Baker wins 3rd term in county judge race

CONWAY — Faulkner County’s County Judge Jim Baker defeated the county’s assessor, Damon Edwards, in Baker’s bid for a third term Tuesday.

Complete, unofficial vote totals were:

Baker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,649 Edwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,510

Baker, 72, is a Democrat who has presided over the Republican-dominated Quorum Court for four years. The Quorum Court appointed Edwards, 59, to fill the unexpired term of the county assessor after she resigned earlier this year.

The county judge serves a two-year term and makes $75,000 annually.

Thanking residents for their votes, Baker said, “What I did was leave my politics at the door and put the people of Faulkner County first.”

Last week, a circuit judge signed an order saying Baker had violated the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act by waiting too long to release public emails to Bob Gregory, an Edwards supporter. Baker released the emails after Gregory sued, and both parties later agreed to the order.

Gregory sought the emails after learning of one Baker sent on Oct. 24 to numerous people in response to an email advising him that a water infrastructure measure had been signed into federal law.

In his reply from his public email account, Baker wrote, “This is great, right now I am trying to get votes for re elect to help on these issues. Please contact all you can to go vote,……I need it.”

State law prohibits public officials from using their government-owned email accounts for their campaigns.

Baker, a retired banker and cattleman, unsuccessfully challenged former U.S. Rep. Vic Snyder for the Democratic nomination for Congress in 2002.

Under former President Bill Clinton, Baker served 6½ years as administrator of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration with the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Edwards, a former justice of the peace, previously worked for Windstream Communications, according to his Linked In site.