Attorney fills Quorum Court seat

FAYETTEVILLE — Coleman Taylor, a local attorney, is the new justice of the peace for District 1 in Washington County.

District 1 covers most of northwestern Washington County, including Tontitown and Johnson. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Taylor to fill the vacancy left by Lance Johnson.

Taylor, 40, said he has lived in District 1 since May 2022 and prior to that lived in Fayetteville. He graduated from the University of Arkansas Law School in 2007 and has been a practicing attorney since 2008.

Taylor said he was approached about serving and agreed to have his name be submitted for consideration. He described himself politically as “between a Republican and an independent, but more of a Republican than a Democrat.”

Taylor said he’s familiar through his law practice with Washington County government in regard to land use issues. He attended his first Quorum Court meeting Thursday and said the Quorum Court’s hearings on a pair of conditional use permit appeals struck him as inefficient.

“Why do we even have a Planning Board if the Quorum Court is essentially the final arbiter of the facts and the issues,” he said, suggesting the county’s land-use ordinance should be reviewed.

County Judge Patrick Deakins said Taylor’s familiarity with land use issues was a major reason he was sought out.

Johnson resigned Jan. 3, just hours after being sworn in for a two-year term on the Quorum Court. Johnson was named Deakins’ chief of staff.

The Quorum Court in January declared a vacancy in the District 1 seat, and notice was sent to the governor’s office. Taylor will be ineligible to run for reelection in 2024 under Arkansas law.