William Storey
Photo by Stephen Ironside
Washington County Circuit Judge William Storey announced Tuesday he is running for Fayetteville District Judge.
The position was held by Rudy Moore, who died in April after 22 years on the bench. Moore was re-elected to a new four-year term in May 2012. David Stewart is serving as interim Fayetteville District Court Judge until the May 2014 election decides who’ll finish out the term.
If elected, Storey said he’d work to reduce drunk driving and texting while driving.
“Clearly driving while intoxicated is a very serious crime, however, according to a 2012 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, driving a vehicle while texting is six times more dangerous than driving while intoxicated,” said Storey in a news release.
“All too often I see people in Fayetteville texting and driving with children in the car. I truly believe this can be stopped if these drivers are aware of the risks and there are serious consequences for this conduct. We should not wait for people to be injured or die in automobile accidents before we, as a society, address this issue. Here lies the opportunity to change our perspective,” he said.
Storey, 71, is currently Administrative Judge for the 4th Judicial Circuit, and has been on the bench for nearly 24 years. Circuit judges lose state retirement benefits if they run for office and are re-elected after reaching the age of 70.
A 50-year Fayetteville resident, Storey is a graduate of Fayetteville High School and the University of Arkansas. He and his wife Patricia have three daughters and eleven grandchildren.
He is the second to announce for the judgeship. Fayetteville attorney Tim Snively said last month he plans to seek the position.
