BENTONVILLE — Barry Moehring of Bentonville, Justice of the Peace for District 15 and a former executive with Walmart and DreamWorks Animation, is running for Benton County judge against the incumbent, Bob Clinard.
Moehring, a Republican, is now serving his second term on the Benton County Quorum Court and is a member of the county’s Finance and Public Safety committees. Moehring announced his candidacy Monday with a focus on the county’s finances and a need for new leadership. Moehring has lived in Benton County for more than 16 years.
“We live and work and raise our kids in a wonderful community,” he said. “By one projection, Benton County is going to add another 50,000 residents in the next 10 years. We need a county-wide vision and a plan to handle that growth.”
Moehring said he has three “key initiatives” for Benton County: fiscal health; long-range planning; and trust, integrity and transparency.
Moehring did not mention Clinard in announcing his campaign and said his focus is on his own plans and vision for the county.
“I will say I think I have a different approach,” Moehring said when asked about Clinard.
Clinard, who has been county judge since 2011, said Moehring had called and informed him of his decision to run. Clinard said he will run for another term but wasn't focused on next year's election.
"I know he's going to run and I'm going to run and we'll see what happens. It's going to be business as usual around here. It's long time between now and the election. I'll run the way I always have. I'll run on my record."
Moehring said he strongly supports having a balanced budget and opposes unnecessary taxes and “raids” on the county’s reserve funds. He said he has supported what he considered needed expenditures for law enforcement and the County Jail, along with emergency road and bridge repairs.
Moehring also said the county needs to have a long-range plan in place for infrastructure and transportation needs, emergency services and economic development.