Editor’s note: This is the first of a multi-part series.
With early voting for the primary election set to begin Tuesday, local voters can now review the answers to questions posed to the candidates for Jefferson County judge by The Pine Bluff Commercial. The incumbent, Gerald Robinson, declined to participate.
The following questions were provided to the candidates:
1. The county has faced a prolonged budget impasse that resulted in county employees not being paid on time and stalled key services. What specific process will you use to ensure budgets are passed on time and in a way that avoids future impasses?
2. How would you balance fiscal responsibility with the need to adequately fund public safety and essential services — including the sheriff’s office and jail operations — after disputes over proposed budget cuts?
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
3. If elected, how would you work with the Quorum Court to create transparent and collaborative budget planning, especially when there are conflicting priorities between the executive and legislative branches?
MICHAEL TURLEY
1. As soon as I am elected in November, I intend to use the specific process of fiscal transparency to build a proposal for the Quorum Court to consider so that it may be reviewed and implemented as soon as we all take office in January. I understand that the Quorum Court is in charge of submitting the budget, and I will collaborate closely with them because of my undergraduate degree in mathematics to provide a balanced, fair and entirely transparent budget for the voters to review in advance of implementation. But the specific process I will implement before that is to get all elected officials to understand that we are public servants, and that our voters are, in fact, the VOICES of the county: Voters, Owners, Investors, Customers, Employers and Stakeholders. I believe current and past administrations have thought of themselves as “in charge” and argued with each other rather than understanding that they collectively served a group that would have fired them years ago if this were a private multibillion-dollar organization. Finally, I intend for everyone in elected status to understand that everything I do related to the county will be immediately transparent; I refuse to engage in “back pocket politics,” so all budget items that are currently going to contractors or nepotistic or cronyistic entities will be terminated and replaced by transparent, VOICES-approved selection.
2. To me, this is very simple: my platform is transparency first, safety next, comfort once we achieve safety. Within that platform, we must be willing to “tighten the belt” to ensure safety first. All other services will be prioritized in relation to essential services, so that means that less essential services may have staff cuts because I’m unwilling to cut salaries of career employees. I have a plan to correct fiscal transparency with cost of living adjustment factors so that career, non-elected staff receive appropriate and competitive compensation for their hard work and dedication to the county. I have initiated research into every salary, and I will share those findings and recommendations later during my campaign.
3. Again, this is very simple to me. The law is the law, so it will take 5 minutes for the Quorum Court to submit a responsible and transparent budget once all the “back pocket” expenses have been exposed and eliminated from the budget padding. Everything will be transparent, and I mean everything. I have already contacted independent news outlets to “ride along” and cover everything I do for the sake of the county. I will not meet with anyone in private, nor will I assist in any quid pro quo of special interest organizations.
NATE TODD
1. County employees should never miss a paycheck. As county judge, I will establish a formal budget calendar with early drafts, joint work sessions with the Quorum Court, and clear deadlines well ahead of the fiscal year. If disagreements arise, they will be resolved through structured negotiations. My goal is predictability, transparency and respect for county employees and taxpayers.
2. Public safety is a core county responsibility. Any budget I support will ensure the sheriff’s office and jail operations are adequately funded to operate safely and legally. Fiscal responsibility means making smart choices elsewhere, not compromising public safety. I will work with the sheriff, Quorum Court and finance staff to identify efficiencies while ensuring essential services are protected.
3. I will work with the Quorum Court through regular joint work sessions, shared data and open communication. My approach is to focus on facts and keep negotiations respectful and transparent. An industry process that I have successfully used both in the federal sector and state government is the balanced scorecard which it a tool that measures an entity’s performance beyond just one metric. In the case of the county, financial performance, constituent satisfaction, operational efficiency and preparedness for future growth are the broad categories that serve as performance indicators. Such a tool will enhance our county operations and provide transparency to the citizens.
EFREM NEELY
1. I believe prolonged budget impasses are unacceptable and should be prevented by clear, concise and disciplined decisions. County employees should never go without receiving wages, key services should never be stalled and county safety should never be put at risk due to irresponsible budget negotiations or a decision by the county judge to not approve the budget because it does not conform to his or her unilateral modifications. I will require early-year projected budgets to identify conflicts months before the deadline.
I will require a fail-safe ordinance which would automatically use the previous year’s budget until a budget could be passed, thus protecting employee wages, vendor payments, IT interruptions and all other emergency systems from disruption.
I will in the alternative request an appropriation for funding to be set aside to continue the operations mentioned above.
2. I believe safety and essential services (including the sheriff’s office and jail operations) are not options but necessities. I believe that prior to the current sheriff and his budgets over the years, the previous sheriff operated on a budget that had more appropriations. I would do a comparative analysis of the previous sheriff’s budget versus the current sheriff’s budget (the analysis would include the entire tenure of both sheriffs). I strongly emphasize that it’s about keeping citizens safe and keeping our jail as safe as possible. I will require that a determination be made on what does it actually take to safely staff the jail, respond to calls and meet legal standards? I will require those needs will be clearly documented and presented to the public.
