Saline County, Arkansas – In addition to being election day, Tuesday marked the end of the filing period for candidates for the following year’s ballot. Of particular note is one candidate’s desperate attempt to win a seat on the Saline County Quorum Court.
Patty Hector, the former director of the Saline County Library, is a candidate for the quorum court, which is presided over by the same judge who dismissed her in October.
Hector stated that the controversy surrounding book rules, which lasted for months, is now the main reason she is running for District 13 Justice of the Peace.
“More transparency in our local government [and] a voice for everyone, no matter what your political party is,” Hector said.
Hector is a Democrat seeking a seat on the predominantly Republican court.
“Everybody deserves to have a voice in their local government,” Hector said. “And they don’t in Saline County.”
Hector was at the center of months-long arguments about library book access during the summer, which finally resulted in the court passing an ordinance that gave the judge the authority to fire her.
“You fired me, and I won’t go away,” Hector said.
All candidates are welcome, according to a statement provided to us by Saline County Spokesperson Trevor Villines.
“On behalf of the Saline County Clerk’s Office, we welcome all candidates to the 2024 election season,” Villines said. “For updates during the process, we encourage everyone, including candidates, to check our website and social media pages. We wish all candidates the best of luck.”
Hector clarified that her reason for running is the library’s future.
“I love that library,” Hector said. “There’s no way I would stand still and watch them destroy it.”
Billboards criticizing Hector were displayed throughout the summer’s public hearings on library regulations, and she said that there were further online personal attacks.
“I’ve been through the wringer,” Hector said. “I’m not worried. There’s pretty much nothing that can be said to me at this point that hasn’t been said. They’ve called me a lot of names.”
Hector also stated that she wanted to concentrate on what she could accomplish for the county, having lost her position at the library a month prior.
“I am going to stay here,” Hector said. “I’m not moving away. My family’s here, and I want to make things better. I want to live in a better community than what is going on right now.”