RISON - The Cleveland County Republican Party will be hosting a political forum featuring the candidates running for Cleveland County Judge and Cleveland County Sheriff beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, in the Family Life Center at Bethel #1 Missionary Baptist Church at Rison.
Bethel #1 is located at 2230 Hwy. 35 North, about 1.5 miles west of the Hwy. 79 intersection at Rison. Pat Berry, chairman of the Cleveland County Republican Committee, said the public is invited and encouraged to attend.
With a threat of winter weather this weekend that could potentially impact travel into Tuesday, a tentative make-up date has been set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, at the Bethel #1 Family Life Center.
Pastor Cody Robinson of Rison Baptist Church will moderate the forum. Pastor Mike Goodwin of Bethel #1 was originally scheduled to be the moderator but will be unable to serve after recently undergoing surgery.
Berry said all the county judge and sheriff candidates have been invited to participate. Since only Republicans filed for both positions, the winner of the March 3 primary will run unopposed in the November general election. Early voting for the primary begins Feb. 17.
The candidates running for Cleveland County Judge include, by alphabetical order:
• Jim Houston, of the Rye community, is retired from operations management and is a former justice of the peace on the Faulkner County Quorum Court, representing the Mayflower area.
• Stephen McClellan of New Edinburg is the former Cleveland County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) coordinator and continued in that field as a preparedness coordinator for the State of Arkansas after leaving the county.
• Rosemary Sinclair of the Staves community is currently the chief deputy clerk for the Cleveland County Clerk/Circuit Clerk’s office. She has been working in the office since 2019.
• Rickey Spencer of Kingsland is a former long-time member of the Kingsland and Cleveland County School Boards, and is currently a route driver.
The candidates for Cleveland County Sheriff are, in alphabetical order:
• Vance “Lee” Freeman of Rison is currently a narcotics detective with the Pine Bluff Police Department. He worked for nearly 19 years with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
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• Keden Shrum of Rison rose in rank from a jailer/dispatcher to deputy and eventually lieutenant with the Wagner County (Okla.) Sheriffs Office. He left law enforcement to go into ministry and is currently serving as the minister for the Rison Church of Christ.
• Brady Young of the Rowell community has served with the Arkansas State Police before becoming a game warden with the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission. While at Game & Fish, he was rose through the ranks to eventually become colonel, overseeing game wardens across the state. He is currently working with the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Forum Format
Berry said the candidates in each race will be asked the same questions and be given a certain amount of time to respond to each question. The order of the responses will be rotated among the candidates with each having an opportunity to answer first.
Berry said the candidates will not be given the questions beforehand and will be hearing them for the first time during the forum. The Republican Party Committee asked the public to submit questions for both races and Berry said some of those questions could be used in the forum.