GOP Gains Advantage In County

Democrats Lose Control Of Quorum Court

— Washington County Republican justices of the peace start their term in January with much more than a simple majority after the Democrats’ decades-long control of the Quorum Court slipped away.

Republicans have 10 of the 15 justice of the peace seats, or more than a three-fifths majority, after Tuesday’s election for the first time since 1978, according to data released by the county judge’s oft ce.

The Quorum Court grew to 15 seats from 13 after redistricting last year. By having a three-fi fths majority, Republicans can refer issues to the electorate and can also override a veto from the county judge, said George Butler, county attorney.

County Judge Marilyn Edwards has not vetoed any Quorum Court ordinance or resolution in her two terms, Butler said. He also doesn’t recall former County Judges Jerry Hunton and Charles Johnson ever using the veto power.

Democrats hold the oft ces of county judge, sheriff, treasurer and coroner while Republicans fi ll the positions of assessor, collector, county clerk and circuit clerk.

It’s the first time in recent memory both parties equally hold executive positions in the county government, Edwards said, who was first elected in 1976 as county clerk.

Officials holding all eight full-time offices have their own state-mandated duties and work together as a group to run the county’s day-today operations. The equal split among Republicans and Democrats shouldn’t hinder the work between officials, Edwards said.

“I don’t think that will impact anything,” Edwards said. “We will all do the job voters chose us to do.”

However, those full-time executives soon could be facing approvals for spending requests and budget proposals from a Quorum Court filled with members asking tougher questions about government growth, said Justice of the Peace Joe Patterson.

Patterson, elected in 2002 and who defeated Democratic challenger Tracey Kutcher on Tuesday, said he’ll be keeping an eye out for opportunities to cut taxes.

“I will go ahead and present my programs as I usually do for what’s good for the county and taxpayers,” Edwards said. “I will not change what I do, and I will approach them the same way I’ve always approached them.”

The term started in 2011 with eight Republican and fi ve Democrat justices of the peace. The GOP lost two seats after Gov. Mike Beebe appointed a Democrat and independent to replace Micah Neal and Gary Carnahan, two Republican justices of the peace who moved out of their district. Now six Democrats and six Republicans and one independent will finish the term.

Despite last decade’s mostly simple majority, Patterson said some Republicans commonly voted with Democrats. He also said issues rarely required voting blocks between both parties.

The Quorum Court last year unanimously cut the county’s property tax by half a mill levy, resulting in a $10 annual tax break for people owning property valued at $100,000. The cut also meant $1.5 million less in taxpayer revenue for the county.

That unanimous vote came moments after Democrats made an unsuccessful attempt to compromise and reduce the millage by a quarter-mill levy that would have resulted in $750,000 in less revenue for the county. That compromise failed by a 7-6 vote split among party lines with Lance Eads, an independent justice of the peace siding with Republicans.

In 2010, Republican Justice of the Peace Neal, newly elected state representative, attempted a last-minute 4 percent budget cut across most county budgets. At least three failed attempts were made to make the tax cut.

That year, the Quorum Court adopted the budget by 7-6 votes, again along party lines. That time however, one Republican, Justice of the Peace Mary Ann Spears, voted with Democrats.

“I’ve always worked well with both Democrats and Republicans, and once they start solving problems of the county, they vote more along their conscience instead of voting along a party block,” said Treasurer Roger Haney, the only Democrat who won countywide re-election Tuesday.

Voters in 1978 elected 11 Democrats and two Republicans to the Quorum Court. Democrats held no fewer than 11 seats until the end of 1992.

After redistricting in the 1990s, the GOP grew its representation from two members in 1991 to six at the start of 1999. Republicans took their first majority after the 2000 election, winning 9 seats compared with the Democrats’ five. During the past decade, Republicans held a simple majority with the exception of the 2005-06 term.

Before the most recent twoyear terms, issues debated by Quorum Court members were argued by justices of the peace who represented rural or urban areas, Patterson and Haney said. As cities grow in population, the urban/rural debates seem less frequent because newer justices of the peace mostly think about urban issues, Patterson said.

Starting in 2013, four Quorum Court Democrats will represent districts in or surrounding Fayetteville and one will represent District 14 covering Greenland, West Fork and southcentral areas of the county. Justice of the Peace Eva Madison, a Democrat, said she hopes her colleagues will keep away from party rhetoric and work to find solutions to county issues.

“I’m optimistic and I don’t know that it will change much,” Madison said.

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