Endorsements

Arkansas Community Organizations & Arkansas Renters United

From Kyle

Dr. D’Andre Jones

Fayetteville City Council, Ward 1

Fayetteville, I am happy to endorse Kyle Smith for Fayetteville City Council Ward 4!! In order to move our city forward, we need bold, progressive, collaborative leadership. Kyle Smith is the right choice!! Kyle knows that teamwork makes the dream work!! Kyle has a work ethic that few can match. Fayetteville, that energy is needed like never before!! Kyle and I don’t agree 100 percent on every issue; I guarantee his difference of opinion is rooted in his core values and an abundance of research. His agenda is rooted in a better, stronger, more accessible Fayetteville, the Fayetteville I believe in!! Vote Kyle Smith, Ward 4!!

Keaton Smith

Fayetteville School Board (no relation)

I am so grateful that Kyle Smith is running in Ward 4. I got to know him for the first time when he was first on City Council a few years ago. I was always impressed by his diligence, research, and how carefully he considered every opinion.

Over the last few years, we’ve worked closely together as volunteer placemaking, housing, and transportation advocates with Fayetteville Strong, our local chapter of Strong Towns, which advocates for fiscal responsibility and great places.

I’ve seen firsthand Kyle just be dedicated and put in the work to make Fayetteville a better place. I know how much he cares, and I know that he has the discernment to push for the right projects in the right places and press pause when we’re going in the wrong direction.

I’m really grateful that Kyle’s running in Ward 4, and if you’re in Ward 4, I hope you support him.

Clark Eckels

Secretary & Treasurer, Fayetteville Strong

Fayetteville is great at setting ambitious goals and imagining a better future for our city. But too often, we fall short of turning those visions into reality. We need leadership that goes beyond good intentions to deliver meaningful, measurable results. Kyle Smith represents that kind of leadership.

I’ve had the privilege of getting to know Kyle over the past few years through our shared advocacy work with Fayetteville Strong, where we focus on issues like housing affordability, safe streets, and smart growth. Kyle has a genuine passion for understanding how our city works and how we can make it better. I’ve repeatedly seen him give generously of his time and resources to make a positive difference in his community. Kyle doesn’t just talk about safer streets; he rolls up his sleeves and helps make them happen. For example, Kyle helped install traffic calming measures on Betty Jo Drive, right in Ward 4, working alongside volunteers and neighbors, literally in his bare feet.

When I have a question about how city government works or how a current or proposed policy might affect Fayetteville, Kyle is one of the first people I turn to. He knows the issues, understands the details, and does his homework. And when he doesn’t know the answer, he puts in the work to discover it. Few people are as informed about Fayetteville’s challenges and opportunities, and there is no one whose judgment I trust more when it comes to deciding where our city should go next.

Ward 4 has a choice: continue with the status quo, or elect a leader who will ask tough questions and focus on outcomes that make a real difference in people’s lives. Kyle understands that how we grow affects not only affordability and quality of life, but also the long-term health of our city finances and the natural environment we call home.

I’m endorsing Kyle Smith for Fayetteville City Council because our city deserves thoughtful, evidence-based decision-making and compassionate leadership that delivers. Ward 4 voters should elect Kyle Smith.

Lara Bell Phillips

Co-Founder, For Fayetteville · Former board member, NWA Equality

Dear Fayetteville voters,

I am writing to recommend Kyle Smith for Fayetteville City Council.

I have known Kyle for nearly 20 years, and in that time we have worked together on a number of projects. Most notably, we worked together on Ordinance 5781, Fayetteville’s civil rights ordinance, and we co-founded For Fayetteville, the group formed to run that ballot question. That fight showed me who Kyle is: he does the hard work, he stays with it, and he stands up for the idea that everyone in Fayetteville deserves to be treated fairly.

Kyle brings experience on the city council, and he brings the perspective of a housing activist who understands that a city works only when its people can afford to live in it. He cares about protecting our natural surroundings, about logical city planning, about quality of life, and about education — the things that actually make a city a good place to live.

Fayetteville needs council members who know the city, who have done the work, and who will keep doing it. Kyle is that person, and I urge you to vote for him.

Megan Hurley

Former Fayetteville School Board Member

Rob Qualls

Fayetteville Public Library Board

A little over 12 years ago, I moved to Fayetteville and almost immediately found common cause with Kyle Smith. I am proud to count him as a good friend and easily the most knowledgeable person on Fayetteville city government who doesn’t actually work in it.

Kyle arrives at every decision through a rare blend of research, analysis, and compassion. While data guides his actions, he always balances the numbers with a strong sense of right and wrong.

My top priority for City Council is a personal one: I want my sons to be able to live and thrive in Fayetteville if they choose to stay after finishing their education. To make that possible, we need evidence-based policymaking that supports the housing and infrastructure required to keep costs in check and create more local job opportunities. Kyle also acts with a sense of urgency that I find missing on our Current City Council. Important decisions shouldn’t be rushed, but they also shouldn’t be obstructed and delayed.

It takes leaders like Kyle to move beyond rhetoric and do the hard work of removing the barriers to housing and success that too many in our community face.

Ward 4 voters should elect Kyle Smith for City Council.

Lissa Kelly

Heritage Village HOA President

When I first moved into my home over 12 years ago, not only was it my very first house, it was my first experience with an HOA. Shortly after moving in I joined my HOA Board and met Kyle at an HOA meeting. At the time he was representing us as a City Council Member.

From the get go I was impressed with Kyle’s knowledge of how our local government functioned, and greatly appreciated his help in navigating that system with various HOA needs. Since that point on, I have tried to invite other Ward 4 city council members to join our HOA block parties and meetings, but none have taken me up on that offer.

What I didn’t realize at the time was how rare it is that an elected representative would take the time out of their busy schedule to sit in on an HOA meeting, to actually talk to those they represent and get to understand the needs and wants of the community. Kyle is that rare gem, and I didn’t realize it until after the fact.

He showed up to all the various HOA sponsored activities and meetings, meetings I was chairing at the time and sometimes I didn’t want to be there! But he showed up.

For me, that was a powerful message of how much he cares not only about the pressing needs of a growing city, but the individual needs of families and the people he represented.

In the following years, I have kept in touch with Kyle and am beyond thrilled that he is running to represent Ward 4 once again. He and I regularly talk about all the issues facing Fayetteville, from critical infrastructure (hello, working sewer lines!) to traffic concerns, zoning issues, etc., etc.

I am always amazed by his insight and thrilled that his views and values align so closely with mine. He is brilliant, driven, and genuine about his passion for both this city and the people he wants to represent again.

Kyle would be an excellent city councilmember, and he has my full support. I hope everyone will consider backing him as well!