Nashville, Arkansas · Election Day Nov. 3
Larry Dunaway came up through the city’s water lines and street crews before he ever sat at the mayor’s desk. He knows what’s under every road in Nashville — and he’s spent his term replacing the parts that were worn out.
until polls open on Tuesday, November 3, 2026
“We live together. We work together. We pray together. We do everything together, because we are a close-knit community. That’s one of the biggest advantages to living in Nashville.”
Larry Dunaway
The Record
Nashville lost more than 700 jobs when Husqvarna announced it was leaving. Four things happened next — and none of them happened by accident.
Cantex Inc., a 70-year-old Fort Worth manufacturer of American-made electrical conduit, is putting $120 million into the 352,000-square-foot former Husqvarna building and hiring roughly 140 people. Machines are in. Full production is set for this spring.
“A lot of people were involved in getting Cantex here.”
Failing culverts replaced at South Jones and Clark. Drainage work on Gaines Street. A new clarifier going in at the wastewater plant, plus improvements at the river, the booster station and the city lake. A new hydrant near Parrish Equipment to pull the city’s ISO fire rating down — and when that rating goes down, the average homeowner’s insurance bill in town goes down with it.
“Makes drainage better, keeps water from backing up in people’s yards.”
The city’s independent audits came back with no deficiencies and no findings. Cash flow stayed positive and the year-end balance improved — after setting aside money for depreciation, a discipline Nashville has kept for years and Larry has kept going.
After Miller County rolled its mobile command center into Howard County for a missing-person search, the police and fire chiefs came to Larry. The city found one at auction. Now it can be deployed anywhere in the county — or the next county over — for any emergency, not just search and rescue.
Mayor Larry Dunaway · Nashville, Arkansas
Meet Larry
Larry Dunaway has worked for the City of Nashville for three decades. He trained as a journeyman plumber and carries licenses and certifications in water distribution, wastewater treatment and other disciplines — the unglamorous credentials that turn out to matter a great deal when a town of four thousand has to keep its water running and its streets from flooding.
In 2006 he was appointed Public Works Director, a job he held under two mayors. The city named him Employee of the Year in 2013 and again in 2018. When the previous mayor decided not to run again, Larry saw it as his duty to keep serving in whatever capacity he could. He took office as Mayor on January 1, 2023.
He is a past president of the Nashville Rotary Club. He wears the city’s seal on his shirt most days. And he takes the weight of the job seriously, because in Howard County the decisions are never really abstract.
“I’m doing things and making decisions that affect a lot more people than just inside the city limits. When you start talking about the water system and supporting our local businesses and our local industry, that affects people in several counties.”
The Next Four Years
Every item below is already underway. Re-election is about finishing it.
Cantex took the warehouse. The 300,000-square-foot manufacturing plant is still open, and it comes with a 1.3-megawatt solar field. The city is working the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Developing Howard County to land the next employer.
Culverts, storm drainage, water and sewer. The Sunset Street ditch is done. Gaines Street is next. The new clarifier at the wastewater plant is under construction, with equipment arriving now.
Extend the sidewalk up the west side of Main from Sypert Street to the Hope Highway, with drainage built in — then push on toward Highway 278. Downtown gets a pocket park alongside it, with the Chamber.
The council has authorized an application to the Arkansas Rural Health Transformation Program to put artificial turf on four fields at the city park — fields that don’t wash out, and a season that doesn’t get rained away.
The food truck ordinance got rewritten because the rules were harder than they needed to be. New water service and hydrants go in for new businesses. That work continues, one ordinance at a time.
Keep funding depreciation, keep the audits clean, and keep grant dollars — not property owners — carrying as much of the capital load as possible.
Election Day
Nashville votes for Mayor in the general election. If you’ve moved, changed your name, or turned eighteen since the last cycle, check your registration with the Howard County Clerk before the deadline.
Polls are open 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Bring a photo ID. Questions about your polling place? Call the Howard County Clerk’s office.
Get Involved
This is a hometown campaign run by neighbors. Tell us how you’d like to help — a yard sign, an hour of your Saturday, or an issue you think the Mayor ought to hear about.
