Things just don’t come as easy as they once did in Washington County government.
Just ask County Judge Marilyn Edwards, if she’s available for comment.
Edwards and a majority of the Washington County odds over the process by which the Quorum Court will govern. For years, the county judge has determined the number of Quorum Court committees and which members would serve on those committees. The county judge also decided who would be chairman of each panel.
Just about anyone knowledgeable about county government can tell you a lot of the work of county governance gets done in committees, so the power to create and appoint is considerable.
Past county judges Jerry Hunton and Charlie Johnson had such authority.
“I would ask that you continue to extend to me the same privileges that you have extended to me in the past as well as my predecessor,” Edwards said the night her fellow Democrat, Justice of the Peace Eva Madison, proposed a plan to shake up the committee process.
Madison’s plan would eliminate three committees and allowed members, still appointed by Edwards, to elect all committee chairs.
A spirited debate followed, but Edwards’ wish for everything to stay the same didn’t have enough support.
Then, the showdown began. The Quorum Court established a Finance Committee of the Whole made up of all 15 members. Edwards created her own five-member Finance Committee.
County Attorney George Butler, who has ended up explaining the effects of the situation while Edwards was unavailable for an interview, said state law is unclear who should win in this Gunfight at the Washington County Corral. His suggestion? Both committees can meet and make recommendations to the full Quorum Court.
This much is clear; Edwards can try all the power plays she wants, but if she can’t manage to persuade the Quorum Court, any committee structure she tries to force down their throats will be ineffective.
County judges have most often operated through influence more than brute force, because the latter simply doesn’t work. The Quorum Court has complete authority over the budget of Washington County. As they say, he who holds the purse strings ...
It would, of course, be nice if the Quorum Court and Edwards could develop a consensus about running county government. The concurrent committee idea is a recipe for getting nothing done.
The Quorum Court’s move is a challenge to Edwards’ leadership. Its members clearly have concerns. All those of us in the public can do is watch to see how these elected officials deal with this issue in the weeks to come.
CASUALTIES OF WAR To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, Northwest Arkansas Newspapers is publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.
Navy Cdr. Job W. Price, 42, of Pottstown, Pa., died Dec. 22 of a noncombat-related injury while supporting stability operations in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan. Price was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit in Virginia Beach, Va.
Opinion, Pages 5 on 01/28/2013