Steve Galen, a longtime Bentonville resident and retired Walmart supplier, announced his candidacy for mayor Thursday morning.
In doing so, he appears to be the first candidate to enter the race for the upcoming November election. Current Mayor Stephanie Orman, who is in her first term, has yet to announce a re-election campaign.
Galen moved to Bentonville from Washington, D.C., in 1996. He and his wife Susie raised two kids, who both graduated from Bentonville Public Schools and attended the University of Arkansas.
He retired in December after working as a supplier at Bissell, Timex, Del Monte Foods and 3M, managing accounts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Galen has never held elected office, but he has an extensive record of involvement with local nonprofits, including the Bentonville Public Library Foundation and Best Friends Pet Resource Center.
“We are running on issues. We’re running on my experiences as a seasoned business leader with over 30 years experience and 25 years in the nonprofit area,” Galen said.
He says he has the endorsements of former mayors Bob McCaslin, who served from 2007 to 2018, and Terry Black Coberly, who served from 1995 to 2006. In the last election, McCaslin endorsed Orman.
Galen said his campaign will have three core focuses: traffic, infrastructure and housing. The priorities are interconnected, and “you can’t do one in isolation,” he said. More details have been posted his campaign website.
Galen promised a “positive” campaign. At the same time, he claims many residents are frustrated with the city’s direction during Orman’s tenure.
“I’ve talked to a lot of people in the last four months. And I’ve heard very common frustrations,” Galen said. “I hear all these frustrations, and I empathize with all these frustrations, and I just think we can do better.”
As the race develops, The Bentonville Bulletin hopes to conduct in-depth interviews with all candidates so that voters can make an informed decision. Unlike many newspapers, we do not endorse candidates for public office.
