With the May 24 Republican primary fast approaching, former state senator Bryan King said he appreciated the support he has received during the campaign, especially in Carroll County.
“When I ran against Bob Ballinger in 2018, the voters in Carroll County chose me by a landslide,” King said. At that time, the senate district included parts of Madison and Crawford counties, and Ballinger’s margin in those counties gave him the victory. “Now our district includes Carroll and part of Boone County,” King said. “The voters here know me better, and they know a lot more about my opponent, too.”
King said the newspapers here did an excellent job of letting the voters know about some of the big question marks that followed Ballinger’s time in the Arkansas House of Representatives. King said those questions remain unanswered, and Ballinger blames media bias for the newspaper accounts. “You can probably say the Independent leans to the left,” King said, “but who would think that about Carroll County News?”
In 2018, CCN ran a series of articles about Ballinger’s diversion of state funds that should have been spent in his district. Instead, the money went to a failing college elsewhere in the state. Ballinger was paid for legal work he did for the school. He fought to keep the college’s records from public scrutiny, and even tried to change the state’s Freedom of Information Act, to help keep those records hidden. CCN also detailed Ballinger’s financial woes, including a series of foreclosures.
At campaign stops, King said people are still angry about the infamous $18 trash tax, which has since been overturned by a judge. King voted against the bill in the legislature, but Ballinger voted for it.
In the past four years in the senate, Ballinger has accomplished little for the people of this area, King said. He pointed to the glossy mailers his opponent sends out, which feature a series of tried-and-true catch phrases, but little substance. “Conservatives mostly agree on all the things he lists, but why doesn’t he list the things he’s actually done to make a difference?” King said Ballinger’s lack of production shows up every time he creates another smokescreen to distract the voters. “At the candidate forum in Holiday Island, he claimed ‘Our way of life is under attack from Hollywood.’” King said. “And, sure, we have problems with Hollywood, but we have plenty of challenges right here at home.”