I’m Amelia May Johnson, and I’m running for Justice of the Peace, district 8, to make Clark County, Arkansas great again!

I’m running as an independent to represent the silent majority who refuse to register with a political party. Although 92% of registered voters in Clark County are independents, I’m the only independent candidate and not a single member of the Quorum Court is an independent.

Furthermore, I hope to be the candidate for working-class Conservatives forgotten by the two, major parties. I’m willing to caucus with the GOP, but I’ll always serve my constituents first and foremost.

Endorsed by the Reform Party, I’m deeply committed to uniting a broad coalition around fiscal responsibility, electoral reform, and constitutional rights.

I graduated from Centerpoint High School and spent years teaching myself how to write computer programs and design websites. I’m fluent in six programming languages! I’m in the process of starting a website design company.

I’m only twenty years old — which I admit is pretty young — but that means I have plenty of new ideas to improve our county for the better! This is my first campaign and I wanted to start with something small and local in order to gain experience while serving my community and helping people.

I grew up attending various churches in the Glenwood-Amity area, including Baptist, Methodist, and Pentecostal churches, although I now consider myself to be non-denominational. God has shown me the world’s injustices, calling me to run for office in order to govern in a Christ-like manner.

I would describe my political ideology as ‘Christian Democracy’, because my political beliefs are an extension of my interpretation of the gospel of Jesus Christ and I strongly support religious freedom for those of all faiths, as well as our Republic and its Constitution. I’d also consider myself to be a Progressive Conservative along the lines of Republican President Theodore Roosevelt.

I also grew up in poverty and know what it’s like to not eat three meals a day, to go without running water, to go without electricity, to go without heat in winter, and to live in houses that would be considered uninhabitable in any other state. According to the US Census Bureau: over 20% of Clark County residents live in poverty — I know how they feel, I went through what they’re going through, and I want to help.

The Southern Standard recently confirmed that I’m the first transgender candidate to file for office in Clark County. While this is nearly as historic as Trump holding an LGBT flag at one of his rallies, I care much more about real issues than pointless, identity politics. I would consider myself an LGBT Conservative, because I reject the radical left’s woke agenda and hold many conservative beliefs on issues like abortion, sales taxes, and gun rights.

That being said, I need to clear up any potential misrepresentations of my beliefs: I oppose “drag queen story hour” and believe children should not be permitted to get sexual reassignment surgery. Furthermore, I believe teachers should not be talking to little kids about sex or indoctrinating them into any kind of ideology.

Although the Constitution doesn’t explicitly mention same-sex marriage, the Supreme Court has ruled on its legality, and I would comply with requests to wed gay couples while in my official capacity as JP.

I’m running a populist campaign centered around the issues that matter, like tax cuts, safe housing, and electoral reform. I hope my candidacy can be used to spread awareness about these issues, even if I don’t win. You can read about my stances on the issues by clicking here!

District 8 is in the north-western part of the county, including Amity and the surrounding area. A picture of the official map is on the left. You can find out for sure if you live in the district on Arkansas’ official VoterView website! If you’re registered to vote: type in your information and click “Look Up”. Then scroll down to the bottom and click the “show” drop-down next to “Districts”.