Many of you reading this may not care about the Justice of the Peace race for District 2 of Washington County, Arkansas. In fact, I doubt anyone at Stevens (besides myself) lives in this district. But you should care about this race for one reason and one reason only — my mom, Susan Cunningham, is running for this seat.
Justices of the Peace are a unique type of job to Arkansas. It’s a county-level legislative position, mainly dealing with administrative work, county budgeting, and creating new county-level ordinances as necessary. It requires someone who is detail-oriented and capable of overseeing a large jurisdiction.
It requires someone like my mom. One thing you should know about her: She is an easy person to look up to. I’ve done it my whole life.
For the last 18-and-a-half years I’ve known her, she has dedicated her life to public service. She volunteered her time for nearly every organization she believed in, never expecting money and only hoping she could assist something much bigger than herself.
Here is the kind of woman Susan is: She still helps my swim team even though I quit it years ago. This is a woman who — because she loves the people on the team — still helps organize awards ceremonies, officiates swim meets, and assists in the setup and teardown of events (even though her own kid isn’t there anymore).
Growing up, Susan served on nearly every Parent-Teacher Association of my schools — not because she wanted to have power, but because she wanted to be closer to me, our family, and all of the families at my school. She has always put family above everything, and that is something I’ve always admired.
Even after I left for college, my mom found a way to continue giving to the community. She volunteers regularly at a place called Bread of Life, where, for hours, she serves meals to low-income families. She does this for one primary reason: she loves the people she meets there.
Being a Justice of the Peace requires many things, such as knowledge of budgeting (she’s an accountant), a willingness to listen to other ideas (a wonderful mother), and a desire to serve the community (that’s been her entire life). She is more than qualified for this position. She has more than enough expertise. Nobody has more potential to succeed with this position than my mother, for she embodies all the necessary qualities of a local public servant: kindness, discipline, intelligence, and dedication.
Her campaign has not even started yet. (She just filed a week ago.) But even now, I know she’s ahead of anyone who goes against her. I can’t wait to see her succeed, and I can’t wait to vote for her in November. Vote Susan Cunningham for Justice of the Peace.
Be First to Comment