w/mug, infoboxes

Springdale Contest A Factor In State Senate Majority

By Doug Thompson

[email protected]

SPRINGDALE — Whether Democrats or Republicans will hold the majority in the state Senate hangs in the balance this election, both parties say. Washington County’s only contested Senate race will help decide that issue.

Rep. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, unseated incumbent Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins, in the GOP primary. Diana Gonzales Worthen, an educator, is his Democratic opponent.

Woods cited his experience as a lawmaker and said he would oppose tax increases. Worthen cited a 25-year career as an educator and said she is a better consensus-builder who can see all sides of an issue.

“Voters view me as somebody who stands up on principle,” Woods said. “When it’s time to rock the boat, it’s time to rock the boat.”

“I’ve been in the minority party my entire six years in the House, and I still got the umbilical cord blood bank started,” Woods said. He was lead sponsor on the 2007 bill that set up the bank, which draws blood rich in stem cells from umbilical cords. This allows some types of stem cell research without use of fertilized human embryos. Woods also cited his work in toughening state laws against sexual predators against children as an example of his work as a lawmaker.

Woods is tied to business and city leaders, Worthen said. While she enjoys good relations with those leaders, Worthen said she has a better understanding of the needs of working families.

“I’ve been an educator for 25 years and have worked with hundreds of families,” she said. “Even though he’s been in the House for three terms, I’m not sure he has the pulse of the community. He voted against a tobacco tax that opened a medical school in Fayetteville and provided money to community clinics in his district.”

“He promised no votes in favor of new taxes and has been faithful to that pledge, but the district needs support systems and infrastructure,” Worthen said. “I’ve always been a good listener and problem-solver, but I don’t solve problems by myself.”

Gov. Mike Beebe supports a proposed expansion of Medicaid, a health coverage plan for the poor. Woods said he has reservations about the expansion. Worthen said she is generally in favor of the expansion, but the issue is not as simple as either side in the debate describes it.

“The $400 million gorilla in the room is the Medicaid shortfall we have right now,” Woods said. “The main priority is to make sure the 750,000 people we have on Medicaid already are taken care of. Then we can decide if we want up to one-third of the people in this state on the Medicaid rolls.”

“I am definitely not on board” with the expansion,” Woods said. “I vote with Beebe when I think he’s right, but I’m not afraid to vote against him.”

Worthen speaks Spanish and Woods doesn’t. She can represent the Spanish-speaking community better than Woods, but that doesn’t mean she will give that community better representation than the rest of the district, she said.

“I’m here for the people of the district,” she said. “I see my ethnicity and being bilingual as icing on the cake. I can represent a business owner whether the business owner speaks English or not.”

Woods owns a consulting business, but his main job is a lawmaker, he said. He is able to afford this because he holds no mortgage or other significant debt, Woods said.

“I’m a full-time legislator,” he said.

Worthen runs a program that helps school districts teach students who do not have a mastery of the English language, an experience that gives her insight into the problems schools face, she said.