On Monday, Oct. 10 in a widely viewed debate broadcast via YouTube by the Central Arkansas Library System, on KUAR 89.1 FM and in partnership with the League of Women Voters, Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. articulated his vision for the future of Little Rock and why voters should cast their ballots for his re-election—there’s a clear choice to either progress forward or go backward.

“In the strongest way possible, I condemn today’s SCOTUS opinion that strips women’s constitutional rights to make decisions about their bodies. This was settled law in our country for half a century, and today’s ruling mistakenly leaves the question of access to abortion up to individual states, of which 13, including Arkansas, have trigger laws to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade was overturned. There are issues that should not be left to individual states to decide. A woman’s right to privacy about her reproductive health should be the law of the land in every state in this country.

Watch Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. deliver the 2021 State of the City address.

More than 500 applied. On Friday, Jan. 25, the transition board for Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. announced the names of individuals who will participate in subcommittees to develop recommendations to the Scott administration.

This team will help lead a people-powered transition process that will consist of eight citizen-led subcommittees on the following: Finance and Administration; Education; Mobility; Economic Development; Public Safety; Inclusion; Quality of Life; and, Transformation and Government Reform.  

“Little Rock has had a Black mayor before, but for the first time in town history, supporters voted one in. His name is Frank Scott Jr.

The 35-year-old banking executive and former highway commissioner defeated the city’s police union favored, Baker Kurrus, in Tuesday’s runoff election for the nonpartisan, open seat.”

“The 35-year-old banker and associate pastor ran on a platform of unifying what many see as a divided city. He said the broad support embodied his campaign's mission.”

“Scott had said he wasn't running to be Little Rock's first elected black mayor, but had sought to bridge some of the city's biggest divides: race, income and geography.”

"Democrat Frank Scott on Tuesday was elected mayor of Little Rock, Ark., becoming the first African-American to be elected mayor in the city's history.

Scott defeated Republican Baker Kurrus in a runoff election, winning about 58 percent of the vote, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette."

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A banking executive and former highway commissioner won Tuesday’s runoff for Little Rock mayor, becoming the first African-American elected to lead Arkansas’ capital six decades after it was the center of a school desegregation crisis.

“Scott's election makes him the highest-profile black official in a state that hasn't elected an African-American to Congress or statewide office since Reconstruction. Blacks make up about 42 percent of the city's population, compared to nearly 16 percent statewide.”

“Frank Scott Jr. made history Tuesday by becoming the first Black mayor elected by popular vote in Little Rock, Arkansas.”

“Little Rock has had two other Black mayors, but they were city directors who were selected for the job by board members, rather than officials chosen by the people.”

“One of this first items on the agenda is convince the LR Board of Directors to vote in favor on changing the current from of government to a Mayor/City Council form of Government.

That means the city would do away with the City Manager Position - turning it into a Chief Operating Officer with the Mayor serving as the Chief Executive Officer.”

“Scott is the first African-American elected mayor of Little Rock, where divisions linger long after nine black students were escorted past an angry white mob into Little Rock Central High School in 1957.”

“Watch this video report from THV11 on Frank’s Election Night win.”

“Frank Scott Jr. has been elected mayor of Little Rock.

He defeated Baker Kurrus in the nonpartisan runoff election Tuesday after the two received most votes of the five candidates in the general election Nov. 6.”

“Scott, an adviser to former Gov. Mike Beebe who served on the state Highway Commission, becomes the first African American elected mayor of Little Rock, where divisions linger long after nine black students were escorted past an angry white mob into Little Rock Central High School in 1957.”

“He knows black folks in Little Rock want him to represent them. But the community banking executive knows that in order to win, he needs to bring the city together and convince white voters he has their best interests at heart, too.”

The runoff for mayor of Little Rock could be at least as interesting as the first go-round, which proved nigh unto fascinating.

Round One was complicated. Strong plurality winner Frank Scott got 37 percent while utterly defying compartmentalizing.

Ready for the Runoff: Little Rock Mayoral Candidate Frank Scott, Jr.

Frank talks with THV11 about the race, almost reaching the 40% threshold to become mayor, and getting ready for the runoff election on Tuesday, December 4th.

After a close contest Tuesday, Baker Kurrus and Frank Scott Jr. -- two of Little Rock's five mayoral candidates -- will face off once more.

Baker Kurrus and Frank Scott Jr. will advance to a runoff in the Little Rock mayor’s race after none of the five candidates reached 40 percent of the vote.

Scott had the most votes in Tuesday’s election with 25,075 votes, or about 37 percent, according to unofficial results with all precincts reporting in Pulaski County. Kurrus came in second place with 19,619 votes, or about 29 percent.

I've been clear since the story ran in the Washington Post that the Department of Justice must step in and investigate the Little Rock Police Department's extensive use of 'no knock' warrants, explosive devices, and other forms of disproportionate force used against our residents. 

Growing up in southwest Little Rock, where he still lives off Chicot Road, Scott seldom ventured north of Interstate 630, and the people he'd met working for former Gov. Mike Beebe that he was meeting at a popular restaurant on Kavanaugh Boulevard seldom went south of it.