JP James Bryant

James Bryant is one of the newest members of the Hot Spring County Quorum Court. He and fellow rookie JPS, Wylie Whitley and Jimmie Rogers, took the oath of office along with the returning members of the Court on Jan. 1, 2023, and the group immediately got to work regulating county business and seeking new opportunities for the future.

Bryant is a Malvern native who grew up locally with his older brothers, Charlie and Sam. James graduated from Malvern High School in 1975 and attended Henderson State University soon after, graduating from there in 1980 with a degree emphasis in Social Science and Coaching.

Bryant had interviews and job offers in multiple cities right out of college, but with common-sense urging from his dad, he jumped on the first concrete job opportunity that arose. That led him to a long and productive career with the Arkansas Department of Human Services in various positions that took him all over the state.

Bryant worked 36 years for DHS, in total, starting out in the Hot Springs office and spending a year there before transferring to the Malvern office. He stayed here at the Malvern agency for about a year, as well, before getting married and transferring to the Pine Bluff office to be closer to his wife at the time.

Then it was on to Monticello, then Little Rock, as Bryant continued in his role at DHS to directly help countless residents all over Arkansas through assistance programs for children, adults, families, seniors, the disabled and those suffering from addiction.

Bryant also served in the National Guard and as a parole officer in Malvern for about five years during his earlier years, but he is now enjoying retirement and has shifted his focus onto local political matters.

Bryant found himself eligible to run for the Quorum Court seat vacated by his brother, Sam Bryant, who held the interim position until the end of 2022 as he finished out the term of JP Jewell “Pete” Willis.

James and his brother were both well-acquainted with Willis, a beloved man of God and veritable icon for the city of Malvern who served on the Quorum Court for 39 years before his passing in March 2021, and both brothers were inspired to run for office by the great example Willis offered through his longstanding service on the Quorum Court.

“He said, ‘Bryant, that’d be a good job for you or Sam—i’m getting too old for this!” James fondly remembered of one of the last conversations he had with Willis, just days before the man’s passing. Willis would undoubtedly be proud of the Bryant siblings and their commitment to serving the people of this community.

Sam ran for a seat on the Malvern City Council and won election in November. Both he and James are doing their very best to go to bat for the citizens of their hometown, and for the county as a whole, in matters that come before the Council and the Court.

However, being the sole Democrat in a sea of Republicans occupying the Quorum Court may present a challenge for James when it comes to pushing his constituents’ ideas and initiatives through the process.

“This is a heavily Republican county, and city, too,” James said. “We all want the same thing, just different parties.” And though he hasn’t yet hit any roadblocks, there will likely be moments when his goals do not align with the majority, although everyone can agree on the basic principles of lawfulness, decency, and achieving common goals. James Bryant may be fighting an uphill battle, but, so far the road is steady, and he is more than ready to make the long haul for the people in his district.