Two Republicans run for Quorum Court in District 3

VAN BUREN — Political newcomer Morgan Morgan is running against incumbent Chase DeCroo in the Republican primary for Crawford County District 3 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 of the peace are paid $500 per meeting.

DeCroo, 36, is running for his third term in the position because he doesn’t think his work is over yet, he said. His main goals are to keep taxes low, bring new businesses to Crawford County and be a conservative voice on the Quorum Court, he said.

DeCroo also has served two terms as a constable for Crawford County.

“I think that’s one place that I myself excel at, is the working relationships with all of the department heads,” DeCroo said. “I am a police officer in the city of Van Buren, so I knew most of them before I was elected to the Quorum Court. We’ve been able to grow those relationships these past few years since I was justice of the peace.”

DeCroo said he thinks Crawford County has done well to meet the needs of its departments without burdening the taxpayers. He said he wants to continue helping improve infrastructure so that businesses can start and/or grow in the county.

“We need more active justices of the peace, Quorum Court members that listen to their constituents and really just show up to meetings,” he added.

Morgan, 55, said he’s running because he wants to get involved in county government and see where the taxpayers’ money goes. He is fleet trainer for Tri-State Enterprises, based in Fort Smith.

“If there’s waste, let’s see if we can get the taxpayers’ money back to them, because they’re the best spender of their money instead of government,” he said. “I believe in smaller government. Rather than people working for government, I believe the government should work for the people.”

Morgan noted there are 12 other Quorum Court members, so making decisions together might not always be easy.

“There may be disagreements on how the money is spent, because every justice of the peace for their district are going to want to do more for their district,” Morgan said.

“However, ultimately the taxpayers, it’s their money. Ultimately the best spender of the taxpayers’ money is the taxpayer, not government. Government should try to run as lean as possible.”