BENTONVILLE — Dave Bisbee’s first term as Benton County judge has been a rocky one, culminating with his arrest April 21 on five misdemeanor charges related to how he awarded county bids.
Bisbee’s decisions on how to handle the 2009 ice storm cleanup led to a lawsuit filed against the county. The prosecuting attorney opened a criminal investigation after Bisbee hired his company to perform work for the county. And two circuit court judges publicly accused Bisbee in March of lying to the Quorum Court.
Three men filed to run against Bisbee on May 18for the Republican nomination for county judge. They are Bob Clinard of Rogers, Tim Henderson Sr. of Decatur and Robert Stephenson of Siloam Springs. The trio are more opponents combined than formerCounty Judge Gary Black faced when he ran as an incumbent in 2002, 2004 and 2006. Bisbee has more opponents as an incumbent Benton County judge in the Republican primary than any candidate dating back to 1996.
“You cannot get the amount of negative publicity that I have without drawing some opponents,” Bisbee said.
Bisbee’s opponents have all said they are running to restore integrity to the office.
“He has done a lousy job at being a county judge and leading this county,” Clinard said of Bisbee. “His leadership is bizarre. He just does not get in there, roll his sleeves up and go to work.”
Clinard said he decided to run for county judge after he attended a Quorum Court meeting in March. Circuit Court judges David Clinger and Xollie Duncan accused Bisbee of lying about negotiations to sell the courthouse annex where Clinger’s courtroom is housed.
“I was at the meeting when the judges called him a liar, and I felt like this has to change. We have to get someone in that office who can restore integrity,” Clinard said.
Henderson said the opposition to Bisbee could be a sign of the times.
“There is a lot moreof an activist mentality out there that says, ‘Let’s go change things rather than complaining about them,”’ Henderson said. Henderson, like Clinard, said he chose to run for county judge after attending several Quorum Court meetings.
Dr. Janine Parry, a professor of political science at the University of Arkansas and the director of the Arkansas Poll, said the number of candidates in the race suggests something is out of the ordinary.
“People lining up to take a crack at an incumbent is uncommon,” Parry said.
Charges listed in a probable cause affidavit filed by Prosecuting Attorney Van Stone just before Bisbee’s arrest dealwith his actions on three projects.
The first was Bisbee’s decision to hire his company, Valley Homes, in December to perform more than $15,000 in renovation work for the county. Bisbee said previously that he did not benefit financially from the work. He said the company was being run by his construction supervisor, Gary Wierman.
The second was Bisbee’s awarding of ice storm cleanup work to four companies in January 2009 at a rate higher than two other bids. The difference between an initial bid for the cleanup and what the county paid contractors amounted to an estimated $878,924. Bisbee said during a deposition he never read the document containing the lowest bid.
The third incident involves Bisbee’s decision to waive the competitive bidding process for an estimated $80,000 to $100,000 worth of work on the Siloam Springs Health Department last June. Bisbee said he chose to waive that bidding process rather than go through another one because the Quorum Court expressed its desire to have the project completed.
“If you wrote a novel like this, people would not believe it,” Parry said. “It is pretty clear that he has become a pretty controversial figure, and that is going to make this race different.”
Mike Sevak, chairman of the Republican Party of Benton County, said he is not sure why Bisbee has drawn so much opposition.
“Sometimes people donot like the way elected officials are doing things, so they decide to throw their own hat in the ring,” Sevak said. “More power to those folks who decide to run. It is a great challenge.”
Vivian Michaels, vice chairwoman of the Democratic Central Committee in Benton County, had an altogether different opinion of the situation.
“Bisbee deserves it. He has done some stupid things,” Michaels said. “The way Bisbee did with his company and awarding him a job, that’s no good. That incited a lot of anger.”
Bisbee seems ready for the challenge. He has attended candidate forums since his arrest and hasn’t backed down.
“Anybody that knows me though, knows that I’m the same today as I was yesterday, and I’ll be the same person tomorrow,” Bisbee said.
*** Viewpoints The Integrity Talk
County Judge Dave Bisbee’s challengers have said they are running to restore integrity to the office. We asked each man, “What does integrity mean to you?” ***
“I have lived my life protecting my integrity. That’s why I’m not resigning. I’m going to spend $35,000 defending myself against a $1,000 misdemeanor because your word is the only thing nobody can take from you, and I’m going to protect that.” - Dave Bisbee ***
“Integrity means that a man’s word is what it is worth. It means that if a person tells you something, looks you in the eye and shakes hands on it, that is a deal.” - Robert Stephenson ***
“Integrity is honesty in the face of doing the right thing at all times.” - Bob Clinard ***
“Integrity means doing what’s right all the time and being able to get up in the morning in the mirror and look at myself and know that I did.” - Tim Henderson
News, Pages 11 on 05/05/2010