Garland County GOP to dedicate party offices, hear AG candidate

Leon Jones Jr. - Submitted photo
Leon Jones Jr. - Submitted photo

Members of the Republican Party of Garland County will dedicate the party's new offices at 615 W. Grand Ave in Hot Springs on Thursday.

The ceremony, which will begin at 5:45 p.m., will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony by officials of The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce. A brief reception and the RPGC monthly meeting will follow.

The event is free and anyone may attend. Information about RPGC committee membership and voter registration will be available. For more information, visit http://www.TheRPGC.org.

During the monthly meeting, Leon Jones Jr., a Republican candidate for Arkansas attorney general, and Mindy McAlindon, a candidate for the Republican Party of Arkansas national committeewoman, will speak.

Matt McKee, RPGC chairman, said in a news release that the new offices will provide a permanent facility for the Republican Party in Garland County. The offices in Suite 2 are located in the McGrew Building.

"We have been without a permanent office for a couple of years," McKee said.

"We have room now to maintain a permanent office, storage space, a conference center and room for monthly meetings," he said. "The office is in a perfect location. It is two blocks from the Garland County Court House and a block away from the Election Commission."

Jones, who will speak after the dedication ceremony, "describes himself as a principled conservative and that his extensive experience in both the private and public sectors prepared him to become Attorney General. He said he respects the rule of law and, as Attorney General to ensure all laws are clear and applied equally to everyone," the release said.

"He said he will work with law enforcement, protect residents from fraud and identity theft and provide children with safe, secure and reliable access to online services and information."

Jones was appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson as director of the Arkansas Department of Labor in 2015 and four years later he was appointed by the governor as executive director of the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission. Jones was the first Black to serve as Labor Department director.

"Jones introduced innovation and implemented technology that created efficiencies and tax savings in both agencies," the release said.

He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and his law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville.

Jones is a seventh-generation Arkansan, who lives in Little Rock with his wife, Tori, and three children.

McAlindon, of Centerton, has served on the Republican Party of Arkansas Executive Board and was finance chair and deputy treasurer. She is also secretary for the Benton County Republican Committee. She has been involved with Republican women's ground and has worked on political campaigns and organized Reagan Day dinners.

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