Williams resigns as mayor
Posted on Thursday, November 22, 2007
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/55940/
CENTERTON — Mayor Ken Williams resigned his position here on Wednesday after The Benton County Daily Record reported he has been leading a double life for more than 20 years.
When Williams entered City Hall on Wednesday for a special council meeting called to discuss his admitted double life, he asked City Council members where they wanted him to sit.
Williams revealed to The Daily Record on Tuesday that he believes he was abducted in 1975, forced into the back of a van and brainwashed with an electric machine attached to his forehead, which made him forget his life as a minister named Don LaRose and believe he was Bruce Kent Williams.
After alderman Judy Coffelt said he could sit wherever he felt comfortable, Williams — formerly Don LaRose — first stepped toward the audience seating, then turned and climbed the few steps to take his regular seat behind the Ken Williams name plate.
Following an executive session with the council, Williams returned to his regular seat, where he remained until the City Council announced he had resigned.
“ Because of the events that have taken place over the past two days, it is with great sadness that I find it necessary to resign from the office of mayor of the city of Centerton to which I was elected, ” his resignation letter states.
The council can decide whether it will appoint a replacement for Williams or hold a special election to fill the post. City recorder / treasurer Bobbie Griffith will serve as interim mayor, with office clerk Jan Dolan fulfilling most of the day-to-day duties.
The letter included the signature of Ken Williams, but beneath that was typed “ Ken Williams / Don LaRose. ”
Williams urged the City Council and reporters to go to www. donlarose. com to read about the events of his life that led him to assume the identity of Ken Williams and leave the identity of Don LaRose — and a wife and two children — behind in Hammond, Ind., in 1980.
Williams created the Web site earlier this year, he said, because he wanted to get the story of his abduction out in hopes of getting attention from law enforcement, whom he believes ignored his cries for help following the alleged abduction.
Williams knows there is a possibility he could face criminal charges.
He testified in September at an annexation trial involving the cities of Centerton and Bentonville, giving his name under oath as Ken Williams. Williams does not believe he lied because he sees himself as being Ken Williams, not Don LaRose.
He registered to vote in Arkansas under the name Ken Williams and filed as a candidate for mayor under the same false name. According to the Arkansas voter registration application, a person could be fined up to $ 10, 000 and / or serve up to 10 years in prison for knowingly providing false information.
Representatives of the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, the Arkansas Municipal League, the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office and the State Board of Election Commissioners all said the issue would not fall under their responsibilities.
“ This is an issue that would need to be handled locally, ” said Tim Humphries, general counsel at the office of the Arkansas secretary of state. “ There’s no state agency that deals with these kinds of issues. When and if a complaint is filed, it would become a local thing with the prosecuting attorney’s office. ”
Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone said Wednesday that no complaint regarding William’s fraudulent identity has been issued to his office, but he expects an investigation could occur.
Staff writers Jeff Mores and Eleanor Evans contributed to this report.