Benton County Judge Race
This is one of a series I am working on for area primary races. I live in Benton county. The other contributors may or may not do the same for their areas of the state.
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We have a hotly contested race for Benton County judge. There are five candidates in the race, and the winner will face Democrat Bill Williams in the general election.
To some extent it is hard to pick "front-runners" in local races, and the idea of looking only at "front runners" can be unhealthy. These seem like five good men. A couple may have more relevant experience and knowledge than the others. Senator Dave Bisbee and former Justice of the Peace Bill Adams seem to get most of the attention. Chris Glass is also running, and is also a JP. An attorney, he might do well among those who are looking for an alternative to the Bisbee and Adams. Bisbee has alienated many Republican voters by his propensity to enlarge government and raise taxes- including one less than a month ago, and Adams has angered some of the old guard in the local GOP for his previous challenge to retiring Benton County Judge Black.
Developer Kevin Harrison is in the race and has a reasonable amount of support in my area of the county, but the fact he is a developer is at least as big a minus as it is a plus in the minds of even many Republican primary voters. He has a very powerful and numerous special interest behind him in that there are a lot of other developers (editor's note- since this story first went to press I have some information that Harrison might be more inclined to limit development for environmental reasons than the others, and some indication that he favors sending zoning decisions to the voters rather than making the ruling on the Quorum court. Based on that, he would move into my top tier with Adams).
Greg Hines is also in the race. He is a deputy sheriff and might be best able to smooth over the current rough relations between the Sheriff's office and the current county judge. I don't see much other reason to prefer him to the others, and that is a problem that might fix itself since the current county judge, and perhaps the Sheriff as well, will be gone next year.
Glass might be the beneficiary of top business people who are off-put by controversies surrounding the two whose resume in government and command of detail in these matters seem to be strongest- Bisbee and Adams. Harrison rates a look from those who are concerned about the rate of growth causing environmental problems.
As for me, my vote goes to Bill Adams, and I'd like to explain why.
It is not that Bisbee isn't effective. He is very effective. I just don't like what he uses his effectiveness to do- raise taxes and grow government. It isn't personal, I just think government has enough of our earnings right now and needs to find a way to limit its mission and live within those means. Adams shares that philosophy, Bisbee does not. If you want your taxes raised, vote for Dave Bisbee. If you don't, vote for one of the others, preferably Adams.
I also don't buy the selling point that Bisbee will have so much influence for Benton county in the state legislature if elected. When you go along with the Democratic Governor, it looks like you have influence because you "were on the winning side". But real influence is when you can change which side wins, not have an uncanny ability to hop on the right band-wagon. That ability does not mean he got, or will get, Benton county anything in return.
Adams has the same intelligence, command of details, and passion for government service that Bisbee has, but it is matched with a different philosophy. And though it may be hard for his critics to believe, he has a good dose of humility. That is a rare and valuable commodity in a "power profession" where the natural tendency is to come out of it more arrogant than when you went it. Adams appears to have backed away from earlier efforts to grow government revenue from the sale of hard liquor in Benton County, indicating a willingness to listen to people. That is, people who want the money the government has now to be spent better, rather than find a way to get government more money by "any means necessary".
The other "controversy" about Adams was his run against Black last time. I look at that as a plus more than a minus. For a variety of reasons I feel that it was time for Mr. Black to stand down and move on with his life. He has now come to the same conclusion himself, and the things that went down in his last race against Adams may be a part of that. I know that some in the old guard fear almost any change, but sometimes you have to change things in order that more fundamental things- like our continued prosperity, are not changed.
That is my turn. Anyone else want theirs?
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We have a hotly contested race for Benton County judge. There are five candidates in the race, and the winner will face Democrat Bill Williams in the general election.
To some extent it is hard to pick "front-runners" in local races, and the idea of looking only at "front runners" can be unhealthy. These seem like five good men. A couple may have more relevant experience and knowledge than the others. Senator Dave Bisbee and former Justice of the Peace Bill Adams seem to get most of the attention. Chris Glass is also running, and is also a JP. An attorney, he might do well among those who are looking for an alternative to the Bisbee and Adams. Bisbee has alienated many Republican voters by his propensity to enlarge government and raise taxes- including one less than a month ago, and Adams has angered some of the old guard in the local GOP for his previous challenge to retiring Benton County Judge Black.
