The daily newspapers reported on a forum held by the Rogers-Lowell Chamber of Commerce on Friday of last week. The county judge candidates were the guests and the forum apparently was open to the public. At this point I don’t know who was responsible for advertising the event, but at least two of us interested northeast Benton County residents wanted to attend but were not privileged to be advised of the date. It is unfortunate that a forum held by such a civic minded organization was not better publicized.
The other individual who had specifically called the chamber was advised he would be notified as soon as a schedule was established - and he was to advise me - was not contacted, so at least two of us were disappointed.
Now that I have that behind me, I can only report on the account of the event as recorded by the daily newspaper and rely on my own experiences as a member of the Quorum Court and my two unsuccessful campaigns for the position of county judge.
For those unfamiliar with Arkansas county government, this is the equivalent of a corporate chief executive officer’s position.
The title of county judge is applicable only to the responsibility as judge of the county court which is a small, actually very small, part of the responsibilities of the position. In many areas of the country the title of this position is county supervisor or county executive which eliminates a lot of our confusion with our circuit judges who are actually full-time “judges.” The demands of this position have changed dramatically over the years and it now requires an expertise in budgets, personnel, organization, government and general management to name a few. The days when county roads were the most significant part of the job are long gone and now the position requires an abundance of management skills to address the needs of a county with multi-million dollar departments and hundreds of employees.
Long-range planning is no longer adequate for just the period of the elected term in office and the county judge must help lead the Quorum Court to think 10 years into the future to meet the county’s need in the next decade, or beyond.
There isn’t any question that the current county judge has gotten into some very controversial situations in his year plus in office. How serious the mistakes were, or are, depends on your personal understanding of the situation.
Are they serious enoughto necessitate a change? I think so, but only if we can elect a replacement with the experience to direct the county to a new level of integrity and leadership
My experience on the Quorum Court and as a candidate lead me to believe we should expect - even demand - experience on the Quorum Court as criteria for the position of county judge. It is more than just the ability to read a written document. Most people can do that today, and most people can understand contracts. Looking at the contract’s wording through the eyes of the people of Benton County’s needs requires understanding of county government’s responsibilities.
You don’t gain that experience by asking an opinion of the county attorney. It comes by being involved from the ground up. There is no substitute for that experience - not having a mentor, not relying on an assistant, not consulting the county attorney, not running the best campaign. Benton County needs the most experienced, best qualified, leader we can find to direct us in the tough economic times we now face.
When I read comments by members of the Quorum Court about the importance of the county judge’s leadership in helping them meet their responsibilities, I can’t help recalling my six years on the court. We had turn over in the countyjudge’s office every election cycle. Our salvation - if that is an appropriate word - was that two of them had served on the Quorum Court before they were elected to the county judge’s position. We have just seen that experience at the State Legislature level has not necessarily transferred to dealing with county problems. What we have seen demonstrated is success in private corporations has proven successful on the county government level as witnessed by certain members of the Quorum Court. It appears to me that route provides the best path to success as a county judge. Only one of the four people we will choose from on the May 18 ballot has experience on the Quorum Court. Even the incumbent’s political experience in the Arkansas Legislature does not matchBob Stephenson’s 10-year record on the Quorum Court.
If you agree we need to make a change in the county’s chief executive office (the Benton County judge), you need to consider Bob Stephenson’s record in business and on the Quorum Court and support his campaign for this position.
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Leo Lynch, a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@ nwanews.com.
Opinion, Pages 4 on 04/21/2010