What to know about Bentonville's mayoral candidates
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Photo illustration: Axios Visuals. Photos: Courtesy of both campaigns.
Incumbent Stephanie Orman faces challenger Steve Galen in the race for mayor of Bentonville.
Why it matters: About 58,000 people live in Bentonville, home to the largest company in the U.S. and where about 15,000 Walmart employees will soon work at its news headquarters.
Steve Galen
Bentonville isn't preparing for projected growth, says Steve Galen, who is concerned its economy could stagnate if people choose to live and work in other towns.
What they're saying: Updating traffic technology, improving the sewer system and focusing on high housing costs are all on Galen's agenda. The three are linked together, so you can't fix one without working on the others, he tells Axios.
On growth: "I'm concerned that Bentonville is going to lose its charm because we're not taking big steps to move people around faster," he says.
- "There are places in town where we can't build right now because there are … old 6-inch sewer pipes that need to be upgraded to 12 inches … that's slowing down the amount of homes we can build for the demand," which drives up prices and creates more traffic as people commute into town.
Background: Galen has lived in Bentonville since 1996. He retired in December after a 38-year career in business, including 27 years in the Walmart supplier community for 3M, Del Monte Foods and Bissell Homecare.
- His community service includes stints with the Bentonville Library Foundation, Northwest Arkansas Crisis Intervention Center and the Mercy Health Foundation.
- Galen has not previously run for public office.
Stephanie Orman
Stephanie Orman says her love of the community and the opportunity to continue with the momentum she's built during her time in office are reasons for her re-election bid.
What they're saying: Infrastructure, quality-of-life amenities and safety — fire, police and road connectivity — are priorities for Orman.
- Making sure the city has the roads in place to "grow well" while avoiding the pitfalls of similar-size communities is her objective, and she leans heavily on planning. Keeping a balance with the city's high quality of life expectations will be important, she says.
On growth: "We've updated our master street plan, we connected that to our bike and ped plan. We know where we need to to move intersections or do intersection work. … We've updated our water and sewer master plan; we know where those concerns are and where we need to move those projects," Orman says.
- I want to keep "that momentum of what we've been doing to make sure that we have master plans for all of our systems, so that as we grow … we grow well."
Background: Orman's background is in advertising and marketing. She served two terms on the Bentonville City Council before being elected mayor in 2018.
- She serves on the Northwest Health board of trustees, the NWA Conservation Authority board and the NWA Economic Development District board of directors
- Orman has lived in Bentonville for more than 21 years, she says.