Advertorial: Dear Friends …

The following is a paid advertisement from Bill Rogers for Clark County Judge.

Well friends, we are less than two weeks away & I feel like I’ve done & said all I can at this point. You’ve got two candidates who genuinely want to work for you. Recently, I was thinking about an old friend, Grady Runyan, who left his job after 40 years at Hardman Lumber to become our judge. During that time, the 1997 tornado ripped through Arkadelphia, even damaging the courthouse badly enough they had to move the offices into modular buildings. Grady & his team could never have seen that awful day coming & I’m still in awe of the way they managed the devastation in the months that followed. A county’s leadership is tested when the unexpected becomes catastrophic. As a search & rescue instructor, fire chief, and medical responder, I have seen firsthand the immense responsibility to make decisions under pressure, especially where protecting lives and communities are concerned. No county has ever had a perfect county judge. But if elected, I will be asking myself at the end of each day, “Did you do your best?”  If the answer is ever “no,” you can bet you won’t have to hold me accountable. I’ll be doing that to myself. I feel like anyone working for the people must be very careful making promises. In life and work, all any of us can do is our best. And that is my one promise to you: I’ll do my best and I’m excited at the possibility of this opportunity. 

When Grady left Hardman’s for the courthouse, he’d never been a county judge before. I suspect that most people who take on that position do so with little-to-no experience in county government. The truth is, no matter who wins this race, the new county judge is going to be “baptized by fire”, so to speak, & the learning curve will be steep. I have an immense amount of respect for our JPs & their willingness to serve, my opponent being one of them. But the truth is, serving on a board or something equivalent simply cannot prepare one for this job. For example, our school board members have broad knowledge of inner details of our school system. But, for example, if one of those schools had an immediate opening for a principal position, a school board member would in no way be prepared or qualified to step in and lead that school based on their position as a board member. That’s a whole different ball game. Would someone willingly give it their best shot? Maybe. But would their experience on the school board have prepared them for the dynamics of leading an entire group of students, teachers, and staff with all the complexities that happen within the actual school environment? No, I don’t think so. So, here’s what I’m asking: If you’re still on the fence, do your research, search your heart, and decide who you’re most comfortable with when it comes to the county judge position. THEN PLEASE GO VOTE. 

PLEASE don’t assume your candidate has “got this”. It could be a tight race, so your vote absolutely matters! To our supporters, THANK YOU will never be enough. We hope you know it has meant the world to us to have you on our side & I am thankful I even had this opportunity to run for Clark County Judge. It hasn’t always been easy this last year, but it’s been worth it.