Ex-judge, mediator plans race for Senate

Comstock to seek District 3 position

ROGERS — Former Benton County Circuit Judge Jon Comstock of Rogers, 67, plans to run as a Democrat for the District 3 seat in the state Senate.

Comstock said he is running to maintain and enhance the quality of life in Northwest Arkansas. His time as an appointed judge demonstrated to him a number of issues that will erode that quality soon unless they are tackled more effectively, he said. Those issues include crowded prisons and jails, and a lack of adequate mental health care. The state’s foster care system also needs serious changes, he said.

“I am not seeing the leadership and aggressiveness on these issues that we need,” Comstock said. “I definitely would be a change agent.”

Incumbent Sen. Cecile Bledsoe, R-Rogers, has not had a Democratic general election opponent in a legislative career that began with her first race for the state House in 1998. Bledsoe will seek re-election, she announced earlier this year. She is chairman of the Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor, and a member of the Joint Budget Committee.

Candidate filing for state offices begins Feb. 22 and ends March 1. The general election is Nov. 6.

Comstock was a general practice attorney in Oklahoma from 1976-94, when he was hired by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and moved to Northwest Arkansas. He was an in-house attorney for that company until appointed by then-Gov. Mike Beebe to fill a vacancy to the court in Benton County. He served as circuit judge there from June of 2011 to December of 2012.

After leaving the judgeship, Comstock gained certification by the Arkansas Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission to provide mediation services as an alternative to litigation. He said his experience as a mediator should prove valuable in arriving at workable political solutions in the Legislature.

He is owner of Comstock Conflict Resolution Services in Rogers. He is also an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in the School of Law and in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice.

Comstock plans to host a campaign kickoff event in downtown Rogers at 10 a.m. Saturday.