Chenoa Summers (Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7, Arkansas, candidate 2024)

Chenoa Summers

Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!

---

Democratic Party

Candidate, Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Arkansas State University, 2012

Graduate

Arkansas State University, 2014

Personal

Birthplace

Newport, Ark.

Religion

Atheist

Profession

Scientist

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Twitter

Chenoa Summers (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7 in Arkansas. She was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.^[source]

Summers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Chenoa Summers provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 5, 2024:

• Birth date: June 19, 1989
• Birth place: Newport, Arkansas
• Bachelor's: Arkansas State University, 2012
• Graduate: Arkansas State University, 2014
• Bachelor's: Arkansas State University - Newport, 2024
• Gender: Female
• Religion: Atheist
• Profession: Scientist
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign slogan: Life, Liberty, Libraries
• Campaign website
• Campaign endorsements
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

General election

General election for Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7

Incumbent Richard Rogers and Chenoa Summers ran in the general election for Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Richard Rogers (R)
	Submit photo	Chenoa Summers (D)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7

Chenoa Summers ran in the Democratic primary for Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Chenoa Summers

---

	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7

Incumbent Richard Rogers and Steve Floyd ran in the Republican primary for Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7 on March 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Richard Rogers
	Submit photo	Steve Floyd

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

To view Summers's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Summers in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Chenoa Summers completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Summers' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Chenoa Summers is an Arkansas tallgrass prairie ecologist, doctoral student, and college educator who has lived in Jonesboro – and District 7 – for 13 years. She is disabled, so she understand the challenges disabled people in Craighead County face including lack of public transportation in District 7. She became involved in politics when our public library came under attack by censors in 2021 and ultimately defunded our library in 2022. She is co-chair of the Arkansas Progressive Democratic Caucus, interim Secretary of the Craighead County NAACP, and volunteer with KLEK 102.5 FM. She is a founding member of Citizens Defending the Craighead County Library and a Friend of the Craighead County Library. She graduated from Emerge Arkansas in Summer 2023. She is committed to protecting the freedom to read, unifying our community, and improving sustainability for all citizens in Craighead County.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Freedom to Read As a scientist, I recognize the universal need for free and open libraries. In 2022, a smear campaign was waged against our library to defund them which ultimately succeeded. I will always stand by the freedom to read for every citizen in Craighead County.
• Sustainability Craighead County is sorely lacking greenspaces and a good public transit system. I would work with other JPs to improve sustainability – that is, the balance of environmental function, economic function, and social equity. This includes improving drainage in flood-prone areas, better road maintenance in Jonesboro, and improved response to natural disasters.
• County-Wide Healthcare The county can provide healthcare services and improve EMT services to county residents. I will work with other JPs to improve EMT pay and work conditions which translates into better response time to emergencies.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Libraries and the freedom to read, disability rights, science and sustainability

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib because she is not afraid to call out injustices and stand by her people as a Palestinian American even when those in power try to silence her.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Transparency is a key principle all elected officials should uphold. In addition to transparency, elected officials should fight for and listen to the people of your district, not the rich, out-of-district donors.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am empathetic with people facing hardships, such as those facing food insecurity and houselessness. I am also trained as an environmental scientist and engineer and will take my knowledge of environmental science engineering and use it to better our community when making governmental decisions.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Transparency and communication are core responsibilities for Justices of the Peace (JPs). JPs should attempt to educate people in their districts of what's happening on their local quorum courts to get more voters civically engaged and involved in county government.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Young, disabled people have a voice, and it deserves to be heard. I want to show that you can be a leader in your community despite your age or ability.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

9/11 happened when I was 12 years old in the 7th grade.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at Dairy Queen and I held that job for about two years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

The Feed series by Mira Grant. It gives a glimpse of the kind of precautions we should consider taking to prevent the worst happening to humanity.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Hank Hill

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Your Graduation by Modern Baseball

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I am disabled, so I am familiar with discrimination based on ability.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Don't trust atoms, they make up everything.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

314 Action, Progressive Arkansas Women PAC

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Our county government is not financially transparent and often skirts accountability. As elected officials, we should make every effort to educate the voters of our districts and county to ensure transparency and governmental accountability. That could be in the form of holding town halls or writing op-eds to local newspapers.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2024 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Craighead County Justice of the Peace District 7

Website

Facebook

Personal

Twitter