Midterm races in NWA to watch

The filing deadline for municipal races passed on Wednesday, and there's a lengthy list of local candidates to consider before November's election.

Why it matters: These are the people in your backyard who make a lot of decisions for and about your city — like how your tax dollars are spent and what's built in your neighborhood.

What's happening: All four of NWA's largest cities have contested city council races. (The small towns do, too. Find your Benton County and Washington County cities.)

Fayetteville City Council

• Ward 2, Position 1 — incumbent Mark Kinion and Sarah Moore
• Ward 3, Position 1 — incumbent Sloan Scroggin and Scott Berna

Bentonville City Council

• Ward 1, Position 1 — Allyson de la Houssaye and Beckie Seba
• Ward 2, Position 1 — Cynthia Acree and Ragan Hensley
• Ward 3, Position 1 — incumbent Aubrey Patterson and Tyler Masters
• Ward 4, Position 1 — incumbent Octavio Sanchez and Tom Hoehn

Springdale City Council

• Ward 3, Position 1 — incumbent Brian Powell, Rick Culver, Mike Stevens and Alice Gachuzo-Colin
• Ward 4, Position 1 — incumbent Amelia Taldo-Williams and Spencer Ordonez

Rogers City Council

• Ward 3, Position 1 — incumbent Clay Kendall, Trey Weaver, Vonnice Boone and Rachel Crawford
• Ward 4, Position 1 — incumbent Barney Hayes and Richard Labit

Yes, and: Five of the seven Bentonville School Board seats are up for grabs, and all five races are contested. See the candidates.

• Five of the nine Board of Trustee positions at NorthWest Arkansas Community Colleges have contested races. See the candidates.

Cities with mayoral openings that are up in the air include:

• Bella Vista — Three-way race including Randy Murray and council members John Flynn and Steven Bourke.
• Cave Springs — incumbent Randall Noblett and Mike Maloney
• Centerton — a whopping five candidates including incumbent Bill Edwards, Michael Commet, Wendy Henson, Lance Johnson and Mike Blakeman
• Elkins — Troy Reed and Paul Graham
• Farmington — incumbent Ernie Penn, council member Diane Bryant and Jerrod Fraley
• Goshen — Shawn Mayfield and Russell Stroud
• Gravette — incumbent Kurt Maddox and Dale Ayres Sr.
• Highfill — Chris Holland and Jeremy Rogers
• Lowell — incumbent Chris Moore and Rodney Judy
• Tontitown — Joey Pianalto and Angela Russell
• West Fork — S. Heith Caudle, Ray Foster and Steve Winkler