New Quorum Court

It's January 2023 so that means we are getting ready for the first Quorum Court meeting for the year and the first

with some new faces. We have a new County Judge- Patrick Deakins. My goal is to keep the public updated with news from these meetings. I believe we need to hold our elected officials accountable and that is only possible when the public is made aware of current resolutions and discussions.

Quorum Court meeting- Thursday, January 19

This one should be interesting as it is the first meeting with our new court and County Judge. It should give us a glimpse of what to expect for the next two years. Here's a rundown of the meeting Agenda:

Vacancy in District 1:

Just an hour after being sworn in, JP Lance Johnson resigned to become Judge Deakin's Chief of Staff. This has created a vacant seat that will be appointed by the Governor. Now precedent has been set where the Governor has appointed the opposing candidate to fill this vacancy, which in this case would be Democrat Sarah Hampton. We will see if our new governor follows precedent or selects another Republican. Sarah is the rightful appointee to that seat- she's gotten to know the residents in that district, she's followed Quorum Court very closely, and she has proven that she cares and will put in the work.

If you would Like to send a message to the Governor's office to voice your support for Sarah Hampton, here is the website:

https://governor.arkansas.gov/online-services/contact-the-governor/

Resolution to Change the Washington County Seal

Judge Deakins has proposed a resolution to change the county seal by adding 13 stars- one for each city in the county. I have some questions on this. My biggest concern is the cost. If we have to change the seal on every county document, county vehicle, etc that is going to be costly. How else could that money benefit the community? I can think of a few ways. My other concern is that there are far more small towns in the county that are not part of those 13 cities, so it could feel like we are leaving them out and alienating the more rural citizens. We definitely don't want anyone to feel that way. Additionally it is eerily similar to a couple of far-right extremist groups and I just don't think we want to send that kind of message.

Here is a picture of the current county seal:

Here's the proposed new seal:

Communications Director:

Judge Deakins wants to create a position for a Communications Director with an annual salary of $106,000. Again, I feel like this is an unnecessary expense and that this money could go into paying other county employees a living wage, or maybe it could be invested in reform programs to help ease jail overcrowding. We need to be mindful of our spending and make sure we are spending taxpayer dollars in the most efficient way possible.

I hope this will be helpful- feel free to contact me if you have any questions. I encourage you to either attend in person or watch online via https://www.youtube.com/user/washcoar

Amanda Foster

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmandaFosterJP10?mibextid=LQQJ4d