Northwest Arkansas Times endorses Candy Clark for Quorum Court

For Candy Clark

Northwest Arkansas Times

Posted on Tuesday, October 28, 2008

URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/70538

In the race for Washington County’s District 5 seat — which mostly covers the southern portion of Fayetteville — voters are being asked to choose between a pair of intelligent and sincere candidates who clearly have the area’s best interests at heart. Having said that, we believe Candy Clark, the Democratic candidate in this race, will serve District 5 the best.

Her opponent, Jim Reavis, told us he believes the election will come down to a contest of personalities — and if so, we believe that bodes well for Clark, who holds two degrees from the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of Fayetteville High School.

A former member of the Fayetteville Planning Commission, we found Clark to be extremely forthcoming about her life (Mayor Dan Coody vetoed her reappointment onto the Planning Commission in March 2007; Clark told us she always got along great with city staff and called her dismissal “ personal” ) and a variety of issues regarding county government. For example, Clark is a strong supporter of animal control; refers to countywide zoning as “ a protection agent for citizens”; is not a big fan of County Judge Jerry Hunton’s eminent domain proposal south of the courthouse; strongly believes in public transportation as well as energy efficiency; and strikes us as the analytical type who will research problems without jumping to easy conclusions.

We can easily imagine Reavis, a moderate Republican, serving the public someday. But today, we believe Candy Clark will do the best job filling the seat of longtime JP Jessie Bryant, who is stepping down.