Helena-West Helena City Council · Ward 1
for City Council, Ward 1, Position 1
Competent, honest, transparent city government. A council member who does the work between meetings, not just at the dais.
Early voting: Oct 19 to Nov 2. Election Day: Nov 3.
Phillips County Courthouse, 1st floor, 620 Cherry Street. Bring a photo ID.
On the ballot: front page, right-hand column, under Mayor and City Treasurer.
Why I'm running
Fifteen years managing data and budgets at scale for our schools. Four years on the A&P Commission. And the last several years working, in public and on paper, for fair and accountable water rates.
My family and I run a small business downtown. I'm running for Ward 1 to support the mayor's office the right way: not by rubber-stamping, but by doing the homework, asking the hard questions, and being accountable to the people I'd represent.
The record
In 2024 I read the rate study, ran the comparisons, and sent the council two full alternative water and sewer ordinances. In 2025 I drafted an ordinance to create an independent water commission. Not opinions. Legislation. Read the commission draft and the plain-language summary →
On September 29 the city attorney told the council the city needs a written rule for fixing water bills and setting up payment plans. It has never had one. I wrote a draft ordinance and sent it to the city attorney, the mayor, and all six council members. On October 6 it was one of two drafts before the council. My one ask: post the draft before the first reading and give it all three readings. Read the draft →
The council agreed on the record that the first increase would take effect January 1, 2025. Then the new rate landed on December bills, including one dated 12/30/2024. I caught it, put the citywide impact at roughly $180,000, and raised it publicly and with City Hall.
Ridge & River publishes 38 council meetings so far, from 2024 to this month. Each record has a plain-language recap, the meeting documents, and the full transcript. Every line plays the city's own video at that moment. See the records →
Meeting records built from the city's own packets and video. Every quote is checked against the recording, so any neighbor can check the work.
Council Watch · № 38 · October 6, 2026 regular meetingThe treasurer said the city owes the IRS about $1.7 million and made no payments in 2024. The council voted 4-2 to raise the senior district court officer $2.23 an hour, approved two water invoices, and passed four block grant resolutions. Water base pay and two draft water-billing ordinances got no vote and return next meeting. The recap, the documents, and the full transcript, every line playing the city's own video.
Read the record → Perspective · October 9, 2026Treat every city decision as an investment and the best returns are not new taxes. They are money already won, like $9.75 million in water-loan forgiveness, cash that earned $226 in eight months, and deals worth reopening. With what the city's debts actually cost.
Read the piece → Explainer · with my perspective · September 25, 2026The "Generating Arkansas Jobs Act" line costs a 1,000 kWh home $5.74 a month now, and Entergy projects about $20 by 2030. What it pays for, who approved it, what the city can and cannot do, and what you can do this month.
Read the piece → Council Watch · № 37 · September 29, 2026 special meetingThe water superintendent said the wastewater items owed to DEQ have been due for over two years. The city will ask for new due dates. The council voted 5-0 to buy CDs for the $541,800 reserve. The city attorney said bill adjustments need a council-adopted policy. The recap, six documents, and the full transcript.
Read the record →All 38 meeting records and every perspective at Ridge & River →
What I'll fight for
Every draft ordinance posted before its first reading and given all three readings. Budgets and spending public and readable before votes, not after. Public hearings for rate changes.
Support the water funding already secured, and track every dollar and deadline in public. A written rule for fixing bills that treats every customer the same. Keep pushing for an independent water commission. See the draft →
From the historic core to West Helena. A council member who is easy to reach, at your door and at the meeting, and who has read the fine print before the vote.
If you elect me, grade me. Here is the scoreboard I will publish every quarter →
Rooted in Helena
I've lived in Helena since 2014 and have run a small business in downtown Ward 1 since 2019. Meeting payroll, taxes, and regulations every day teaches you how government decisions actually land on the people who live with them.
I didn't leave. I invested. And I want the same for the rest of our ward.
Get involved
A small ward is won one conversation at a time. Leave your name and Robert will know Ward 1 is behind him. Then vote early and ask one neighbor to do the same.
Takes twenty seconds. It goes straight to Robert.
Robert reads every one of these, and he'll be in touch. In the meantime, the single most useful thing you can do costs nothing: mention his name to one neighbor. Then vote early, Oct 19–Nov 2.