On Feb. 26, candidates running in the Republican Primary had an opportunity to speak to the public in a candidate forum sponsored by the ES Chamber of Commerce. Attending the event were State Senate District 28 incumbent Bryan King, State Representative District 6 candidates Justice Hunter Rivett and Steven L. Baird, as well as candidate for County Judge Dianna G. Baird, and candidate for Prosecuting Attorney Robert “Beau” Allen. Incumbent for Prosecuting Attorney Tony Rogers did not attend. Senate District 28 candidate Bobby Ballinger and Judge David Writer were unable to attend and had Ferguson Stewart act as surrogate, reading prepared statements during the forum and answering questions to the best of his knowledge.
The format for the evening gave each candidate 20 minutes to tell about themselves, why they are running, goals for the office they may hold, and answer questions.
Bryan King railed on mailers sent out by Freedom Forward Alliance and New Generation, Inc., to residents of the district. He described them as a distraction from state issues saying the state wants to control the Buffalo River and misuse public funds. He noted the Franklin County mega prison project the Gov. Sanders has endorsed building is a scam on the taxpayers, and several times invoked that people are struggling to make ends meet while the state wastes funds. King reiterated that his opponent wants to distract voters from issues important to them.
He was asked how he felt about the State Supreme Court’s decision that the legislature has the authority to amend or repeat constitutional amendments previously approved by voters, and responded that voters should have the ability to put the items on the ballot they care about. He said if there is a way for the legislature to change state amendments, it cannot be a fast and instead must be “a grueling process.”
King noted that even if he disagrees with voters on what should be on the ballot, he believes they should be able to put on the ballot what they want and it’s “opposite of what I was taught.” He described the state’s efforts as “scary” to change what voters have approved.
As noted, Ballinger was unable to attend and Ferguson Stewart stood in as surrogate to read a prepared statement in which Ballinger apologized for being unable to attend, and that he wanted to focus on what matters to families such as rising healthcare costs, kids having “strong, practical education” and “well-intended regulations” that could become “burdens” for small businesses and working people. He said he would show up and work hard for the people of the district and do it for the “folks who live, work, and raise families here” rather than special interests.
The audience pointed out the irony of a statement saying he’d show when he was not present. Stewart then had to field questions meant for Ballinger, including about the flyers in the mail regarding incumbent King and what his prior civic engagement has been. The latter devolved to mostly Stewart’s opinion on the candidate.
State Representative District 6 candidates were next with Hunter Rivett speaking first. Rivett spoke on growing up in the area, getting degrees at Arkansas Tech and that teaching at Berryville Public Schools. He also said he felt his record as a Justice of the Peace shows he wants to work for the people of the district. He said the race was not about party but “standing up for the people.” He said he wants to bring more money to the district, also invoking that Little Rock is attempting to keep tax dollars away from Carroll County.
Rivett fielded a question about tax cuts, saying that people will “promise the moon” without giving what they promise. He said it’s hard to run on tax cuts at the “current government spending level.” He said he’s for tax cuts if there is a cut on wasteful spending.
He also fielded a question on patriotism in the classroom, saying patriotism is not worship of a person but respect of the principles of the country. Rivett also mentioned that broader politics pits people against one another rather than on the ground issues. He said that state government is spending money on things that don’t matter, leaving schools and people behind.
Steven L. Baird spoke on growing up in Washington, California, Hawaii, and Idaho. He has degrees in Computer Science and an MBA in Financial Management; a background in government work as an IT professional at the Sacramento International Airport; and was Director of Information Technology in Washington County, Ark.
He said he was “inspired” by the current office holder, Harlan Breaux, saying that he’d given them a draft bill that he never received feedback on. He also noted that he had draft bills published on his website for consideration as goals for his running. Baird noted that of the $6.3 billion of state budget, a little over $2 billion is not mandated by the state constitution and that is where cuts could be made to the budget.
When asked if he supported policies to giving kids IRA seed accounts, Baird said that money would inflate prices long-term and that it should be personal choice, that the government does not have business getting involved. He caveated that if voters agree in a referendum to do so then it would not be considered a measure forced upon them by the state government.
