story by Ryan Saylor
rsaylor@thecitywire.com
A blast of winter weather may have closed schools, governments and businesses across Northwest Arkansas, but regardless of the weather, employees of the Benton and Washington County Clerks had to report to work Monday (March 3) for the last day of candidate filing, which ended at noon.
According to Alex Reed, press secretary for the Arkansas Secretary of State's office in Little Rock, "the filing period is set in the (state elections) statute."
Long story short — no matter the weather, candidate filings must go on.
And while Reed said the last day of candidate filing where he was stationed in Little Rock was light compared to normal, it was not unheard of to get inclement winter weather during the filing period, which is why "the filing period is a week long."
"I heard of a situation in 2010 where it snowed a couple of days down here and filing remained open, though it was not the last day (of filing)."
Few of the top offices in Benton and Washington counties will see contested races. The county judge race is the only top office to have more than one candidate. County Judge Bob Clinard will face Dale King and Ronnie Smith in the GOP primary. In Benton County, no Democrats filed for county offices.
And of the 15 Benton County Justice of the Peace (Quorum Court) races, only two – Districts 1 and 4 – drew more than one candidate.
Of the eight top county races in Washington County, only three drew more than one candidate. County Judge Marilyn Edwards, a Democratic candidate, will be challenged by Republican and County Assessor Jeff Williams. Joshua Crawford and Russell Hill, both Republicans, will square off in the GOP primary for the open Assessor post.
Washington County Sheriff Tim Helder (D) will face a general election challenge by Republican Mort Marshall.
Following is a list of candidates for offices in Benton and Washington Counties.
BENTON COUNTY
County Assessor
• Assessor Bear Chaney, R
Circuit Clerk
• Circuit Clerk Brenda DeShields, R
County Clerk
• County Clerk Tena O'Brien, R
County Collector
• Collector Gloria Peterson, R
County Coroner
• Coroner Daniel Oxford, R
County Judge
• Judge Bob Clinard, R
• Dale King, R
• Ronnie Smith, R
County Sheriff
• Sheriff Kelley Cradduck, R
County Surveyor
• Ronald Lee Ridout
County Treasurer
• Treasurer Deanna Ratcliffe, R
Justice of the Peace, District 1
• Elizabeth Bowen, R
• Ron Easley, R
• Mary Gardner, R
• Mike McKenzie, R
Justice of the Peace, District 2
• Susan Shadlow, R
Justice of the Peace, District 3
• Justice of the Peace Jay Harrison, R
Justice of the Peace, District 4
• Justice of the Peace Tom Allen, R
• Clell Alden, R
Justice of the Peace, District 5
• Justice of the Peace Kevin Harrison, R
Justice of the Peace, DIstrict 6
• Pat Adams, R
Justice of the Peace, District 7
• Justice of the Peace Joel Jones, R
Justice of the Peace, District 8
• Shirley Sandlin, R
Justice of the Peace, District 9
• Justice of the Peace Susan Anglin, R
Justice of the Peace, District 10
• Justice of the Peace Michelle Chiocco, R
Justice of the Peace, District 11
• Justice of the Peace Steve Curry, R
Justice of the Peace, District 12
• Tom Leadabrand, R
Justice of the Peace, District 13
• Justice of the Peace Kurt Moore, R
Justice of the Peace, District 14
• Brent Meyers, R
Justice of the Peace, District 15
• Barry J. Moehring, R
WASHINGTON COUNTY
County Assessor
• Joshua Crawford, R
• Russell Hill, R
Circuit Clerk
• Circuit Clerk Kyle Sylvester, R
County Clerk
• County Clerk Beck Lewallen, R
County Collector
• David Ruff, R
County Coroner
• Coroner Roger Morris, D
County Judge
• Judge Marilyn Edwards, D
• Assessor Jeff Williams, R
County Sheriff
• Sheriff Tim Helder, D
• Mort Marshall, R
County Treasurer
• Bobby Hill, R
Justice of the Peace, District 1
• Tom Lundstrum, R
Justice of the Peace, District 2
• Robbie Wilkinson, R
Justice of the Peace, District 3
• Harvey Bowman, R
Justice of the Peace, District 4
• Yessie Hernandez, D
• Wm. Bill Ussery, R
Justice of the Peace, District 5
• Joe Patterson, R
Justice of the Peace, District 6
• Lisa Ecke, R
Justice of the Peace, District 7
• Kendra Boyle, D
• Justice of the Peace Rick Cochran, R
• James Maynard, R
Justice of the Peace, District 8
• Daniel Balls, D
• Armistead Freeman, R
Justice of the Peace, District 9
• Justice of the Peace Eve Madison, D
Justice of the Peace, District 10
• Robert Dennis, R
• Pedro Fimbres, R
• James Miller, D
Justice of the Peace, District 11
• Justice of the Peace John Firmin, D
Justice of the Peace, District 12
• Sen. Sue Madison, D
Justice of the Peace, District 13
• Rhonda Hulse, D
• Joel Maxwell, R
Justice of the Peace, District 14
• Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison, D
• Jim Renfrow, R
Justice of the Peace, District 15
• Justice of the Peace Butch Pond, R