Edwards won big in Fayetteville ! Incoming county judge had slight majority in Springdale
Posted on Saturday, November 8, 2008
Newly elected Washington County Judge Marilyn Edwards, a Democrat, received a big majority of the votes in Fayetteville with 69 percent to Republican Earvel Fraley’s 31 percent, according to an analysis of precinct results.
Edwards was able to make some headway in Springdale where Fraley ran a business for several years and is well known. Fraley received 48 percent of the vote to Edwards’ 52 percent. Edwards said she was very happy with that percentage.
“ That was where I put so much of my effort, ” Edwards said.
While she campaigned countywide, Edwards said she felt like she had to put “ a little extra push” in Springdale.
“ I just felt like I had to work a little harder there, and I certainly did, ” she said. “ I did quite a bit of door-to-door in Springdale. I went to houses, and I also called on businesses. ”
Edwards said she believes many people in Springdale know her from her time as Washington County Clerk.
“ I think they respected me, ” she said. “ The people in Springdale, I was felt like they were pretty close to me, just like the people in Fayetteville. ”
She said she was not surprised by the big majority she enjoyed in Fayetteville because she lives there. “ I’ve been at the courthouse all these years. I know so many people, ” she said. In the small towns — which include Elkins, Elm Springs, Farmington, Goshen, Greenland, Johnson, Lincoln, Prairie Grove, Tontitown, West Fork and Winslow — the two were virtually even. Edwards received 51 percent of the vote to Fraley’s 49 percent. In the unincorporated areas of the county, Fraley received the majority of votes with 52 percent to 48 percent for Edwards.
Transition Edwards said she probably will announce who her county administra- tor will be next week.
She said she is trying to find time to meet with Washington County Judge Jerry Hunton and County Administrator John Gibson to discuss the impending announcement.
“ I’m trying to decide if I want to do a press conference or just put the word out there, ” she said. “ I’m not going to do anything until I get these signs down and mess cleaned up because I owe that to the people of Washington County. ”
As for keeping currently serving staff members in place, she said that, right now, “ I’m pretty comfortable with things. ”
But she also said she does not want to make a statement “ that I cannot hold true to. I don’t want to say I am or I’m not. Right now, things look very, very well. ”
Gibson said he will be staying on until April 4 during the transition period after Hunton leaves office. He said his role will include training the new county administrator.
“ Probably my role, as much as anything, is to provide institutional memory in terms of how the county functions and what the functions of the county judges office are, ” he said.
“ There’s going to be a lot going on when she comes in to office, ” he said of Edwards. “ I’m doing this for Marilyn, but, more importantly, for the people of Washington County so we can make sure we have a transition to the new administration. ”
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