Vote Vella for Compassion AND Action!
About Carol
Carol Vella is a businesswoman, mother, and community leader running for Justice of the Peace, District 8, in Benton County. In her day job promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion and in her extensive community volunteer work, Carol advocates for those who may not have a seat at the table.
Carol is running because she knows the challenges families face in Bentonville. As a foster parent and refugee co-sponsor, she’s seen how hard it can be to build a life here. As Justice of the Peace, Carol will invest our county budget in areas that will help our residents thrive: affordable housing, childcare, public transportation, healthcare, and much more.
In her position as a marketing, diversity, and inclusion expert at Walmart, Carol trains employees and executives alike on the value of varied perspectives. She knows the importance of generating fresh ideas and exploring opportunities outside the status quo. Carol’s career is built on bringing people together to achieve common goals – and she’ll apply those skills to making equitable decisions on how to spend our taxpayer funds.
As an active community member, Carol has devoted her time to supporting and empowering Bentonville residents of all ages and backgrounds. She is a founding member of the City of Bentonville Diversity and Inclusion Community Task Force, the Executive Co-Chair of NextUp, and a Canopy refugee co-sponsor. You can also find her on the field as a Parks and Recreation soccer coach in the spring and fall. Her deep involvement with Bentonville’s diverse population gives her the knowledge and experience to make budget decisions that benefit all our residents, not just the well-connected few.
Carol holds a Masters of Business degree from Washington University in St. Louis, a Bachelor’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from New York University, and a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University.
WHY JUSTICE
OF THE PEACE?
WHAT IS JUSTICE OF THE PEACE?
Justice of the Peace in Benton County controls our county budget. The JP Quorum Court is about to decide how to spend significant funds from the federal government. The old guard of our JP wants to raise taxes to build more jails. That’s a waste of our hard-earned money!
WHY DO YOU WANT TO RUN FOR JUSTICE OF THE PEACE?
I’m tired of the same old story. We’ve had a homogenous group of politicians making decisions with insufficient data and lack of consideration for different options for decades.
Instead, we need thoughtful new approaches filled with creativity and innovation – and we can have it! Countless times I’ve seen how diversity of thought put into action significantly improves situations – often quickly. I bring different people together to do just that for my entire career. Now I am compelled to truly improve our community. We cannot continue to have more of the same so-called “solutions” that waste money on antiquated, disproved concepts that punish many and serve only a connected few.
