Low turnout expected in constable runoff

The Garland County Election Commission said Monday afternoon only 35 ballots had been cast during early voting in today's Republican primary runoff for Hot Springs Township constable.

Lake Hamilton Constable Scott Hecke won almost 48 percent of the vote in the May 22 primary. He'll face Jim Kerr in today's runoff. Kerr polled 34.19 percent of the vote in the three-way race, with incumbent Rich Pratchard garnering less than 18 percent of the 2,797 vote total.

Election Commission Chairman Gene Haley said Monday he expects fewer than 300 voters to have voted when polls close today at 7:30 p.m. The election commission building, 649 Ouachita Ave., is the lone voting location and was also the only polling site during the five days of early voting that began June 12.

Twenty-four of the county's 56 precincts will be eligible to vote when polls open today at 7:30 a.m., but voters who participated in the Democratic primary are ineligible, the commission said.

Hecke said Monday he moved from Lake Hamilton Township more than a year ago. He listed a Burchwood Bay area address with the Garland County clerk's office.

Hecke owns a landscaping business and said he's a former member the Hot Springs police and Garland County sheriff's departments, serving as a reserve deputy for the latter. He was elected to two terms as constable in Lake Hamilton Township.

According to Kerr's statement of financial interest, he's a security consultant and medical coder.

Constables are law enforcement officers elected to two-year terms. They receive no compensation, but those who have completed the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training's constable training course can access the state's crime database and make arrests in their jurisdictions.

Hot Springs Township comprises most of the city of Hot Springs' corporate limits. Lake Hamilton Township is south of the corporate limits in southeast Garland County and includes the Highway 70 west, Highway 290 and Carpenter Dam Road areas.

Steve Thacker defeated Robert Burks in the Republican primary for Lake Hamilton Township constable. He and the winner of today's runoff will be unopposed in the November general election.

Local on 06/19/2018

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