Glen Brown Sr., a bit of a fixture on the Pine Bluff City Council, came up for reelection this year and probably thought he had an easy path to another term when he saw that William Fells and another candidate would be his opponents in the Democratic primary.
But Fells wouldn’t go away, finding his way into a runoff with the incumbent. And after the runoff, Brown wasn’t sure what hit him. From seemingly out of nowhere, Fells had scored a decisive win, capturing an almost 3-to-1 victory over Brown.
Fells is about as inconspicuous as one can imagine. He’s not all that young – 27 – but he could walk down the hall of a high school and fit right in.
To think of him as a lightweight, however, would be a mistake. In multiple public appearances, Fells has been clear on the issues facing Pine Bluff and clear on how he would go about tackling them.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Fells had spent the past few years as an assistant to Mayor Shirley Washington, planning and running interference on programs the mayor wanted to move forward. He was unassuming yet always handling matters in any way that was needed.
His philosophy is simple: let’s see what the needs are of the four wards and get busy tackling the problems. On another sales tax, Fells said if the city does need one – and we won’t know that without some analysis, he said – the money won’t be spent at the behest of a nonprofit but will be in the firm control of the City Council.
Some thought that when he threw his hat in the ring, it was because he was a supporter of Go Forward Pine Bluff, given his association with Washington, who became inseparable from the nonprofit. That appears not to be the case.
Fells has taken such a broad view of Pine Bluff, not just the 3rd Ward, that some have suggested he could one day become mayor. If he has such aspirations, they are not at all visible, considering he seems to just want to make Pine Bluff better, starting with a seat on the City Council.
Fells, the Democrat, is on the ballot again, and we endorse him in his bid, which now has attracted an independent challenger. He has put in the work to run for elected office and he understands the city and its needs. And while he likely understands the politics inherent in such a pursuit, those matters seem far away from his radar at the moment. In a word, that’s refreshing. And in another few words, we think a vote for Fells is a vote for Pine Bluff’s future.