BENTONVILLE -- Trina Wilson of Rogers is seeking the District 3 seat on the Benton County Quorum Court as a candidate for the Libertarian Party.
Wilson will face Republican Party candidate Debra Hobbs of Rogers in the Nov. 6 general election. Justices of the peace are paid on a per meeting basis -- $230.51 for Quorum Court and Committee of the Whole meetings and $144.08 for other committees they are members of -- and serve two-year terms. The incumbent, J.D. Hayes, was appointed to fill a vacancy and cannot run for the seat in this election.
Wilson, 41, has lived in Benton County for 17 years and in District 3 for 14 years. She is a full-time volunteer coordinator for a local non-profit organization.
Wilson said she decided to run for office and chose to run as a Libertarian Party candidate after being entangled in government regulations on the local level.
"I had started looking into living a 'greener' lifestyle," Wilson said. "I was wanting to get a rain barrel and I realized there's a bunch of government regulations just on collecting rain water."
Wilson said she wants government to focus more on essential services.
"I'm interested in how we've spent our money in the past and how we spend it going forward," she said.Wilson said the current debate on how to pay for a new courts building is something she's interested in. She said she doesn't think the county needs a "grandiose" new building
"I do understand the need for it," she said. "That's my stance on that. But I want to see how they propose to finance it. I don't see the need for a $30 million building. It's a question of function versus form. Is it designed to get things done for the government or is it the grandeur the building has?"
Wilson said she's also concerned that the county has recently spent about $2.5 million on new voting equipment. She said she would like to see more assurances from the state and federal governments that the equipment will be used well into the future before the county makes such an investment.
"I want to make sure we're looking as how we're spending money and not just spending it," she said.
NW News on 03/06/2018