Whether Pine Bluff Mayor Carl Redus will receive a two-year extension on his current term as the city’s chief executive officer remained unclear on Friday, although some officials said they believe he will.
Redus, who would qualify for city retirement benefits if he is granted and completes the two-year extension, was first elected mayor in 2004 and re-elected in 2008.
On Thursday, Pine Bluff attorney Gene McKissic — who described Redus as a personal client — said he will seek an opinion from Attorney General Dustin McDaniel on what the city’s population drop to below 50,000 means for municipal elections scheduled for November and those thereafter. Existing Arkansas law addresses election schedules and term lengths for cities of below 50,000 and those cities that grow to over 50,000, but there’s apparently no expressed guidance for municipalities that drop below the threshold.
State Code 14-43-305 dictates that mayors of first-class cities of less than 50,000 that, like Pine Bluff, function under a mayor-council form of government shall elect a mayor “on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of 1970 and every four years thereafter.” By the code’s election schedule and the city’s current population of 49,083, as counted in a 2010 census. a mayoral election should be held here in 2014.
But as McKissic pointed out, the city is still operating on the election schedule of State Code 14-43-303, which states that in the general (presidential) election of 1960 and every four years thereafter, “cities of the first class that have a population of 50,000 persons or more, according to the latest decennial federal census or special federal census, and that also have the mayor-council form of government shall elect a mayor” and other officials.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The latter code includes guidance on rectifying four-year term lengths of officials in cities that surpass the 50,000 mark, saying the terms shall be extended two years so as to be forwarded to the proper election schedule. Again, neither code addresses such adjustments for cities with populations declining below 50,000.
“The terms are extended two years when a city hits 50,000, and I would think cities should do the same if they fall below 50,000,” Arkansas Municipal League Executive Director Don Zimmerman said Friday.
The municipal league provides various forms of assistance to its member cities, including legal advice. Zimmerman said as he interprets the statutes, if a legal challenge is filed, he anticipates a judge would negate the upcoming election in which eight challengers are awaiting Redus.
Jefferson County Election Commission Chairman Trey Ashcraft stopped short of predicting a judicial decision would expand Redus’ term, but said, “I think there will be an election in 2014.”
Commission Secretary Stu Soffer, who was recently appointed to the state election commission, stressed that neither election group has “any say-so” in the matter.
“Election commissions don’t make or rule upon laws,” he said. “In my opinion, the decision will be strictly an interpretation of a judge. And the attorney general may have an opinion on the situation, but his opinion won’t be legally binding.”
Soffer believes the outcome of a legal test on the issue “depends on how it’s filed and who presents the case.”
He said he believes the most fair decision would be to establish two-year terms in the mayoral and other affected races on the November ballot.
Shira Kelley, a media relations specialist in the office of Secretary of State Mark Martin***, said Martin has “no role or position” in the controversy.
“Generally, a court action is required to negate an election,” either before or after votes are cast, she said.
McDaniel was not available for comment, but Cindy Murphy of his media relations staff invited specific questions by email and promised replies.
Soffer questioned the timing of the inquiry.
“The city and AML have failed to address this properly,” Soffer said. “They knew about the population decrease prior to just a couple of months before the election. You would have thought it would have surfaced before now, especially with all the city’s recent work on redistricting of the council wards. That’s figured on population numbers.
“The whole thing is suspicious to me,” Soffer said.
Ashcraft said the count from the 2010 census should have been received within a year and shouldn’t just now be “coming to light.”
Redus did not return a telephone call.
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***This article has been updated from its original version to correct a name. Click here to view the correction notice.