3 JP incumbents take leads in early returns; 4th JP lags
Three incumbents were poised to keep their seats on Pulaski County’s Quorum Court, but one race in District 10 remained close late Tuesday night.
With 49 of 137 precincts reporting, unofficial results showed Justices of the Peace Julie Blackwood, Donna Massey and Staci Medlock leading their challengers in contests to represent their districts in Arkansas’ most populous county.
Kristina “KG” Gulley was slightly ahead of incumbent Justice of the Peace Barry Jefferson in early results in the District 10 race.
The Democratic primary election for Quorum Court featured eight candidates. No Republicans filed to run for the seats during this cycle, so Tuesday’s winners are uncontested in November’s general election and won’t appear on fall ballots.
Winners will be sworn in for two-year terms in 2021.
Tuesday’s outcome will not affect the composition of the Quorum Court, which has 10 Democrats and five Republicans.
November’s general election, for which John Blackmon filed paperwork to run as an independent against District 8 Justice of the Peace Curtis Andre Keith, a Democrat, is the only contest this year that could shift that balance.
In District 4, unofficial results were:
Blackwood . . . . . . . . . . . 2,959 Vicki Hatter ............ 992 Blackwood, 63, was on track to begin a seventh Quorum Court term in January. The longtime resident of Little Rock’s Hillcrest neighborhood works as a private personal trainer.
“Why I do it is to help make a difference, to bring about change, to give back something,” Blackwood said in an earlier interview. “I hope that we can do a lot more.”
Blackwood told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that her priorities for the new term will include finding ways to support youth services and juvenile-justice initiatives.
Hatter, 40, lives in the Briarwood/Sunnymeade area in Little Rock and has been active in education issues in Arkansas.
Unofficial results for the District 6 race were: Massey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,388 Pamela Whitaker . . . . . . . 953
Vying to take office for a 12th term, Massey is the longest-serving justice of the peace. She is 56 and lives in Little Rock’s Oak Forest area.
In an earlier interview, Massey touted her experience and accomplishments on the Quorum Court.
“I don’t care who’s in the office. I want to know what they’re doing policy-wise to make a difference,” she said.
Massey is chairwoman of the Quorum Court’s budget committee and named several areas of interest in her platform, including economic development and criminal-justice initiatives.
The founder of a nonprofit group for girls interested in technology, Whitaker is 65 and lives near Little Rock’s Central High School.
Unofficial results for District 10 were:
Gulley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,197 Jefferson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940
Gulley, 51, is pursuing her first elected office. She’s a career counselor from the Argenta area of North Little Rock and a former member of the Little Rock Education Association.
She has highlighted road and drainage improvements in unincorporated county areas, building a recreation and wellness center, and boosting county employees’ salaries as her objectives.
Jefferson, 44, is seeking a second term representing District 10. He’s the environmental services director for CARTI and lives in the Cloverdale area of Jacksonville.
Jefferson is chairman of the Quorum Court’s new public safety and justice efficiencies committee, which looks at criminal- and juvenile-justice changes.
Unofficial results in District 15 were:
Medlock . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,238 Shay Tidwell . . . . . . . . . . 1,212
Medlock is a real estate agent pursuing a fourth term as a justice of the peace. The North Little Rock resident, 52, is active in many local boards and associations.
She says her goals include continuing work on the public safety and justice efficiencies committee and jail change efforts around mental health.
Tidwell, 41, lives in North Little Rock’s Lakewood area and works as a bail bonds agent.