Developer Kevin Harrison is in the race and has a reasonable amount of support in my area of the county, but the fact he is a developer is at least as big a minus as it is a plus in the minds of even many Republican primary voters. He has a very powerful and numerous special interest behind him in that there are a lot of other developers (editor's note- since this story first went to press I have some information that Harrison might be more inclined to limit development for environmental reasons than the others, and some indication that he favors sending zoning decisions to the voters rather than making the ruling on the Quorum court. Based on that, he would move into my top tier with Adams).
Greg Hines is also in the race. He is a deputy sheriff and might be best able to smooth over the current rough relations between the Sheriff's office and the current county judge. I don't see much other reason to prefer him to the others, and that is a problem that might fix itself since the current county judge, and perhaps the Sheriff as well, will be gone next year.
Glass might be the beneficiary of top business people who are off-put by controversies surrounding the two whose resume in government and command of detail in these matters seem to be strongest- Bisbee and Adams. Harrison rates a look from those who are concerned about the rate of growth causing environmental problems.
As for me, my vote goes to Bill Adams, and I'd like to explain why.
It is not that Bisbee isn't effective. He is very effective. I just don't like what he uses his effectiveness to do- raise taxes and grow government. It isn't personal, I just think government has enough of our earnings right now and needs to find a way to limit its mission and live within those means. Adams shares that philosophy, Bisbee does not. If you want your taxes raised, vote for Dave Bisbee. If you don't, vote for one of the others, preferably Adams.
I also don't buy the selling point that Bisbee will have so much influence for Benton county in the state legislature if elected. When you go along with the Democratic Governor, it looks like you have influence because you "were on the winning side". But real influence is when you can change which side wins, not have an uncanny ability to hop on the right band-wagon. That ability does not mean he got, or will get, Benton county anything in return.
Adams has the same intelligence, command of details, and passion for government service that Bisbee has, but it is matched with a different philosophy. And though it may be hard for his critics to believe, he has a good dose of humility. That is a rare and valuable commodity in a "power profession" where the natural tendency is to come out of it more arrogant than when you went it. Adams appears to have backed away from earlier efforts to grow government revenue from the sale of hard liquor in Benton County, indicating a willingness to listen to people. That is, people who want the money the government has now to be spent better, rather than find a way to get government more money by "any means necessary".
The other "controversy" about Adams was his run against Black last time. I look at that as a plus more than a minus. For a variety of reasons I feel that it was time for Mr. Black to stand down and move on with his life. He has now come to the same conclusion himself, and the things that went down in his last race against Adams may be a part of that. I know that some in the old guard fear almost any change, but sometimes you have to change things in order that more fundamental things- like our continued prosperity, are not changed.
That is my turn. Anyone else want theirs?
posted by Mark Moore (Moderator) at Sunday, April 20, 2008
13 Comments:
You,say that kevin Harrison has powerful spaecial interest behind hem,Yes the fact is and it is average voter.What is you spacial interest? He was the one that wanted zoning to go to the voters,He is the one who Sayed gave the Environment officers the tools to do there job.
Glass,Bisbee,Adame want to do away with the Environment dept.Kevin is for the citizens of Benton county.That is the very powerful and numerous special interest behind him.My vote goes to the next county judge Kevin Harrison.
Thank you for the information. I will give him more consideration.
10:03, did you finish grade school?
Mark, Did you know that Adams has admitted to smoking dope, and he's been arrested for DUI?
Guess what? .. I have been arrested for dope and dwi as well, and I work in one of the most important agencies in the US government. It happened a long time ago, and as long as you are honest with the people, they don't care. So Anonymous, that should not be a disqualifier. I am sure you have done something that others might consider bad. Just as long as it is not repetitive and you learned from it, move on. Since that summer of my stupidity, I have become a teacher, member of the military, and moved on to obtain one of the highest security clearances in the US government. Again, the point that I hope to convey is…….. it happens and you put it behind you.
