Lavon Morton, candidate for Director-At-Large Position 5

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

My wife and I and our one year old daughter moved to Fort Smith in 1997. I had previously worked at Ernst & Young in Little Rock for 24 years, 12 as a partner. We moved so I could take a job at ArcBest Corporation as Vice President of Finance. I worked at ArcBest for 20 years retiring in 2016 as a Senior Vice President. I became involved in City matters in the early 2000's as one of the original members of the City's Audit Advisory Committee. I was appointed a City Director for Ward 3 in 2019 to fill a vacancy and served until the end of 2024, when I moved out of Ward 3."

2. What made you want to run?

"I am running in 2026 to lend my experience to solving the City's problem in financing critical infrastructure work for the City's drinking water supply system. I was involved in the successful development of the financing plan for the Fort Smith Wastewater Consent Decree that resulted in a recent 11.5 year extension of the deadline for completion of the legally required wastewater system repairs."

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

"The pressing needs in Fort Smith are water infrastructure and Consent Decree construction work."

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

"If elected, I will use my extensive finance experience (40 plus years in working with large corporations) to try to develop a financing plan for water infrastructure and I will also work on developing a monitoring system for wastewater construction progress.

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.