As expected, the Little Rock City Board Tuesday night defeated Director Erma Hendrix’s proposal to refer to voters an ordinance that would eliminate the three at-large city directors on the city board and go to a seven-member, ward-only board.

The ordinance was declared defeated on a voice vote. It was unclear from the telecast what handful said aye. (I read later in the Democrat-Gazette that only Ken Richardson voted for the ordinance. Hendrix didn’t vote. The other eight were nays. The directors themselves didn’t discuss the ordinance.)

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Though the outcome was expected, many turned out to debate the question.

Business establishment speakers favored the current setup. They said having directors with a citywide vision was important. Some local activists also endorsed the concept, both black and white. Director Joan Adcock, an activist at-large director, got several compliments. At-large Directors Gene Fortson and Dean Kumpuris not so much.

Others, particularly black speakers, said the poor wards were overlooked by the at-large directors and their representatives frequently ignored.

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The most persuasive argument to me: Several said if the at-large directors and their supporters are so sure their way is the best, what’s to fear about a vote?

The fear on the establishment’s part is a loss of control.

Still to come: Possibility of a petition campaign to put a change-of-government ordinance on the ballot. The business establishment can’t stop that. But if it gets there, they’ll spend big time to beat it.

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The classic white business community fallback: Let’s get a blue-ribbon committee to study this thing. Some supporters of the ordinance hit the crux of this: Though the issue divides on race in some respects, the real divide is economic — haves vs. have-nots.

Chris Burks, a lawyer and active Democrat, struck a third-way note. City government structure might need changing, but simply eliminating the at-large directors isn’t enough. The ward structure might need work, but so does the structure of government, currently a blended semi-strong-mayor/city manager form.

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For the record, here’s the history City Attorney Tom Carpenter prepared on the evolution of city government.