Casey Millspaugh, candidate for Director-At-Large, Position 6

1. Provide us with some information about your history and background with Fort Smith.

Fort Smith has been my home my entire life. My mother moved here in 1983 to work for Beverly Enterprises, and I was born at Mercy Hospital in 1985. I attended First Lutheran School and graduated from Southside High School in 2003. When my mother later moved to Tulsa and invited me to join her, I chose to remain here and attend the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. I graduated from UAFS in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

In 2016, my mother and I started Fort Smith Popcorn in my kitchen. Within 10 years, we grew it into a company with 16 employees producing approximately 500 bags of popcorn every day. We primarily help schools and nonprofit organizations conduct fundraisers across the country. Last year, we gave approximately $50,000 back to River Valley schools and nonprofits.

I spent 20 years with UPS, working directly with businesses throughout the River Valley and Arkansas. That experience taught me what businesses need to succeed and how government decisions, infrastructure and operating costs affect their ability to grow. 

I have also served our community on the boards of the Parks Commission, Ales for Trails and the Clayton House. My education, career, business and community service were all built here. I am a product of Fort Smith and personally invested in its future.

2. What made you want to run?

In 2025, after all my family had moved to Dallas, they offered to buy a facility there if I would relocate Fort Smith Popcorn and join them. I had no family remaining in Fort Smith and was presented with a real opportunity to move my company to a larger market. After considerable thought and many difficult conversations, I declined.

I refused to become another homegrown business Fort Smith loses or another person who believes opportunity can only be found elsewhere. I chose to stay because Fort Smith is my home, and I believe it is worth fighting for.

Too many businesses, investors and young people are reaching the opposite conclusion. They are leaving because costs are too high, opportunities are too limited and growth has become unnecessarily difficult. I am running to reverse that trend and help build a Fort Smith where businesses can succeed, families can build a future and young people can find meaningful opportunities without leaving their hometown.

I am putting my own time, money, business and future behind that decision. Fort Smith already has the people, location and resources needed to thrive. What we need now is confident, results-driven leadership willing to challenge the status quo, fix the basics and open our city to growth. I am all in, I am not going anywhere, and I am ready to fight for a brighter future.

3. What pressing needs do you see in Fort Smith?

Our most urgent need is replacing the aging Lake Fort Smith water transmission line and securing a reliable water supply for residents, businesses and military operations.

We must also make Fort Smith affordable for investment and growth. Years of stacking ordinance upon ordinance have increased costs for commercial development, residential construction and existing businesses. Those added costs discourage investment, restrict housing opportunities and make it harder to create good jobs.

Finally, City Hall must restore fiscal discipline and accountability. Core infrastructure, police, fire and essential services must come before new amenities, subsidies and repeated amendments to the budget.

4. If elected, how would you meet these needs?

For the water transmission line, I have established a complete financing strategy with deadlines. I would hire a dedicated grant writer and assemble a financing stack that includes federal and state grants, military partnerships, regional participation, available reserves and responsible long-term government financing. Spending, deadlines and construction progress would be publicly tracked.

Through "Operation Open Fort Smith For Business", I would conduct a line by line audit of every ordinance, fee and requirement that adds costs to commercial development, residential construction and local businesses. Every added expense must serve a clear public purpose and be compared with a less costly alternative.

I will negotiate on behalf of investors, builders, homeowners and businesses to reduce the costs holding Fort Smith back. We will preserve legitimate health and safety standards while amending or repealing requirements that unnecessarily prevent projects from moving forward.

I would establish clear budget priorities, reduce unnecessary subsidies, evaluate underperforming properties and leases, modernize city workflows and direct the savings toward infrastructure, police and fire. My approach is straightforward: identify the problem, negotiate costs, execute the plan and measure the results.

Checkout my website for the full detailed plan Caseymillspaugh.com

General Elections for Mayor and Board of Directors will happen on Nov 3rd. If you are a resident in the Fort Smith Area, go out and vote.