VAN BUREN -- Two retirees with no political experience are running for Crawford County's District 1 justice of the peace position.
Sherry Marshall, 69, is running as a Democrat and Robert Arnold, 57, is running as a Republican in the general election on Nov. 8.
Justices of the peace serve on the Quorum Court, the legislative branch of county government. They meet at least once a month.
Arkansas justices of the peace serve two-year terms and cannot be paid annually, according to state statute. In Crawford County, justices of the peace are paid $500 per meeting.
The justice of the peace for District 1 serves the northwest portion of Crawford County, which includes Cedar Creek, Cedarville, Cove City, Lee Creek and Uniontown.
The district's current justice of the peace, Deborah Pinkerton, is running for mayor of Cedarville against Brian Conger, who is running as an independent .
Marshall is a lifelong Crawford County resident, previously working as a paraprofessional for Cedarville Public Schools and as an activities director for several retirement centers in Van Buren and Fort Smith. She said she's running for to be a voice for rural residents of the county.
Marshall said she's previously worked to save the Uniontown Post Office from closing and convinced the Cedarville Waterworks facility to implement text and email alerts to customers.
"I'll make sure we're included when decisions are made by the Quorum Court when deciding how to spend our hard-earned tax dollars," she said. "I know roads are one big area of concern, and I encourage people to contact me. I promise to find answers to their questions, and I will work with them to solve problems."
Arnold is a Navy veteran and a former construction worker. He said he's running for justice of the peace in order to run government conservatively.
"Conservative, common sense ways of operating the government, I would say that's what I want to accomplish," he said. "The right thing to do, the proper thing to do, with common sense applied to it."
Crawford County Justice of the Peace, District 1
Sherry Marshall (D)
Age: 69
Residence: Crawford County, 69 years
Employment: Retired, former paraprofessional for Cedarville Public Schools and activities director for retirement centers in Van Buren and Fort Smith
Education: Associate degree in gerontology from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith
Political activity: None
Robert Arnold (R)
Age: 57
Residence: Crawford County, 25 years
Employment: Retired, Navy veteran and former construction worker
Education: Attended college through several schools while in the military
Political experience: None
The story was updated to correct the candidates for Ceaderville mayor.