The race for a seat on the Arkansas Supreme Court expanded Saturday with the announcement that Barbara Webb will be seeking the position. Webb is the chief law judge on the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission and a former circuit judge in Saline County.
Webb, 62, confirmed her plans to run in a phone call with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Saturday afternoon. She joins Pulaski County Circuit Judge Morgan "Chip" Welch, who launched his campaign last month.
Webb and Welch are vying for the Supreme Court seat held by Justice Josephine "Jo" Hart, who has yet to rule out running for reelection.
Reached at her home Friday, Hart, 75, said she was not sure if she should "quit or not."
The filing period for judicial offices starts Monday and will run until Nov. 12.
"All my years on the bench, I've always served with integrity," Webb said Saturday. "I believe I'm the most experienced candidate in the race."
Webb has served as the chief administrative law judge on the Workers' Compensation Commission since earlier this year, when her appointment to the 22nd Judicial Circuit expired. Webb had been appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2017 to replace a judge who resigned after being charged with failure to pay taxes.
Before her service as a circuit judge, Webb was the chief executive officer of the Workers' Compensation Commission and an administrative law judge on the commission. She has also worked as a prosecutor.
Webb's husband, Doyle Webb, is the chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas. The couple live in Benton.
Judicial candidates run on nonpartisan tickets and are restricted by Arkansas' judicial canons as to what they can say about issues that might appear before the court. However, recent races for the high court have been largely defined by what out-of-state political groups say in TV attack ads.
Many attorneys and judges, as well as the Arkansas Bar Association, have criticized the nature of the ads. Asked how she would respond to such attacks against an opponent, Webb said she could not predict what the ads might say.
"I'm focused on my race and introducing myself to the voters," Webb said. "I really can't control what other people might do."
Asked a similar question when he announced his campaign last month, Welch said he would "answer fiction with fact."
Welch, 69, has been a circuit judge on the 6th Judicial Circuit since 2013. He lives in North Little Rock.
"I welcome her to the race," Welch said Saturday of Webb's announcement. "And I look forward to talking with her about how to preserve the nonpartisan nature of the court."
The nonpartisan election for Supreme Court will be March 3.
Metro on 11/03/2019