I will insist on setting benchmarks and clear performance goals for these areas. We will use parameters like response times, jail staffing ratios, mandated training and satisfaction of constitutional requirements. I believe this will show that we are investing in results that can be measured and not by intangible ideals.
I will require that if anyone proposes cuts to the sheriff or the jail, they’ll have to state why and how that cut prevails over the interest of public safety.
Finally, I will keep the entire process open to the public — with published numbers, open hearings and clear explanations. When people can see the real costs, the real risks and the real trade-offs, it’s much easier to build support for a budget that is both fiscally responsible and serious about public safety.
I believe this is how we avoid unjustified and unnecessary department cuts and avoid the appearance of political games thus allowing the citizens see that we have clear priorities by having full transparency in our processes.
3. I believe the driving force of any collaborative situation is cooperation, and for Jefferson County there is no more important situation than the yearly budget. I will abide by the rules and procedures previously set forth, while being guided by the applicable statutory language. I believe that self-serving politics are a pariah to the collaborative effort needed to be successful. I will put in place a projected budget time frame where a review of the projections would detect potential conflicts giving all interested parties a chance to address such conflicts in a timely manner.
I will require budget sharing where every budget is submitted and available so all interested parties, including citizens, can see the original budget request of each area.
I will not unilaterally modify submitted budgets as I respect the statutory process, but instead I will submit those budgets to committee, then collaboratively review each submitted budget with the Quorum Court, the committee and the individual department submitting the budget before any modifications are recommended.
I will meet with each justice of the peace; I will meet with persons submitting a budget and I will meet with the committee for any suggestions they believe will make this process more efficient. I will continually acquire education about county government, management, budgeting and any other needed skills; and I will continue to provide the same for all members of the Quorum Court.
JEFF EDWARDS
1. The budget impasse was unacceptable, and its impact on county employees and essential services underscores the need for disciplined leadership. As county judge, I will implement a structured budget calendar with early departmental submissions, scheduled work sessions and clearly defined deadlines well in advance of year-end. Payroll and essential services will be treated as non-negotiable priorities. The objective is straightforward: Budgets passed on time, services uninterrupted and employees paid as promised.
2. Fiscal responsibility and public safety are not competing priorities, they are interdependent. I will base funding decisions on verified data, staffing needs and legal obligations, while ensuring public safety agencies have the resources required to operate effectively. Responsible budgeting means protecting core services first, identifying efficiencies where possible and making decisions transparently so residents understand both costs and outcomes.
3. Effective budgeting requires collaboration and open communication. I will work with the Quorum Court early in the process, share complete and accurate financial information, and address disagreements in work sessions rather than at the final vote. While differences in priorities are inevitable, mutual respect and transparency are essential to reaching timely, lawful budgets that serve the county’s best interests.
ERIC WALDEN
1. First, I want to thank the Pine Bluff Commercial for this opportunity to share my insight and leadership approach as a candidate for Jefferson County judge. I am familiar with the budget impasse all too well, as I was one of the many Jefferson County employees impacted by that situation. The process I will use to ensure that budgets are passed in a timely manner will consist of me being transparent and communicating with our elected officials who are entrusted to lead their offices, and with the members of our Quorum Court. My standard would be meeting them regarding budget needs for the next year and allowing the Quorum Court to be involved in the process, especially as it relates to the law. I would also seek to present and pass a budget no later than November each year, that way there is adequate time for questions, deliberations, public hearings, and adjustments to be made if needed. One of the most important factors in this process is communication and that’s how I improve this process as your next Jefferson County judge.
2. As a leader who has served in this field for over 17 years now, I understand quite well how important public safety is to our youth, adults, citizens, and for those traveling through. As it pertains to adequate funding and services for the sheriff’s office, as I have stated before in a previous post, supporting our detention staff means protecting our community. When staffing shortages, burnout and safety concerns go unaddressed, the costs show up elsewhere — overtime spikes, turnover increases, liability risks grow and public trust erodes. That’s not fiscally responsible.
We cannot run a safe, professional detention center without competitive salaries, strong retention, and well-trained employees. Investing in our sheriff’s office and jail operations is not about reckless spending, it is about targeted, accountable funding that strengthens public safety while using taxpayer dollars wisely.
As county judge, I will work collaboratively with the sheriff and Quorum Court to build a budget that:
Prioritizes competitive pay and retention to reduce turnover and overtime costs
Invests in training and professional development to improve safety and efficiency
Improves working conditions to reduce burnout and long-term expenses
Maintains transparency and accountability so every dollar strengthens public safety
We cannot do this by grandstanding or cutting corners, it’s about real leadership. Fiscal responsibility and public safety are not competing values. When done right, they reinforce each other. Jefferson County deserves solutions that protect our officers, our inmates and our community.
3. This conflict exists because there is a lack of trust and a lack of transparency. It is hard to collaborate when there is no trust. Over the years, I have had great experience in collaborating and building trust with other elected officials across on the state level, in the county, and in city government. Those experiences have all been positive and have led to various opportunities for me and agencies I am connected to. I am someone people can trust because I follow through, I don’t have hidden motives or agendas, and my passion is to serve and truly see Jefferson County get better by working with everyone collaboratively. Building and maintaining that trust and even respect will eliminate those conflicts.
