Williams Enters Bentonville House Race

City Council Member Runs As Benton County Democrat

BENTONVILLE — Bentonville voters want more attention paid to public education, protecting the business climate and better funding for NorthWest Arkansas Community College, said Leah Williams, a City Council member who announced her candidacy for state representative Thursday.

“People want to see things get done that matter,” Williams said, saying the city’s current House representative focuses too much on conservative causes that already enjoy broad support in the Legislature.

State House, District 93

Leah Williams

Democrat

Age: 30

Residency: Bentonville since 2010; Born in Milwaukee

Family: husband, Michael; four children

Employment: homemaker, part-time bus driver for Bentonville School District, 2012 to present; headquarters staff for Walmart, 2010 to 2012; Security specialist, Lockheed-Martin Corp., 2008 to 2010; Case worker, Salvation Army, 2007 to 2008.

Education: Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, University of Memphis, 2008.

Military Experience: None

Political Experience: Bentonville City Council, 2013 to present.

Williams, a Democrat, is running for the District 93 seat in the state House of Representatives. Incumbent Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, is running for a second term.

Dotson has drawn opposition in the Republican primary from another Bentonville City Council member. Challenger Bill Burkart also said when he announced Dotson focuses too much on conservative causes at the expense of issues facing Bentonville. Dotson replied he has no apologies for being conservative.

Williams would support charter school initiatives in Bentonville in the Legislature, she said. Charter schools are public schools given leeway under state regulations to try new approaches to education. Williams would also support keeping taxes low to help business. Her term on the council has given her a close look at issues the district faces, she said.

Williams is running as a Democrat in the historically Republican district because a thriving area should have a thriving two-party system, she said. “A district with the number-one retailer in the world and all the vitality we have there isn’t represented well by one party, whatever party that is,” she said, referring to Walmart. “This gives people options,” she said of her bid. Benton County hasn’t had a Democratic House member since 1994, according to state records.

NWACC gets far less than the average amount of per-student state spending as other two-year colleges, and fixing that needs to be a priority, Williams said.

Williams worked at Walmart headquarters in their legal division before leaving to be with her four children, ages two to seven years. Her husband works at the retailer’s headquarters. Williams grew up in Milwaukee, lived in Tennessee after marriage and moved to Bentonville in 2010 after she and her husband visited the city and decided he would accept Walmart’s job offer.

Walmart would be a constituent of hers if she was elected and she would represent the firm and its employees to the best of her ability, she said. She drives a bus for the Bentonville School District, with two of her children as riders, she said.

No black woman, Democrat or Republican, has ever been elected to the state House from Benton County, according to state records. Bentonville electing a black woman as state representative would surprise more people outside her district than inside it, Williams said. “You should see me at state conventions for city council members,” she quipped. “People come up to me and say, ‘So where are you from? Magnolia? Camden?’ When I say ‘Bentonville,’ I get this:” She fixed her gaze and stared for a second.

“Northwest Arkansas is the driving force in this state’s economy, and I think people all over the state should have an accurate perception of us,” Williams said. “We’re a dynamic area. We aren’t all one of anything.”

story created on Thursday 2/13/2014 at 5:11:34 pm by Doug Thompson

story modified on Thursday 2/13/2014 at 7:16:15 pm by John Nebling

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