not held any other elected position. In 2018 she was appointed by Mayor Paul Mitchell to serve as the council’s voting representative on the Alexander Planning Commission.
Since January 1, 2015 Wilson has served on the council for the Ward-2 Position-2 seat. Because the 2020 Census showed wards were unevenly represented, the ward lines were redrawn. Wilson completed the 2021-2022 term serving in the Ward-4 Position-1 spot. In the 2022 General Election she ran for the Ward-2 Position-2 seat against April Cotton. She defeated Cotton and has served in the Ward-2 Position-2 seat since January 1, 2023.
Wilson says she wants to do what’s necessary to keep and attract good employees and provide additional services desired by residents, but everything has to be funded.
[Information for this section is based on The Alexandrian election archives and has been updated.]
Ballot Position #2
Trevis Bentley
[Did not respond to questionnaire.]
STATE REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICT 81
Ballot Position #1
City Council Member Gina Thomas-Littlejohn
Party-Democratic
Thomas-Littlejohn owns and operates a delivery business called “G Deliver-7.”
Prior to her running in the 2022 race for a seat on the Alexander City Council, Thomas-Littlejohn had never held an elected position. She defeated Incumbent Council Member Lonny Chapman.
During her run for the city council she touted her business experience as a plus for serving as a council member.
“I have a lot of management experience and I think with that experience it will help run the administration,” she said.
Before completing her first two-year term as a council member, Thomas-Littlejohn decided to not seek re-election but to run as a Democrat for State Representative in the predominately Republican District 81. Saline County is part of District 81.
[Information above, provided by The Alexandrian archives, has been updated. No additional information concerning this election has been provided by the candidate.]
Ballot Position #2
State Representative RJ Hawk
Party-Republican
RJ Hawk was born in Midland, Texas. Hawk graduated from Athens High School. He earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications from the University of Central Arkansas in 2008. Hawk's career experience includes owning Hawk Media Solutions and working as a Realtor with Clark & Co. Besides his experience in Realty, as a radio talk show host, and a sideline reporter with the University of Central Arkansas; he has also been affiliated with the Bryant Chamber of Commerce.
In a statement released to The Alexandrian Hawk said, "For the past year and a half, I have either sponsored or co-sponsored bills that became law to reduce the state income tax as well as increase the homestead tax credit. All this was done without cutting one service to Arkansans. In return, this put more money in Arkansans pocket. When I was elected, I made a promise to cut wasteful spending, improve the safety of our communities and protect our individual liberties. In my first term, I followed through with all those promises."
"If re-elected I plan to continue serving the people of District 81 just as (I) have in this previous term, with action," Hawk continued. "We must continue to make our children a priority when it comes to their education and we have to continue to make it easier to run a business in our state. Another big priority for this next term is to create a reserve fund to help our communities, especially the towns in District 81, with the funds to keep up with their water infrastructure needs."
Hawk concluded, "On November 5th, I hope the people of District 81 vote for me to continue to serve them in Little Rock."
PULASKI COUNTY EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS AND TIMES:
MAIN EARLY VOTING LOCATION
Dates and Time:
~ NO SUNDAY VOTING ~
ADDITIONAL EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS
Dates and Time:
~ NO SUNDAY VOTING ~
SALINE COUNTY EARLY VOTING LOCATIONS AND TIMES:
Dates and Times:
NOTE: On Saturday, Nov. 2nd the hours at East End Baptist Church will be 12:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
~ NO SUNDAY VOTING ~
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