Editor’s note: This is the last of a multipart series looking at contested local races in the May 22 primary. Each installment, which ran in Sunday editions starting April 22, looked at a different race in Union County or El Dorado. In the May 13 edition, we looked at the El Dorado Ward 3, Position 2 race between Andre Rucks and Tony Henry, but were unable to include comments from Rucks at the time.
Voters in El Dorado’s largest ward will select a new representative Tuesday, choosing between Democratic candidates Andre Rucks and Tony Henry for the seat currently held by Ward 3 Alderman Kensel Spivey.
Spivey, the first African American woman to serve on the city council, announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election as she was moving outside of the ward boundaries.
In 2014, Rucks and Henry faced each other, and incumbent Mayor Frank Hash, in a three-way race for El Dorado mayor, which Hash won.
In choosing to run for the Ward 3 seat, Rucks said the desire to serve stems from his beginnings in the Haygood Neal Apartments, where he was raised by a single mother.
“I can relate as well as connect with all the individuals who come from similar beginnings,” Rucks said. “I feel that I have an obligation to reach back and pave the way for other less fortunate individuals who may have had similar beginnings.”
Rucks said he would like to see more focus put on “a War on Poverty agenda,” which he explained as a restorative approach to the economic needs to El Dorado residents.
“Too often, the little people are being left out at the negotiating table of the economic growth of our city,” Rucks said. “That is not fair, equitable, nor is it just. You cannot ask everyone to put money into a pot, but yet only distribute to a few elite’s agenda.”
El Dorado’s growth, he said, can come from more of a focus on the individual residents and their needs.
Rucks has also led long-running efforts to find another egress into the Murmil Heights subdivision. The Marilynn Street/U.S. 167 access into the neighborhood was closed when the Arkansas Department of Transportation four-laned the highway in 2011.
Lorene Avenue is now the only entry point into Murmil Heights, where Rucks lives.
Henry, Rucks’ opponent, previously served in the Ward 3 position for nearly six years after winning a special election in July 2009. He vacated the seat to try a run for mayor, and was poised for another mayoral run when Spivey announced she would not seek re-election. Upon hearing of Spivey’s plans, Henry said he rethought his position and after careful consideration, he decided to withdraw from the mayoral race and take a shot at returning to a familiar spot.
Henry explained that serving another term as alderman will afford the opportunity to not only continue and build on Spivey’s accomplishments as a voice for Ward 3, but also for him to pick up where he left off when he vacated the seat in 2014.
He said many of the issues that he worked to address then still need attention.
Of the challenges that are facing the community in general and Ward 3 in particular, Henry said he felt the most pressing are beautification; decent, affordable housing; and business/economic growth and opportunities.
To see more of Henry’s key issues, check our Voter’s Guide in today’s Living section or check out our May 13 edition.