Mark Vaught (Conway City Council Ward 2 Position 1, Arkansas, candidate 2024)
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Mark Vaught (independent) ran for election to the Conway City Council Ward 2 Position 1 in Arkansas. He was on the ballot in the general runoff election on December 3, 2024.
Vaught completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Mark Vaught provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 24, 2024:
- Birth date: October 14, 1969
- Birth place: Little Rock, Arkansas
- High school: Perryville
- Bachelor's: University of Central Arkansas, 1992
- Gender: Male
- Religion: Christian
- Profession: Information Technology Professional
- Prior offices held:
- Conway City Council (2007-2012)
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Dedication you can count on. Experience you can trust.
- Campaign website
- Campaign Facebook
Elections
General runoff election
General runoff election for Conway City Council Ward 2 Position 1
Drew Spurgers and Mark Vaught ran in the general runoff election for Conway City Council Ward 2 Position 1 on December 3, 2024.
Candidate | ||
 | Drew Spurgers (Independent)  | |
 | Mark Vaught (Independent) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
General election
General election for Conway City Council Ward 2 Position 1
Floyd Balentine, Drew Spurgers, and Mark Vaught ran in the general election for Conway City Council Ward 2 Position 1 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| Floyd Balentine (Independent) | ||
| Drew Spurgers (Independent) | |
| Mark Vaught (Independent) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Vaught in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Mark Vaught completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Vaught's responses.
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I have been a proud citizen of Conway since 1988 when I moved here from Perryville to attend the University of Central Arkansas. After obtaining my degree in Computer Science, I started my career at Acxiom as a Software Engineer. After gaining experience in both technology and leadership, I served as the Chief Information Officer (and Deputy Director) for the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, Arkansas Attorney General's Office, and I currently serve as CIO at the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
I was twice elected and served on the Conway City Council from 2007 to 2012 when I stepped away to focus on my young family. During that time, I listened to voters and represented their wishes. I was known for representing the people's interests first and not shying away from voting against the status quo. I led the effort to create more transparency into the city's budgets, operations, and legislative actions by elected officials. My focus was on fiscal responsibility and prioritization of city services beginning with public safety, infrastructure, and economic development. I gave back to the community through service on the United Way Board of Directors as well as on the board for the Faulkner County Leadership Institute.
- The top priority of any municipal government is to provide exceptional fire and police protection to the city. Proper funding of the Fire and Police Departments are vital to maintaining the safety and security of our citizens.
- We must keep moving forward with the reconstruction of our streets and drainage infrastructure which also includes the placement of roundabouts at strategic locations and working with Conway Corporation to upgrade utilities in the process.
- Conway is one of the fastest growing cities in Arkansas due in large part to the excellent opportunities the city provides for working, dining, shopping, etc. The city must continue to work with the Conway Deveopment Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, and the State Legislature to continue to expand these opportunities.
It has been my experience that the people of Conway care deeply about maintaining low crime rates, driving on good streets, and having great working, shopping, and dining opportunities. City government must focus on the proper funding of our Fire and Police Departments, maintenance and reconstruction of streets, drainage, and utilities, and expanding opportunities for business and commerce. Beyond that, citizens have also expressed their desire for the city to provide recreational opportunities for themselves and their children.
I want to ensure the city continues these public directives under the umbrella of fiscal responsibility and transparency.
I want to ensure the city continues these public directives under the umbrella of fiscal responsibility and transparency.
City Councils are the first line of government to citizens of any municipality. Nearly everything that occurs at the municipal level has some effect on the citizens of the city. For these reasons, it is vitally important to choose the right person to serve at the local level.
I look up to those who have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we enjoy in this country. While I fail more often than not, I strive to earn the respect of those who have demonstrated selflessness and honor in the way they live every day.
Honesty, availability, approachability, responsiveness, resourcefulness, and empathy are the top principles for those who ask citizens to put them into positions of public trust.
I originally ran for City Council in 2004 because I was frustrated with the lack of responsiveness of the city to address a failing street and drainage ditch in front of my home. I vowed to ensure that citizens’ concerns would be heard and addressed by their elected representative in Ward 2, because no one had addressed mine, and that was unacceptable.
Experience in government, leadership, and demonstrated transparency are some of the most important skills I can bring back to this office.
And I absolutely have a passion about serving others, as evidenced by my eager response to the many phone calls, e-mails, and even a few 2:00 am neighborhood visits for residents that needed a responsive elected official to help address noise issues during my previous tenure on the council.
And I absolutely have a passion about serving others, as evidenced by my eager response to the many phone calls, e-mails, and even a few 2:00 am neighborhood visits for residents that needed a responsive elected official to help address noise issues during my previous tenure on the council.
Elected representatives must be present, accountable, and engaged in municipal government activities that affect the citizens of the city. They need to have a demonstrated skillset of life and career oriented experiences on which they can rely to effectively lead in their elected capacities.
I bring not only my two terms of previous experience to the City Council, but nearly 15 years of career leadership experience as well, having served as Chief Information Officer for three state agencies and one of those as Deputy Director of the agency.
I bring not only my two terms of previous experience to the City Council, but nearly 15 years of career leadership experience as well, having served as Chief Information Officer for three state agencies and one of those as Deputy Director of the agency.
I would like to be remembered as an elected official who was helpful, responsive, trustworthy, and involved in the improvement of the lives of the citizens I served in this capacity.
I vividly remember when Ronald Reagan was shot in March, 1981. I was 11 years old at the time. I couldn't fathom why someone would want to kill the President of the United States.
Summer worker for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. Ironically, I was recently offered the position of Chief Information Officer of ARDOT, so I've come full circle 35 years later!
The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. There is so much altruism demonstrated by so many of the main characters.
There's a Tear in My Beer, by Hank Williams, Jr.
I struggled in the past in setting the right priorities for myself and my family. I left public service in 2012 for this reason, but now that my family is grown, and I have learned how to better set these priorities, I’m ready to ask the citizens of Conway to once again put their trust in me to represent them on the City Council.
The power to affect their property taxes, their zoning laws, their real estate values, and their local economy just to name a few.
Absolutely! In 2006, I was elected with no prior experience. While I eventually learned how to manage the city's budget and understand zoning regulations, it took a full two years to get there.
My prior experience means that I can hit the ground running on day one, fully understanding the complex operations and management of the city government.
My prior experience means that I can hit the ground running on day one, fully understanding the complex operations and management of the city government.
Experience in leadership, finance, and city, county, and state government is a definitely plus.
Any and all "Dad jokes"!
Conway Fraternal Order of Police
Everything government does must be visible and transparent to the citizens it serves. In my previous service on the Council, I promoted transparency into the city's budgetary and operational activities. I proposed street improvements that are just now being realized. I requested the restructuring of A&P taxes to assist with maintenance and operations of new park facilities. I introduced legislation to create the city's first fiscal reserve fund.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
