Pulaski County voters will choose their circuit/county clerk this election cycle, deciding who will be chief record keeper for Arkansas' largest county.
Democrat Terri Hollingsworth, 54, and Republican Steve Walden, 66, are campaigning for the office. The term, which begins Jan. 1, will last four years. The circuit/county clerk will earn $106,777 beginning Jan. 1. The current clerk, Larry Crane, did not seek re-election.
Pulaski County has a combined circuit and county clerk position. The circuit and county clerk manages records for the county such as marriage licenses, voter registration and real-estate filings. The clerk also keeps paperwork for the 17 circuit judges in the county and manages more than 95 employees in the office, handling day-to-day management. As clerk, it is also the individual's responsibility to attend Pulaski County Quorum Court meetings to read resolutions and record votes.
Hollingsworth has held a variety of management positions, including chief administrative officer for the Delta Regional Authority. She has also worked in the secretary of state's office and served as a director of the state Board of Election Commissioners. She ran for a state representative position in 2010 and lost in a runoff.
If elected as clerk, Hollingsworth is particularly excited to handle voter registration, as she said the issue has always been one of her passions.
"Elections matter," Hollingsworth said.
She wants to work to ensure that Pulaski County elections are secure, Hollingsworth said.
Hollingsworth said she also thinks that it's important for the circuit and county clerk to engage with the community. She plans to make the clerk's office a more inviting place for the public, she said.
"Something as simple as making sure we all answer the phone the same way," Hollingsworth said.
Hollingsworth said she hopes to inform the county about voting issues and work with nonprofits to help ex-felons regain their voting rights.
Hollingsworth attended Howard University in Washington, D.C., but has spent most of her life living in Little Rock.
"Born and raised right here in Little Rock, Ark.," Hollingsworth said. "It's a great place."
Hollingsworth's work in the community includes service as PTA president at Little Rock Central High School, where her 16-year-old son is a student, she said.
"I think she's very situated to do a great job for all of Pulaski County," said state Sen. Will Bond, D-Little Rock.
Through political and public-service circles, Hollingsworth and Bond met more than a decade ago, he said. He describes Hollingsworth as an accessible and friendly person who is capable of managing records for a multitude of agencies.
"It's sort of like an umpire. They're doing a great job when nobody notices," Bond said about the office.
Walden, who owned a heating and air business for 17 years and also ran for the position in 2010, said he is well-suited to be the circuit and county clerk.
"I've always liked being a record keeper," Walden said.
Walden said he would like to start the job by evaluating the departments and how they function. He then would make a plan to make them more efficient, he said. Part of this strategy would include making more county records available online, he said.
If he's elected, he, too, wants to keep county elections secure and interact with the community more, he said. He said he would hope to start an outreach program for high school and college students to inform them about county offices.
"I want the people, the county to know more about the clerk's office," he said.
Mary Alice Nease, who has known Walden for more than 30 years, plans to vote for him because she thinks he is a good person. She said she does not know much about Hollingsworth, his opponent.
"I'm just going to vote for him because I know him," Nease said.
Nease used to work with Walden and was always impressed by his work ethic and honesty, she said.
"I just think he's a person who sticks to his word," Nease said.
Walden, who lives in Sherwood, has been in the area for 45 years. He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and has two children, a son and a daughter. His daughter is a Conway teacher with two children. His son lives in Ohio and is a pilot who used to fly Donald Trump before he took office as president.
"He knew Trump. He liked Trump before everybody else did," Walden said.
Metro on 10/29/2018