Newcomer challenges incumbent in Crawford County JP race

VAN BUREN — Political newcomer Brandon Herring is running against incumbent Roger Atwell in the Republican primary for Crawford County District 13 justice of the peace.

The Republican primary winner May 24 will be the only name on the ballot in the Nov. 8 general election.

Justices of the peace are quorum court members meeting at least once a month to conduct county business and review ordinances and resolutions.

Arkansas justices of the peace serve two-year terms and cannot be paid annually, according to state statute. In Crawford County, justices are paid $500 per meeting.

Atwell, 59, is running for his third term in the position as he feels the county needs people with experience and seniority to be in the upcoming election.

He noted several positions such as the county judge, sheriff and county clerk don’t have incumbents running for reelection.

“I think that the county feels like they need a voice for their district. They need their district represented,” he said. “They need someone that’s involved in their community. There’s about eight or nine different, little communities that make up my district. In Crawford County, I have the largest district mileage-wise.”

Atwell said he’s on the Personnel and Budget committees, and helps decide where the Quorum Court spends the American Rescue Plan money for covid relief from the federal government. Crawford County is expected to see a lot of growth in the coming years and he hopes to continue aiding that, he said.

“Example, Mountainburg — one of the towns in the district I represent — just received $2.5 million from the American rescue funds for the opportunity to bring city water to 53 square miles,” Atwell said. “Everyone thinks most people have city water. I live in a very rural area. Again, 53 miles of people that I represent do not have city water. We will apply for a grant in early October, which we anticipate to get, and then we will move forward with trying to get city water up into those areas.”

“That area adjoins Washington County, which is one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States, and we see a viable explosion of population up in that area. Now, I have not done that work. That work has been done by the mayor of Mountainburg and the City Council of Mountainburg. They have driven it, I have just been a small piece of the puzzle,” he added.

Herring, 34, is an unmanned aerial systems teacher in the Fort Smith School District and owner of the small business Buddy System Tactics. He is a former sheriff’s deputy for both Crawford and Washington counties.

“What made me run is my love for Crawford County,” he said. “I grew up in Crawford County, started out on the volunteer fire department and got my first real job as a deputy sheriff in Crawford County, so that’s where my heart is. I want to be able to keep giving back to Crawford County and help improve it, help it grow with the possible expansion that could come.”

Herring said he thinks voters in District 13 want a justice of the peace responsibly looking over finances and policies, and he can do that as he earned a master’s degree in business administration. He said, if elected, he wants to use taxpayer money efficiently and promote smart policies to establish groundwork for new industries and existing businesses to thrive in Crawford County.

“Not blowing money where it doesn’t need to be, but making sure that we are properly funding public safety,” Herring said. “Our county infrastructure like the roads, and making sure that we’re taking care of our county employees so that they’ve got living wages and benefits so that we can keep good talent in the county, instead of those jobs just being stepping stones.”