Christina Catsavis, Mayoral Candidate

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

I’m Greek-American, and my family’s story in Fort Smith goes back about 100 years. My family came to America as immigrants and ultimately made Fort Smith home. Like a lot of immigrant families, they came here looking for opportunity and built a life through hard work, family, and small business.

That history has shaped a lot of who I am. I grew up seeing what it takes to build a business and become part of a community. Years later, I took that same leap and opened The Smith Jewelry & Living with my own savings in 2019. Six months later, COVID hit, so I learned pretty quickly that owning a business requires a lot of grit and adaptability.

Fort Smith is also where my husband and I are raising our daughter. I was elected to the Board of Directors in 2022, and for me, public service is another way of investing in a community that has given my family opportunities for generations.

I think about that especially when I talk to college students. A hundred years ago, my family looked at Fort Smith and saw a place where they could build something. I want young people graduating today to look at Fort Smith and feel that same sense of possibility, whether they want to start a business, build a career, buy a home, raise a family, or create something we haven’t even thought of yet.

2. What made you want to run? 

I decided to run because I really believe Fort Smith is at a critical point in our history. We’re making decisions right now that aren’t just going to affect the next few years. We’re looking at generational infrastructure projects and investments that people will still be paying for and relying on decades from now. 

The whole economy is shifting under our feet. AI, automation and new technology are changing the way people work and the skills employers need. That change is creating opportunities, but it’s also creating real uncertainty.

I think about that from a generational perspective, too. I’m a millennial, my generation came into adulthood around the Great Recession, when there was a tremendous amount of uncertainty about jobs, and the housing market was crashing, I remember that feeling of worrying whether the opportunities we had been told would be there actually would be.

So when I hear younger people wondering what AI is going to mean for their careers, I understand the uncertainty behind that question, and I think communities like ours need to be thinking about it now. We should always be in a position where we are operating proactively and not reactively. I don’t want us to keep referring today’s problems to the next budget cycle, the next year, or the next generation.

I want our leadership in Fort Smith to be mindful of how we shape a changing world because our economy is going to change whether we are prepared for it or not. We should be thinking about the industries we want here, helping our existing businesses adapt, and working with UAFS and our other educational partners to prepare people for where the economy is going, not where it has already been.

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

I talk a lot about the erosion of trust in city government, and I believe rebuilding that trust is one of our most pressing needs. Because if people don’t trust their government, it becomes much harder to accomplish anything else.

People know when they aren’t getting the whole story. They may not know every detail of an issue, but they can tell when something doesn’t add up or when they’re only being given part of the picture. That erodes confidence over time.

I believe the city government has an obligation to be honest and accountable to the people it serves, even when the information is uncomfortable or the answer isn’t what people want to hear. We also have to trust our residents enough to give them the facts. Fort Smith residents are perfectly capable of putting information into context, asking questions, and making their own judgments.

Public safety is another priority. Police and fire are core functions of city government, and I believe they need to be treated that way when we make budget decisions.

But I also think Fort Smith needs opportunity. We need good jobs and an environment where someone can start a business and succeed. We need to give young people a reason to stay here and give people who left a reason to come back.

4. If you were to get elected, how would you meet these needs that you see?

I’ve served on the Board of Directors for four years, and I have a record I’m proud to run on. I voted against cuts to police and fire, pushed for transparency, held organizations receiving taxpayer money accountable, and wrote ordinances meant to fix problems for the long term.

I authored and passed an ordinance closing the third-party intermediary loophole. Anyone with a financial interest in a deal with the city now has to disclose that interest, so the public knows who stands to benefit from city business.

I also authored and passed an ordinance requiring spending over $100,000 to be discussed at a study session, followed by a mandatory seven-day waiting period. Residents get time to review the information, ask questions, and attend the meeting where the vote is taken.

I’m running for mayor to bring that same standard to the office itself. How the mayor conducts the job sets the example for the rest of City Hall. I have already proposed cutting the mayor’s budget and listed that plan on my website, because the example has to start somewhere.

That’s how you rebuild trust, not by talking about transparency and accountability, but by putting those principles into practice and, when necessary, writing them into law.

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.