One Monticello Life – Jessie Griffin – Candidate for Drew County Judge
November 4th, 2012 by Submitted
Jessie Griffin, Republican candidate for county judge is age 59 and married to Linda Bordeaux Griffin. He is running for county judge “to give back to the community” that has been his home for many years and to utilize the management and leadership skills he has developed over the last forty years.
In addition, Griffin, a conservative family man, feels that he has the qualities to make a positive difference in the county and Southeast Arkansas. People who know him know that he is “genuine, has a servant’s heart, and a compassion for people.”
Having grown up in Drew County, Jessie attended both Monticello and Drew Central Schools, graduating in 1971 from Drew Central and joining the Army that same year.
After retiring and moving back to Monticello, Griffin has worked for the public. He was employed at Lucky Chevrolet in Monticello for ten years. Working as the service manager, he was responsible for scheduling work and training for the technicians, dealing with customers, working within the assigned budget for his department, and attending trainings and workshops for service managers. His favorite job was being an on-demand grandfather of five. He also worked at Sears delivering appliances to customers and interacting with them. Griffin worked at Price Lumber for the past two years as the purchasing agent for the sawmill until he resigned his position in mid-August to campaign full time for county judge. As the purchasing agent, he dealt with fellow employees and vendors along with utilizing computer skills and handling paperwork.
His twenty-six year career in the military, along with life experiences, helped him develop the leadership, management, budget, logistic, and personnel skills to be an asset to county government. In running for county Judge, Jessie Griffin has traveled the county, visited with many people, formed new friendships and alliances, and met with multiple city and county officials. Griffin has also attended Quorum Court meetings, Hospital Board meetings, MEDC board meetings, Monticello and Drew Central school board meetings and meetings about the Intermodal Facility. He has been busy updating his knowledge of what is happening and what needs to happen in the county.
While most citizens are concerned with roads and trash, Griffin sees the role of county judge as one of improving the county’s infrastructure to help attract jobs and new businesses to the area. Working with other city and county officials, he intends to help make Drew County a desirable place for businesses and jobs to locate. He also sees the role of county judge as that of management and having the right people in the right position to do the best job for the county. The budget is also a topic of serious concern. Griffin wants to maintain what we have in the county, but also streamline the budget to be sure the taxpayer is getting the most for their dollar. Griffin is interested in obtaining grants and utilizing other state and federal resources for county projects. He has devoted the last two months “to campaign full time and talk to people around the county about their concerns and vision for our county.” Being county judge, in his opinion, also requires the ability to connect with the right people in the state and federal levels and know how to present project ideas in a way that will garner the resources needed to be successful.
Griffin feels he is ready to be the next Drew County Judge. He encourages everyone to get out and exercise their right to vote. Whether you early vote or vote on November 6, he would like to see you vote for him because he has the leadership, management, budget, and people skills to do the job.
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