An earlier version of this story contained inaccuracies that have been corrected based on our receipt of additional records. See below for details.
More than 100 locals and out-of-towners have applied to be Little Rock’s new city manager as of April 2, including acting city manager Emily Cox and state Sen. Fred Love (D-Little Rock), according to records obtained from the city under the Freedom of Information Act.
Former Little Rock city manager Bruce Moore died unexpectedly in October after occupying the role for two decades. He received an annual salary of $219,955.
Cox, who was Little Rock’s assistant city manager for two years, was named acting city manager after Moore’s death. She has worked for the city in various positions for nearly a decade.
Love served as Pulaski County’s director of community services until last summer, when he and others resigned amid a dispute related to the county’s housing voucher program. He has since filed a lawsuit against his former employer, alleging racial discrimination from Pulaski County officials who pressured him to step down. Love served in the state House of Representatives for a decade before being elected to the Senate in 2022.
Other notable applicants include current city employees such as Lynette Perez, a city deputy attorney; Justin Holsted, an employee in the city’s Public Works Department; and Courtney Barnes, an internal auditor.
Montae Hernandez, an officer with the Arkansas State Police, also applied. As did Marcus Devine, an attorney at the state Department of Emergency Management who’s been the subject of several controversies over the years.
The mayor appoints the city manager, but the appointment must be approved by the Little Rock Board of Directors, which oversees the position. A spokesperson said Friday that an appointment will likely be made this summer.
The applicants hail from all over the country, including cities in North Carolina, Texas, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Washington, California, Oregon, Kansas, Wisconsin and Virginia. Arkansas applicants included at least 37 prospects from Little Rock and others from cities such as North Little Rock, Alexander, Russellville, White Hall and Morrilton.
Earlier, we reported that Cox had not applied for the permanent role — and that the total applicant pool was much smaller — because of confusion over records the city initially provided the Arkansas Times in response to our FOIA request. An email we received from the city on April 2 contained only 26 applications. After publishing this story midday Friday, we learned there were in fact many additional applications attached to a separate email that we did not receive, although a spokesperson for the city said the email was also sent on April 2.
It’s not clear why the second email wasn’t received. The remainder of the documents were delivered to us Friday afternoon, hours after our initial publication.