Baird covered some draft bills on his website, including repealing personal property taxes over three years and replacing it with a mix of sales tax and excise taxes; making it so pleading guilty to a felony (even if convicted as a misdemeanor) would make one ineligible to procuring a business license in Arkansas; those over 55 years of age should not pay for the school portion of property taxes; changing the Mundell peninsula to county roads; and making it so assessments take into account if the Corps of Engineers has property in front of your access to a lake your property would be assessed as “water view” rather than “waterfront.”
An audience member questioned Baird’s wants for tax cuts saying that we need taxes to have infrastructure that works. Baird said that there are items in the budget not constitutionally required and during finance sessions, items not required would be taken out. He said those items are personal responsibility.
Candidate Cody Rogers was unable to attend.
In the County Judge portion, Dianna Baird spoke on her experience as a substitute teacher in both ES and Berryville schools, as well as 28 years in county government experience; said that county government is about trust that roads will be maintained; that taxpayers dollars will be spent “wisely;” and citizens are heard and treated with respect. She said that constituents should not need to guess what [roads] the county maintains and which it does not.
Baird also brought up the plans for a new courthouse for the eastern district, saying that the county has spent $475,000 on the evaluation of a new courthouse. She argued that money could have been used elsewhere, such as for roads. She said that spending that much on estimates without a plan “underscores the importance of financial oversight before commitments are made.”
Plans for a new eastern district courthouse began in November 2021 under former County Judge Sam Barr. It should be noted that declaring money put aside for a courthouse could be used for other purposes is misleading. The funds that have been allocated for the exploration of a new courthouse were put under Line Item 1800 in the county budget from the county’s general fund. Both 1800 and the county general fund cannot be allocated to roads as roads are handled under a separate tax.
Judge David Writer’s statement, also read by Ferguson Stewart, defended Writer’s position on the wind farm being put in near Green Forest. Writer argued that he has supported people’s right to do with their property as they see fit, not that he necessarily supported the wind farms. He also said former County Judge Richard Williams made accusations against him and that Williams had opportunity to stop the wind farms when he was Carroll County judge.
Stewart then fielded questions including if it’s “moral for a judge to threaten to kill” a member of the public. Stewart said that sometime people get emotional and that “hot words were said.” A member of the audience said if they threatened to kill someone they’d be brought on criminal charges, but they “are not a judge.”
Another member argued that the Road Use Agreement with Nimbus Wind Farms is “full of risk,” noting that the agreement has the wind farm returning the roads back to the way they were rather than leaving them improved. That person also said that while the company puts in new roads the county is in charge of maintaining the roads. Stewart pointed out the county’s growing budget and new businesses moving into the area with another question asking if the county is in good shape “Why are our roads not being fixed?”
Stewart said Writer is a “hard working individual” and that he is doing everything he can with the resources he has, pointing to difficulty of finding people with proper certifications to work for the Road Department.
Steven Baird also asked if the county judge has asked if the property occupied by wind farms has been reassessed. When Stewart was unable to answer, Baird said he knew the answer and that the properties have not been reassessed.
Prosecuting Attorney
Candidate for Prosecuting Attorney Robert “Beau” Allen spoke of his experience as the Managing Attorney for the Carroll County Public Defender’s Office, his work representing clients in circuit, juvenile, and district courts, as well as having handled more than 4,000 felony cases. Allen spoke on his goals for the office, including working to cut down on recidivism by implementing mental health court in the county. He also noted his want to overhaul how the county handles juvenile issues with a closer focus on what might be happening in a juvenile’s family life and breaking the cycle of offense.
A member of the public asked how the county would pay for the improvements he mentioned without an increase to the taxpayers. Allen responded that the county already has resources to help people struggling with addiction and mental health issues, as well as many resources covered under Medicare or Medicaid plans. He also said that if the county, on making these improvements, exhausts those resources then there would be a “credible” reason to ask taxpayers to further fund these efforts as they’d be showing they can work.
Another member asked how he might protect the county and quorum court from corporations that try to muscle favorable agreements with the county through threat of lawsuit. Allen said that each case would require him to “dig in” and evaluate how to handle the case before giving the County Judge and JPs his recommendations.