Candidates for the Arkansas House District 6 that covers Eureka Springs, Holiday Island and a large area in Carroll and Boone counties, have big contrasts. Incumbent Harlan Breaux, 77, (R-Holiday Island), marches in lockstep with the Republican supermajority in Little Rock.
Rick Delaney, (D-Eureka Springs) is liberal and progressive, and wants to see the legislature stop waging culture wars and giving tax breaks to the rich, and instead implement policies to improve healthcare, education and the economy of Arkansas.
Libertarian Dakota Logan of Eureka Springs is also running. The third largest political party in the county, the Libertarian Party, promotes civil liberties and limiting to the size and scope of government. Logan will be featured next week in the Oct. 30 ESI.
The House position pays about $44,000 per year, plus travel expenses.
A member of the House since 2019, Breaux wants to keep Arkansas the most pro-life state in the country and supports the school voucher program for public funding of private, including religious, schools.
Breaux said he is most proud of legislation he introduced in 2019 to make it illegal to have financial transactions for abortions.
“Abortion should only be in medical emergencies,” Breaux said. “I want the Bible to be my moral compass because it says that no innocent blood shall be shed. I have co-authored just about anything to do with pro-life.”
Despite more than 100,000 people signing a petition to put abortion rights on the ballot, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a Secretary of State decision to block the vote based on a technicality. Pro-choice advocates said the decision was unjustified and interfered with constitutional rights for direct democracy, and Breaux said he thinks it would have been OK if the issue had been put on the ballot.
Regarding the controversial LEARNS Act that provides tax money for private schools, Breaux said most people he’s talked to think it is great. “There is a group that does not want money taken from the public schools, but that is why it is called educational freedom,” Breaux, who is retired from Alcoa Corp., said. “It gives more freedom of choice to the parents. It is all about parents having the choice about their child’s education.”
The Arkansas LEARNS Education Act that would have put the issue on the ballot fell 1,000 signatures short. That act would have required private schools to meet the same standards as public schools regarding test scores and admitting any student, even those with learning disabilities.
Breaux said he gets asked why public schools and private schools use different tests to evaluate how much students have learned. “The private schools can choose three or different tests because they are moving at a different pace than the public schools,” Breaux said. “That is the reason for that.”
Other legislation he said he is proud of supporting is banning transwomen in women’s high school sports, banning teaching critical race theory indoctrination in school, and banning Chinese ownership of Arkansas farmland.
A hot local issue has been the proposed $400-million Nimbus Wind Farm near Green Forest. Breaux said he can’t see anything good about that project.
He is also proud that the state has run a budget surplus and the legislature has cut income taxes three times, which he said helps corporations, small businesses and individuals. Another effort he has supported is legislation to require longer prison terms for repeat offenders.
When asked what he would hope to accomplish if re-elected, he said he is thankful for being a founding member of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers. That organization allows him to learn from other states about pro-Christian legislation. A bill he expects to pass in the next session would allow chaplains in public schools.
Breaux is a Navy veteran who lives in Holiday Island, which has a lot of veterans. Eureka Springs is far more liberal. But he said he doesn’t see this race often a “Holiday Island versus Eureka” issue.
“There are quite a lot more Democrats in Holiday Island than you might think,” Breaux said. “I am surprised at the number of signs my opponent has in Holiday Island. And there are more Republicans in Eureka Springs than you might think.”
Breaux said what he likes most about the job is helping other people. He considers himself more a servant than a politician.
“That is what I want to be known for,” Breaux said. “If I wasn’t doing this, I would be out helping people in some kind of way. People who understand me know that is what I’m all about. I volunteer at the Cup of Love food ministry and if I weren’t campaigning, I’d like to be over there in North Carolina helping those people devastated by the hurricane.”
What he likes the least about the job is misunderstandings. People have a misconception that it is just a part-time job, but he said it is a full-time job if you are doing it correctly.
“If you call me, I will call you back,” Breaux said. “It takes a lot of time. It is a sacrifice for my family that I am away so much. I really feel that I’m called to do this.”