Mena City Attorney Announces Run for Circuit Judge Seat

(MENA)  Mena attorney Patrick McDaniel previously announced on April 11, 2019 his candidacy for Circuit Judge of Polk and Montgomery Counties, Arkansas. The election for this nonpartisan position will occur on March 3, 2020 during the presidential primary, and the term will begin on January 1, 2021.

McDaniel is a lifelong resident of Polk County, having been raised locally by his grandmother, Vera Cook and returning to the area after graduating law school and is a graduate from Mena High School in 1989.

McDaniel graduated with highest distinction in 1993 from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a Bachelor of Science – Business Administration in Accounting.  During both his junior and senior years, he was selected as the outstanding student in Accounting for the university. After passing the Certified Public Accountancy test with the second highest score in the state, he worked for Deloitte and Touche as an Auditor for a year before attending law school.

During law school, McDaniel served on the Arkansas Law Review, in addition to receiving numerous class awards. Patrick graduated law school with highest honors from the University of Arkansas, and passed the Arkansas Bar Exam with the highest score in the state.

McDaniel is a Past President of the Mena / Polk County Chamber of Commerce, member of the Arkansas Bar Association house of delegates, and he is involved in local organizations, both as a member and on the board.

He has practiced with his cousin, Danny Thrailkill, in Polk County since 1997 in the firm of Page, Thrailkill, and McDaniel, Attorneys P.A.  McDaniel has a diverse practice, which has included not only criminal and civil state matters, but matters before the federal courts as well as administrative cases. For many years, McDaniel served as an adjunct instructor for Accounting at the community college.  Patrick has served as the city attorney of Vandervoort for over 20 years and as the city attorney of Mena since 2015. Before 2015, he served as deputy city attorney for Mena.

McDaniel has been married to his wife, Wendy, since 1994. Wendy is the daughter of Hershel Bell and Debbie Scott from the Cove and Vandervoort areas.  Wendy works as the Director of Admissions at the University of Arkansas Community College – Rich Mountain.

Patrick and Wendy have two children; Colten is currently pursuing a degree in computer engineering from the University of Arkansas – Fayetteville and Courtney is currently pursuing a degree in bio-chemistry/pre-med from the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

McDaniel believes that his connection with the community, education, experience as a business owner and entrepreneur, diverse legal practice, and the examples set by the previous circuit judges will allow him to bring the skills critical to the office of the circuit judge.

McDaniel stated that he will be a judge that treats all litigants and attorneys with courtesy and respect, makes tough decisions with fairness and common sense, protects the community and advocates for victims, hold criminals accountable for their conduct, works with all agencies to find the appropriate services for those that appear in court, upholds the community’s values, follows the rule of law, and bases decisions on the evidence.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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