City Government, City of Clinton, Arkansas, Van Buren County, Ozark




Roger L. Rorie, Mayor of Clinton, Arkansas

Since election to the office of mayor in 2006, Roger L. Rorie has witnessed the worst and the best of what any public official may encounter.

The horrific destruction of floods, hail storms and tornadoes that killed three fellow community members and damaged or destroyed scores of businesses and hundreds of homes; the devastation to the local economy when the local poultry processing plant, a backbone of the community's economic infrastructure for half a century, relocated and leaving 325 people (roughly 13% of the county's population) unemployed; and the city getting stuck holding the bag for $3.8-million of debt incurred customizing water treatment facilities installed exclusively to service the abandoned processing plant. And this was all during only one year of Rorie's service, 2008.

“Right now we have zero manufacturing jobs in the county,” Rorie told Rob Moritz of the Arkansas News Bureau in April of 2009, referencing several other manufacturers, the combined providers of roughly 700 jobs, which relocated prior to or were destroyed by the tornado of 2008.

None of this, however, has daunted Rorie's drive to do the best that can be done for his community flourish and thrive. His city is now pursuing a vigorous economic development program and his administration has continually made strides in the upgrading of municipal service.

Most proud of the streamlining of city offices and equipment that have been forwarded during his term of service, Rorie credits such improvements as part of a continual progression, built on the accomplishments of prior administrations and the cooperation of many elected officials and volunteers.

Also during his tenure, the City of Clinton -- which is in the heart of the Fayetteville Shale formation -- has become a mecca for natural gas drilling companies with the city of Clinton deriving windfall revenues of roughly $1-million from the sale of water for drilling and selling mineral rights on city-owned property over the course of several years.
Rorie's current goal is to make the best possible use of these new revenues by investing in city infrastructure, developing projects that will be of lasting benefit to the town.

Already accomplished on this list is a new softball field and fish pond in the city's park. Up next on the agenda is the development of a skateboard park and the relocation of city offices to an envisioned municipal complex.

Roger Rorie and his family came to Clinton, Arkansas, as business owners in 1980. After purchasing the Clinton Motor Company, a Ford dealership, Roger and his family continued to live in the neighboring community of Fox for a time, during which Roger served as a state legislator in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1991 until 1999.
After leaving office, Roger and spouse Ramona relocated to Clinton where they have been homeowners since 2000. The couple, married since 1966, have two children. Daughter Rene now lives in Bryant and son Russell resides in Harrison.

Previous Mayors:

Chip Ellis

Don Richardson