You will recall my recent reporting on Missy Wardlaw, who's running in the March Republican primary for state House seat 94 in southeast Arkansas. She's married to Jeff Wardlaw, the term-limited incumbent who currently holds that seat.

In 2018, Missy Wardlaw was charged with a 2018 hot-check misdemeanor. The Arkansas Courts' website shows the disposition of that criminal case as: "GUILTY--BOND FORFEITED."

The same day as Wardlaw's guilty disposition, the court received two separate payments from her totaling $393.98 for: 1. restitution for the hot check 2. the prosecutor's fee 3. court costs 4. the service fee for her arrest warrant, and 5. $95 in fines. This was everything due--both to the vendor that she stiffed and the court. The case was closed Oct. 1, the same day that the court reimbursed the vendor.

Article 5, § 9 of the Arkansas Constitution prohibits any person convicted of an "infamous crime" from holding elected office. Passing a hot check is one such crime.

You might recall this presenting as an issue a few years ago when Kristina Gulley was removed from the Pulaski County Quorum Court (the county legislature) after a circuit court determined that she had two hot-check misdemeanors on her record from more than 21 years prior.

When I first raised Wardlaw's hot-check crime with her and others, she pulled down her election social media and website. She later restored them. Then, after I outlined on these pages that the Arkansas Constitution prohibits Wardlaw from holding office, her Republican opponent, the learned history professor at the University of Arkansas at Monticello John Kyle Day, petitioned to have Wardlaw disqualified from running. (Nice to see folks are reading my column!)

Thereafter, Wardlaw responded to media inquiries about the disqualification petition by claiming that she can't comment because the matter is in litigation. Hogwash.

Wardlaw's flimsy pretext........

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