Now that we are in the runoff between Bill Adams and Dave Bisbee I'd like to say why I'm voting for Bill Adams. I know that these reasons are my own and are personal so they won't apply to 99.9% of the voters but maybe they will be sufficient for some Hines/Glass/Harrison voters to consider Adams this time.
1) The first time I ever saw Bill Adams was about 3 years ago, he was directing traffic in the morning at his kids' school. He does this all the time, helping the school. He's been involved with the school and their Watchdog Dads program for as long as I have known him. This is a sign of someone who is truly a servant.
2) He is active with the Cub Scout pack that his son is in. For a lot of people, BSA stands for "Baby Sitters of America" but Bill brings his son and stays with him almost everytime. Even in the middle of the campaign he would come to the meetings with his son. I have brought my kids over to his house to work on achievements with them and he is patient with the kids as he is teaching them how to use tools, etc.
3) He is the President of my Rotary club. Granted he is the one that invited me to Rotary so of course he's active but that's just another point in his favor. He truly lives the 4 way test and believes in the Rotary ideals. If you aren't familiar with Rotary you can find more information about it on the internet but Rotary's purpose is to server the community.
Depending on how you count it, either 2 of 3 or all 3 of these reasons are related to kids, but kids are important to me. I know these have nothing to do with the job of County Judge, but they show a character trait that is important for County Judge. Bill Adams is a servant leader.
Because I know the kind of man Bill is and we have become friends, I would, of course, vote for him over anyone I didn't know. That makes my decision easy, but for those that don't know me or Bill here are some of the reasons I would have voted for Bill anwyaw.
On the policy stuff:
* Bill Adams was a JP and has worked with the County Judge so he knows what the County Judge does.
- In one of the first debates, Bisbee admitted he didn't know what the County Judge did. Bisbee now says "Everyone knows what the County Judge's job is" so he probably has looked it up, but still not an impressive start.
* Bill Adams has a plan for the roads.
-Bisbee says he'll figure it out when he gets into office.
* Bill Adams has a record of opposing tax increases and has committed to not raise taxes. His road plan allows the county to do more roads with less money using the reclaimer he has talked about.
-Bisbee has a record of voting for tax increases and throws a hissy fit everytime someone points it out.
So there you have it. Please consider Bill Adams when you have a chance to vote.
Hello:
I went to the University of Arkansas and served in student government with Bill Adams. I also knew him when he first started college at Arkansas State. If there is an anti-christ in this world, it is him. He is using this solely as a vehicle to gain power, and his conservative views are simply a vehicle to put him into such a position. I would be extremely wary of voting for Bill Adams. Twenty years later, several of us from school still discuss how shrewd and manipulative he was back in the day. He's a monster, and considering the backlash on overly conservative views in America as a whole these days, I would certainly be uncertain of such shameless pandering by him.
Start at his website:
http://www.adamsforjudge08.info/
Look at the pic of him shaking hands. Right click and choose properties. You will find the picture is hosted in a photobucket account.
Here is the URL of the photo:
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/gunthervinson/handshaking.jpg
You can see the other pics in this photobucket collection at:
http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u202/gunthervinson/?start=all
Why does he have his pictures here?
Wow, someone sounds a little bitter! Look at your calendar, the current year is 2008.
Is this the same guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wl9y3SIPt7o#!
Seems like he beats his daughter with a belt, with his hands, and with his words. He seems to be a coward and an abusive father and husband, and abuses his daughter in the name of his Lord.
* Bill Adams has a plan for abusing his child
- Bisbee says he won't abuse his child
My vote's going to Bisbee, as his platform doesn't include senseless child beating.
Yeah, but you've got to listen to the guy, earlier, who knows Adams really really well. He's at Boy Scouts with his son. He's at the Rotary Club.
He's never beat his son. Ever.
His son is not disabled.
His daughter is disabled. She's been beat up and harassed by Adams for years.
Guess his friends think that is ok.
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