I have taught in Washington County public schools for eighteen years. 81.5% of your property tax goes to those schools. The Treasurer is who looks after it. I would like that job.
Eighteen years in Washington County public schools. Seven of them in Springdale - Har-Ber, Lakeside, and the Don Tyson School of Innovation, which I helped start. Right now I am the entire high school science department at Fayetteville Virtual Academy. Nine subjects, ninth through twelfth. That is the part of my record I would point to first.
Before that I co-founded a land planning firm here in Fayetteville, Community by Design. I was the COO. Five employees. A $250,000 budget. Land developments entitled in the tens of millions. Before that I was a construction manager on the renovation of the old Fayetteville public library, and tracked $3 million in fleet and equipment.
Alongside teaching, construction, and land planning I have run two small businesses of my own - The Castle Foundry since 2001 and Chesser Design since 2007. Chesser Design is furniture I build myself. The Castle Foundry is an LLC that made toys, took on investors, and worked with factories here and overseas. Side operations, NOT corporations. But you do your own budgets, payroll and taxes, and you find out fast whether you keep good books. I served six years on the Fayetteville Planning Commission, and four years on the city's Board of Adjustment before that. I studied ethics and anthropology at the University of Arkansas. My undergraduate thesis in ethics was called “On Morality.” For a job that is mostly being careful with money that is not yours, I think that fits.
How I would handle Washington County's money.
This office shouldn't be a family matter. Right now the Assessor's son is running for Treasurer. This is your government, not a family business.
I have made payroll, set budgets, and stood in front of a planning commission to answer for a plan. None of that lets you get careless with money that is not yours.
81.5% of your property tax dollars fund public schools. The Treasurer distributes that money. I have spent my whole career in those schools. I know what it does when it shows up on time.
Every line below is a matter of public record.
| 18 years | Public school teacher, Washington County - 16 years full-time in the classroom plus two years substituting; 7 of them in Springdale at Har-Ber, Lakeside, and the Don Tyson School of Innovation (founding faculty); currently the entire high school science department at Fayetteville Virtual Academy - nine subjects, grades 9-12 |
| Since 2007 | Owner / Designer, Chesser Design - hand-built furniture; budgets, costs, payroll |
| 20+ years | Owner / Designer, The Castle Foundry LLC - toy design and manufacturing; investor-backed, production in the U.S. and overseas |
| 2001-2005 | Communications Director, Mack-Blackwell Rural Transportation Center, University of Arkansas - wrote the center’s annual report to the U.S. Department of Transportation, a major basis for its federal funding each year |
| 2005-2006 | Planner / Construction Manager, Critical Path - construction management on the renovation of the old Fayetteville public library; tracked $3M in fleet vehicles and equipment |
| 2006-2008 | Co-founder & COO, Community by Design - land planning and entitlement; five employees, land developments entitled in the tens of millions |
| 2006-2010 | Member, Board of Adjustment, City of Fayetteville - four years hearing appeals of the City Planner’s decisions for error or ambiguity |
| 2010-2016 | Planning Commissioner and Vice Chair, City of Fayetteville Planning Commission - determined compliance for major city projects |
| 2022 | Member, Urban Forestry Advisory Board, City of Fayetteville |
| 9 patents | 2 U.S. and 7 international patents held - modular construction and furniture assembly systems |
| B.A. / B.A. / M.A. | B.A. Philosophy (cum laude), B.A. Anthropology and a Geology minor, earned simultaneously; M.A. Anthropology - University of Arkansas; undergraduate thesis in ethics, “On Morality” |
No county office should go unanswered. Washington County deserves a Treasurer who answers to voters, not to whoever is already inside the courthouse.
My opponent has never worked anywhere but the county courthouse. This office looks after more money than the entire county budget. That is not a job you should get by being next in line.
This campaign is about the people of Washington County. Whether you want to volunteer, spread the word, or just have a question - we want to hear from you.