Berry says he'll seek 4th term as mayor

Butch Berry is planning to seek a fourth term as mayor of Eureka Springs.

Berry, who has said in recent months he was weighing his options, confirmed to the Times-Echo on Wednesday, July 9, that he plans to run for re-election in November’s general election.

“… I have decided to run for Mayor again,” Berry said via email.

Berry had recently indicated that he had been encouraged to run again.

“I have had numerous citizens ask me to please run again for Mayor,” Berry told the Times-Echo on May 8, before adding that, at the time, he was still “considering my options.”

Berry will have at least one challenger with city council member Steve Holifield announcing in December his plans to seek the role.

Berry was absent for several weeks earlier in the year with an undisclosed illness, and Holifield, the current mayor pro tem, served as acting mayor in Berry’s absence.

“Yes, I am planning on running for Mayor of Eureka Springs next November,” Holifield said last December. “I have been approached by several people asking me to run, and after much reflection, I have decided to run.”

“I moved to Eureka Springs thirteen years ago after I retired because it is a great place to live and I’d like to do my part in keeping it a great place to live,” Holifield added at the time. “We are a tourist town and that is how many people make their living here and I support businesses and jobs but I also want to listen to the residents, like me, who moved here because it is a great place to live.”

Holifield confirmed Thursday, July 9, his continued intentions to run for mayor. He is currently serving his second two-year stint as a city council member.

Berry became mayor in the 2014 election after becoming the first unopposed candidate in at least 30 years. He replaced Morris Pate, who won the 2010 election among six candidates, but opted not to seek re-election. 

Berry was re-elected mayor in 2018, receiving 514 votes to defeat Theodore Cottingham (284 votes) and Mike Seals (174 votes). He became the first Eureka Springs mayor since 1990 to win re-election.

Berry then received 507 votes to defeat challengers Tracy Johnson (203 votes) and Brandon Cox (127 votes) in the 2022 election.

A fourth candidate in 2022, former mayor Beau Satori, was disqualified by Carroll County Circuit Judge Scott Jackson before the election, but still received 143 votes. Satori, who served as mayor from 1999 to 2003, was ruled ineligible by Jackson on Oct. 18, 2022, after pleading guilty to a felony in 2003. The ruling was too late to remove Satori from the ballot.

After winning in 2022, Berry said he believed he was the first three-term mayor in Eureka Springs since A.J. Russell served five terms from 1937 to 1957.

The mayor’s salary was $18,000 annually until the city council raised the pay to $48,000 approximately six months before the 2022 election.