Arkansas Blog

Ah...a faint smell of burnt cornbread is whafting all over Sherwood.
Harmon and his henchmen, a/k/a the Cornbread Mafia have now been
officially retired by the people.

It's not that Harmon has been a bad Mayor, he was a good one once upon a time, but the politics of old, and contractual cronisim and the good 'ol boys system is not good enough anymore. Sherwood has landed itself in lawsuits it can't win, have upset neighbors near the under construction Walmart, and tried to trump the property and contract rights of the North Hills Golf Course, just to mention a few situations that could have been avoided. I guess the city won't be naming North Hills, Harmon Hills like he would have loved to see!

Harmon should have stayed in retirement instead of seeking office after being appointed.
The people of Sherwood are truly ready and willing for a change.

Go Virginia Go. She will be sworn in as Mayor at 11am on Wednesday August 1st
in the City Council chambers.

Lawsuits the city can't win? The one against NLR Electric? I believe Hillman favors it and in fact all five candidates did. The one with dimwit developer? Smoke and mirrors, the developer wanted to pay over $5 million for the property and his bank backed out when the appraisal came in millions less. That's a non-starter banks don't loan $5 million on property valued at less than $3 million unless your daddy is a bigwig GOP official, still have to prove damages to win a lawsuit. Blocking the golf course has saved me being hit with two more traffic lights on 107/JFK. More power to 'em

The neighbors are upset over the Wally World construction? The folks I saw at the city council meeting complaining looked like the ones who attended the meeting when it was approved and said they were satisfied with the final plan. Welcome to the real world mega box stores don't spring up over night. I hold as little sympathy for them as for the golf course neighbors. It's not the city's job to build huge fences so they don't have to see what they don't like.

Contractual cronyism? Go to the clerk's office and see when the last time any work was done under the contract, also note how much cheaper the work was done compared to the other bidders. Really bad stuff there.

Sherwood has the best fire rating in the state, one of the lowest crime rates (amazing considering that LR does not far well in comparison to cities of similar size), recreational facilities that any similar sized city would envy (including a softball park that has hosted the Lady'Backs and some of the largest crowds ever for SEC softball), a great senior citizens program, a top-notch series of city events (Independence Day Celebration, Christmas lights, Halloween Carnival) that draw in people from neighboring communities.

Truth is the folks in Sherwood knew what they were doing. They soundly rejected all three outsider candidates and embraced the two insiders. Sherwood wanted a new face, after 14 years it was certainly time for a new face, but not a lot of change.

I've got high hopes for Hillman, she ran a savvy campaign and more importantly she's another insider who will hopefully take all the good she's seen in city government during her career and build on it while bringing a different perspective.

As a Sherwood resident, I am relieved about the election outcome. I hope Virginia Hillman has the vision to guide Sherwood to become an even greater city. With the annoucement of the location for the remaining portion of the North Belt freeway, Sherwood is poised to become an easily accessible city within the next decade and good leadership will be needed to guide the development of the city.

I don't know what type of crack pipe that "Well" is smoking from. The developers appraisal came in way above his purchase price. The financing fell through only after the City imposed the moritorium on development within days of his closing. The City won't win that lawsuit. There is another lawsuit besides the one with the N Hills property and NLR Electric. The former ambulance provider has also filed suit.

As far as the Walmart neighbors, they agreed to something that the City didn't oversee, a buffer zone. And, the City won't stop or interupt the construction process as long as they are in a "trance" with dollar signs in their eyes. They promised something to these people, and didn't deliver AGAIN.

OMG, you are trying to defend contractual cronyism? Man that stuff you are smoking must be really good. It doesn't matter about the price of any work performed, it's about lining the pockets of your henchmen when they do shoddy work, like no vapor barrier or re-bar in concrete. Jeez...I don't think you even live in Sherwood.

Sherwood has an excellent fire rating but it is doubtful that it is the "best" in the state. A great accomplishment considering CAW paid for a majority of the water flow and water pressure issues.

You may think that the voters in Sherwood "soundly rejected the three outsiders" but, truth is those candidates drew more combined votes on July 10th than either Harmon or Hillman. I would never characterize Hillman as an "insider" she did her job well and was treated poorly in some circles. She won because she was the needed and necessary leader to correct the chaos created by Harmon and his henchmen, and the idiots that serve on the council who ran off Mayor Stedman.

Truth is Hillman worked harder than Harmon in knocking on doors and even mailing out a follow up campaign peice right before the 31st. She did what any serious candidate would do, keep trying to get and gain votes all the way up to election time, instead of relying on a name that is no longer well thought of by the people. I think his son Charlie is going to be the next Harmon retired.

Of course Hillman saw alot of things as a city employee for 21 years. She worked herself up through the ranks and used her old fashion upbringing to keep her ethics in check while doing a fine job for the City. If the city council messes with Mayor Hillman, they may be surpised by a recall petition drive for starters.