WHY I FORMED AN EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE

 

©Wendell Griffen, 2024

Following a recent meeting with about 40 people from a cross-section of Pulaski County residents, I formed an exploratory committee to determine whether to be a candidate for County Judge of Pulaski County in 2026. This group will help me “test the waters” so to speak about whether that effort would be feasible, and who would be likely to help me if it is feasible. 

Perhaps you’re wondering why I am considering leaving retirement and taking on the challenge of seeking to become chief executive of Pulaski County government. The short answer is because I want to serve the more than 400,000 people who call Pulaski County our home. 

Whether we were born here, moved here to study, teach, do research, obtain health care, retire, or for other reasons, Pulaski County is our Community. I want to help our Community learn, work, and grow, by celebrating and promoting the fact that Pulaski County is home to wonderful people, the seat of state government, and a great place to study, teach, serve, earn, grow, and enjoy the benefits of nature, cultures, languages, the arts, science, technology, and commitment to service. 

That last factor – commitment to service – is what I have to offer Pulaski County. I grew up on a forty-acre farm in Pike County between the towns of Antoine and Delight. My parents instilled in me and my two siblings a love for reading, taught us to respect the dignity of every person, and encouraged us to learn from and help others. 

Their nurture and the creed I learned in the ninth grade while attending Simmons High School in Okolona – that “a life of service is the life that counts” – inspired me to obtain a political science degree from the University of Arkansas in 1973, serve three years as an officer in the U.S. Army, and earn a law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1979. 

Commitment to service is why my wife, Dr. Patricia Griffen, received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Arkansas in 1979. It is why we came to Pulaski County and made our home in Little Rock. Commitment to service has marked our professional, religious, social, cultural, and leisure activities. That is how our parents nurtured us. And commitment to service defines how our two sons, who are Eagle Scouts, now live with their families – Martyn in Northern Virginia, and Elliott in Pulaski County. 

I am willing to serve the people of Pulaski County. Almost 40 people joined me this week to form an Exploratory Committee to learn if people in Pulaski County will support our shared commitment to serve, our shared belief that Pulaski County is a Community, our shared resolve to celebrate our Unity, and our shared hope for a Pulaski County Future defined by the values of Community and Unity. 

Charles Bolden, a seasoned campaign manager who is also my good friend, is spearheading the Exploratory Committee for Judge Wendell Griffen. Other leaders are Little Rock attorneys Graham Catlett and Jerry Malone, my son Elliott Griffen, Alice Abson (who was my chief probation officer when I served as Circuit Judge for the Fifth Division of the Sixth Judicial Circuit), Valerie Pruitt (who helped me during previous campaign efforts), and Kia Mills (who served as receptionist when I was Circuit Judge). 

We hope you will join the Exploratory Committee and share in our efforts. Send us an email to griffen4pulaskicounty@gmail.com. Type “Count Me In!” on the subject line, and add your mailing address and contact phone number. Then help us show that Pulaski County is our Community, that Unity defines Community, and that these values can, and should, inspire our shared commitment to service and hope for a bright Future, in the place we call home.

Thank you.

Judge (retired) Wendell Griffen