Henry wins over Williams
Posted on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
In Northwest Arkansas’ state Court of Appeals race, Courtney Henry of Fayetteville beat Ron Williams of Springdale by a sizable margin, winning each of the seven counties in the district.
“We are thrilled ! Thrilled !” Henry said. “And many thanks to hundreds of volunteers and thousands of voters. I am eternally grateful.”
With 299 of 363 precincts reporting, the unofficial results from The Associated Press were: Henry................... 20, 719 Williams.................. 9, 784
District 3, Position 2, of the state Court of Appeals, the state’s second-highest court, includes Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Madison and Washington counties.
“I ran as hard as I could but got beat,” Williams said.
Williams called Henry to concede the race about 9: 45 p. m.
“We had a very nice conversation, and I was able to congratulate him on the positive campaign he and his family had run,” Henry said.
Williams said, “Courtney did a great job of getting out and working hard and did a great job raising money.”
Henry outdistanced Williams in fundraising. She had $ 136, 440 through March 31. Through May 12, Williams raised $ 18, 125.
The two candidates have had differences over which one has the best experience for the court.
Henry, 35, works in private practice with her husband, Mark Henry. Previously, she worked eight years as an attorney for judges on the Court of Appeals. That experience, she has said, was the key qualifier for election. She’s said she helped review more than 1, 300 appeals cases during her time at the court.
Williams, 60, practices law in Rogers. His experience includes being a deputy prosecuting attorney in Greene County. He was a corporate lawyer most of his life and worked 16 years for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Williams had been criticized by Henry and others for hiring as a consultant Jim Holt of Springdale, a former state senator and Republican candidate in two losing statewide races. He urged his supporters to help Williams get elected as a candidate who “shares our values.”
Some of Williams’ supporters sent e-mails saying Henry didn’t run a nonpartisan race appropriate for a judicial post. She touted endorsements by former U. S. Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt, a Republican from Harrison, and former U. S. Sen. David Pryor, a Democrat from Little Rock, among others.
DISTRICT 6 Pulaski County Circuit Judge Rita Gruber won in Tuesday’s election over Court of Appeals Judge Wendell Griffen, who for years has fought for his right to speak publicly on political matters. In eight years, no Court of Appeals incumbent has lost. The Court of Appeals is the state’s second-highest court. At 9: 10 p. m., The Associated Press declared Gruber the winner. With 226 of 226 precincts reporting, the unofficial results from the AP were: Gruber.................. 24, 891 Griffen.................. 16, 561 “It’s been a long hot day, and we don’t have very many numbers,” Griffen had said before the AP announcement. “Nobody can tell what the result is, but I am very, very pleased at the support of our volunteers, and I’m optimistic about the outcome.”
Gruber didn’t immediately return a phone message.
The last Court of Appeals judge to lose was Margaret Meads in 2000. A Republican appointed by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee, Meads lost to Karen Baker, a Democratic circuit-chancery judge in Clinton.
That same year, voters approved Amendment 80 to the state Constitution, which made judicial elections nonpartisan. The judicial elections are held at the same time as the party primaries. Judicial runoffs, if necessary, occur at the time of the state’s regular general election, which will be Nov. 4 this year.
The Gruber-Griffen race was for District 6, Position 1 in Pulaski, Saline and Perry counties.
Gruber had said her 18 years as a circuit judge would make her the better judge. She’s 57 and lives in Sherwood.
Griffen had touted his 13 years on the appeals court as the most important thing for voters to consider. The 55-year-old Griffen also is a minister in Little Rock.
He was appointed to the court in 1996 by then-Gov. Jim Guy Tucker. Griffen was unopposed for an eight-year term in 2000.
Griffen has been a lightning rod in the legal community. Some say he has a right to speak out publicly on political issues like other people. But others say as a judge he should keep his opinions to himself to avoid appearing not to be impartial.
The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission in September dropped its investigation of Griffen for making public comments about political matters in violation of the state judicial canons. Commission members interpreted federal court decisions in Texas and Minnesota as protecting judges’ political speech under the First Amendment.
Griffen came under fire from the commission for criticizing the Bush administration’s response to the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina and President Bush’s appointment of certain judges and for endorsing an increase to the state minimum wage.
Gruber had said she hasn’t campaigned on Griffen’s conflicts with the commission, but she said that constituents asked her about them. Griffen said that’s finished and that he prevailed. He touted his authorship of 2, 600 opinions in 12 years. Gruber has specialized in juvenile cases. She is married to Pulaski County District Judge Wayne Gruber. In campaign dollars, Gruber had the edge: $ 97, 933 compared with Griffen’s $ 79, 646.
DISTRICT 7 In the race for the District 7 seat, Pine Bluff District Judge Waymond Brown led attorney Eugene Hunt of Pine Bluff. With 313 of 357 precincts reporting, the unofficial results reported by the AP were: Hunt..................... 9, 387 Brown.................. 12, 387 Hunt, 62, has touted his work as a defense and civil rights lawyer,. Brown, 39, cited his public service as district judge and as chief deputy in the 11 th Judicial District-West’s prosecuting attorney’s office.
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