Quorum court welcomes familiar face as new JP

District 12 Justice of the Peace Debbie McGrew was appointed to the Garland County Quorum Court April 1 but didn’t convene with her colleagues in person until earlier this month.

The county legislative body’s June 8 meeting was the first it convened in person since the coronavirus pandemic descended on the state in March. It didn’t meet in April, and the May meeting was held via video conference. But McGrew’s relationship with her predecessor lent an insight most newcomers have to acquire on the job.

She succeeded her husband, Richard, who resigned after winning the March 3 special election for the open District 22 state House seat. Rep. McGrew, a Republican who lives in Piney, won election to the quorum court in 2018 and served more than a year before defeating Hot Springs Village Libertarian Judy Bowers for the open House seat.

“My husband was a JP, so the learning curve wasn’t quite as big, but it was a little different,” Justice McGrew said of getting acclimated to the quorum court during the disruption to its regular meeting schedule. “Most everybody I already knew, so that helped a lot. Everybody has been helpful and welcoming.”

Justice McGrew, the CFO of McGrew Properties, the company she and her husband own, was appointed based on County Judge Darryl Mahoney’s nomination. He said she was the best fit of the nominees he submitted for gubernatorial appointment.

“I do believe she was the right one for the job,” Mahoney, who represented District 12 prior to being elected County Judge in 2018, said. “She’s done a great job so far. She’s been active with Richard in the district, and she helped him with his campaign.

“She had participated in a lot of the activities we’ve done through the quorum court and is aware of the situations we deal with in county government. She has the benefit of the knowledge Richard gained and will have his ear when it comes to anything that needs to be done on the state level.”

The McGrews have been active in local business for more than 30 years. They founded McGrew Electric in 1988 and started McGrew Properties about 15 years ago. But they’re relatively

new to politics, an initiation that’s had the couple on the campaign trail for most of the last two years.

Rep. McGrew has won four elections since May 2018, including two held the same day. On March 3, he took the special election for the remainder of the District 22 House seat’s 2019-2020 term and a threeway Republican primary for the seat’s 2021-22 term. Last year, he won the Dec. 10 Republican primary for the special election.

He’ll face Bowers again in November for the right to represent eastern Garland and northern Saline counties in the Legislature’s lower chamber the next two years.

“One of his big things in life is helping people,” Justice McGrew said. “We share the same sentiment. We just like to help people.”

Her appointment precludes her from running for the District 12 seat in November. Jeremy Brown, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary and is unopposed in the general election, will represent Mountain Pine and the central part of the county on the quorum court starting Jan. 1.

But Justice McGrew hasn’t ruled out a future run for office.

“That’s a possibility,” she said. “I wouldn’t discount it.”