County Attorney Allen Dodson was appointed the new Faulkner County Judge Thursday night in a vote by the Quorum Court.
After returning from executive session, the court voted 12-1 to approve the resolution appointing Dodson to finish the term vacated by Preston Scroggin. The lone dissenting vote came from District 10 Justice of the Peace Johnny Brady.
The final vote was one of three 12-1 votes on the night, including one to declare a vacancy by the departure of Scroggin and one to retire to executive session in order to discuss the candidates for the county judge position.
Several JPs confirmed that the other notable candidate for the position was Mark Vaught. The court was informed that as a show of solidarity, the court could make their public vote unanimous after deliberating in what some believed to be a closer vote.
“I was moved by the shining example of our government in action tonight,” Dodson said just after the meeting. “I am very humbled as well. I do have a vision and a plan for what we will be able to do in the next two years.”
Dodson will not be allowed to run for re-election when the term expires in 2014.
Comments (17)
Add commentVote was 12-1
record as 12-1. If it was 7-6 behind closed doors then they are hypocrites not voting their true colors.
Congrats
Allen is a good choice and a good man
Well
Well they wanted to show a united front, was a packed house. It was clear Johnny wasn't happy
Z
xxx
opps duplicate posted
They just don't come any
They just don't come any better than Allen. Good choice!
ONLY
Time will tell
Good job!
Regardless of how they voted behind closed doors, the official vote was 12-1. The court's sign of solidarity proves they are willing to compromise and reach across party lines to work for the best of Faulkner County in a timely manner.
Karma?
Seems like Vaught got the vote (endorsement) he so often gave while on the city council - "No".
Thank you Mr. bwady
We don't elect anyone for the purpose of making a mockery of their voting. If the vote was 7-6, they should have given us that transparency by voting that way in public.
If you know what both votes
If you know what both votes are it sounds like you have transparency. It seems to be public knowledge how they voted in support of their candidate in the executive session, but once that was determined they came out and voted to support the guy that actually won. I can appreciate that.
Whether the Democrat or Republican party people realize it or not, these people were elected to try to work together for what's good for county business, not party lines.