FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County's elected officials are generally well-off and well-connected to the Northwest Arkansas community, financial documents show.
Statements showing 2014's sources of income and stakes held in companies were due Feb. 2 to the clerk's office from the county judge, sheriff, other officials elected countywide, justices of the peace and their spouses.
Financial interest reports
Washington County Clerk Becky Lewallen receives all candidate spending and elected official finance reports, which are publicly available. Her office is on the third floor of the courthouse, 280 N. College Ave., Fayetteville.
The documents give a partial picture of where officials put their money and hint at some of their priorities and concerns. The reports, overseen by the Arkansas Ethics Commission, are also meant to prevent officials from using their position directly or indirectly for their own benefit. Their decisions on county property taxes, spending, projects and laws could affect some of their financial interests.
"It has its pros and its cons, and it depends on how the individual uses that either to the county's advantage or their advantage," Rick Cochran, a Republican Quorum Court member representing District 7 west of Fayetteville, said about officials' having ties throughout the community. "You just have to find the right people to come in there."
Several officials are connected in one way or another to regional heavyweights, such as Wal-Mart and the University of Arkansas. County attorney Steve Zega and Justice of the Peace Joe Patterson, a Republican who represents the county's northeast corner on the Quorum Court, each have at least $12,500 in Wal-Mart stock, for example.
The actual amount could be much higher; the reports ask officials to list individually each source of income, then indicate for each whether the income or holding is at least $1,000 or at least $12,500. Someone could make a million dollars from one source, and it would still show up as $12,500.
Eva Madison, Democratic justice of the peace in Fayetteville, holds at least $1,000 in Wal-Mart stock.
Sheriff Tim Helder and Cochran have ties to Washington Regional Medical Center. Cochran works as a program analyst there, while his wife, Schelly, works there as assistant director of scheduling. Helder serves as chairman of the hospital's board, an unpaid position.
Eva Madison and her mother and fellow Fayetteville Democrat, Sue Madison, get income from the university. Eva Madison and her husband, David Pieper, both work as adjunct professors, earning at least $1,000 but less than $12,500. Both are lawyers. Sue Madison's husband, Bernard, works as a mathematics professor and also consults for Arizona State University and Stephen F. Austin University in Texas. He earns at least $12,500 from the Arkansas job and more than $1,000 for each of the others.
Newcomer Lisa Ecke, Republican justice of the peace from southeast Springdale, provides food service and catering to Cargill's turkey-processing plant through Ecke Ventures, co-owned by Ecke and her husband, Roger.
Ecke said her work has given her insight and experience with business matters, but the public and her Christian faith would always guide her decisions.
"I have a good compass," she said. "Always remember where it (taxpayer money) came from."
Ecke said she turned in her financial interest report, but the county clerk didn't have one on file Friday. Ann Harbison of West Fork, a cattle farmer and retired teacher, also hadn't turned in a report. Harbison said Friday she'd forgotten to and would turn one in quickly.
Many officials say their jobs help their county work. Eva Madison often brings up legal or more detailed questions during Quorum Court meetings, for example. Cochran often has credited his computer career for his attention to detail and comfort with budget numbers. Sue Madison said she pays more attention to what neighborhood residents say before votes on property zoning.
"It guarantees that you have perspective other than just your own and you're not working in isolation, so to speak," Sue Madison said.
At least four officials have business or investments in real estate and rentals. Tom Lundstrum, Republican of Elm Springs on the Quorum Court, buys and rents property through Lundstrum Properties, while Sue Madison co-manages Madison Assets with her husband and is landlord to about 30 tenants in Fayetteville homes. Democrats John Firmin and Republican Harvey Bowman also reported some investment in rental properties or companies.
At least seven are receiving public retirement; Patterson and fellow Quorum Court Republicans Butch Pond, Tom Lundstrum and Robert Dennis receive Social Security or have a spouse who does, while Helder and fellow Democrats Sue Madison and Marilyn Edwards, the county judge, receive a pension or other retirement because of previous government work.
At least five justices of the peace and all county-wide elected officials make at least $75,000 with their spouses. The actual number could be more because of the reports' limited information.
County officials such as the sheriff, judge and treasurer are paid between $91,000 and $97,000. The justices of the peace earn roughly $10,000 per year.
Eva Madison reported at least $117,500 in income and holdings last year from her and her husband's law firms and several investments, the highest reported wealth. Steve Zega, who became county attorney in January, made at least $112,500 last year, followed by Sue Madison and Cochran with at least $90,000 each. Firmin, Edwards and Republican Butch Pond round out the group.
Bowman, Republican Justice of the Peace Bill Ussery and Treasurer Bobby Hill reported the lowest minimum income, with at least $13,500.
NW News on 02/22/2015