The field set Friday for the Hot Springs Board of Directors elections in November includes candidates who are current and prior litigants in lawsuits against the city.
Former Animal Services Director Dan Bugg and Brenda Brandenburg both filed shortly before Friday's noon deadline, the city clerk's office said. Bugg, who is suing the city in federal court for age discrimination and other claims related to his December dismissal, filed for District 4, and Brandenburg, who attempted to enjoin the city from demolishing structures on the Majestic Hotel property in 2016, filed for mayor.
Brandenburg's petition for injunctive relief was dismissed in August 2016, clearing the way for the city to raze the Majestic Hotel's "red brick" building, Lanai Tower and Lanai Suites later that year. She is running against incumbent Pat McCabe, whom the board appointed in April 2017 to serve the remainder of former Mayor Ruth Carney's second term. She resigned a month earlier after questions were raised about her residency qualification.
Bugg oversaw animal services for 19 years and is representing himself in the lawsuit he filed in May that alleges the city "contrived a fictitious scheme" to end his employment. He said the email he sent Police Chief Jason Stachey last September warning of "operational failure" under the city's new animal services agreement with Garland County was used as a pretext for his dismissal.
Bugg said in the email that the new agreement risked operational difficulties without a $250,000 expansion to the animal services budget, explaining that he would consider resigning, effective January 2018, without the budget increase. The complaint said Stachey emailed Bugg four days later to inform him that the city accepted his email as his official letter of intent to retire.
Bugg argues the email was not a notice of retirement but a warning of problems animal services would face under the new agreement, explaining that he had changed the tentative date of retirement to 2022. The defamation claim he makes in the complaint stems from an email former City Manager David Frasher sent the city board in December.
"Chief Stachey and other command staff have experienced difficulty in convincing Mr. Bugg to assist in the future transition planning for this effort and have also experienced multiple other personnel and performance issues resulting in advice from the city attorney supporting the attached action by Chief Stachey," Frasher wrote. "While I am grateful for Mr. Bugg's years of service to the city, I fully support Chief Stachey's decision in this matter and believe that he has done everything possible to work effectively with Mr. Bugg along the way."
The District 4 seat left open by incumbent Larry Williams' bid for state land commissioner is also being sought by Hot Springs Intermediate School teacher Dudley Webb III and former District 4 Director Carroll Weatherford, who was removed from the board by an August 2009 recall vote and finished a distant third in the 2010 mayoral race.
Incumbent Elaine Jones has drawn two challengers in District 2. LeDante Walker, a member of the city's Transportation Advisory Committee who works as a Medicaid waiver advocate at Spa Area Independent Living Services, has filed, as has Billy Blackmon, a chaplain at Dierkson Hospice.
The District 5 race pits incumbent Karen Garcia against Rick Ramick. The latter resigned last year amid questions about his residency qualification. The board appointed Garcia a month later to serve the remainder of Ramick's term.
Prior to her current service, Garcia was elected to the board for the 2011-2014 term.
The Garland County Election Commission will hold the ballot draw for the Nov. 6 general election Friday at noon at the election commission building, 649A Ouachita Ave. Oct. 8 is the voter registration deadline.
Local on 08/18/2018