GOP’s Hutchinson, Coleman file to vie, Cotton to go higher

Opening day sees 136 sign up to seek federal, state posts

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --2/24/2014--
Curtis Coleman is surrounded by supporters at the state Capitol as he files to run for Republican gubernatorial candidate during the first day of a filing period for candidates in this year's elections.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN --2/24/2014-- Curtis Coleman is surrounded by supporters at the state Capitol as he files to run for Republican gubernatorial candidate during the first day of a filing period for candidates in this year's elections.

Two Republican candidates for governor and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tom Cotton filed papers Monday to run for office on the first day of filing for state and federal offices in this year’s election.

Former U.S Rep. Asa Hutchinson of Rogers and businessman Curtis Coleman of Little Rock, who are running for the Republican nomination for governor, and Cotton of Dardanelle, the state’s 4th District congressman, are among 136 candidates who filed to run for either state or federal office, said Alex Reed, a spokesman for Secretary of State Mark Martin.

Joshua Drake of Hot Springs filed as a Green Party candidate for governor, and Mark Swaney of Huntsville filed as a Green party candidate for U.S. Senate.

Candidates for prosecuting attorney posts, the U.S. House, the Legislature, the judiciary and various state constitutional offices also filed.

The filing period runs through Monday.

During a news conference on the steps of the state Capitol, Hutchinson said Arkansas is “at a turning point as to whether we have a period of excellence in education, job creation and in efficiency in government, and that’s the vision that I want to bring to the state of Arkansas.”

He said he and his wife hail from “very blue-collar backgrounds” - noting that his father was a poultry farmer and her father was a tire salesman. His campaign, he promised, will reflect “the incredibly wonderful diversity of Arkansas, that will also be reflected in my administration as governor.”

Hutchinson again declined to take a position on whether the Republican-controlled Legislature should reauthorize the use of federal funds to purchase private health insurance for low-income Arkansans in fiscal 2015 - which is called the private option.

“I have intentionally stayed out of it. One, because you only have one governor at a time. I don’t have a vote in the process, and so I am talking to [lawmakers]. I understand the difficulty because this all started in Washington, D.C., with passage of the Affordable Care Act that has caused enormous disruption in our health-care systems, including Arkansas, and they are trying to work it out, so I want to give them the latitude,” he said.

Coleman said he’ll beat Hutchinson in the May 20 primary “with hard work and a ground team and the best message in Arkansas.

“I think people are looking for a leader with a strong vision for Arkansas, and I think that comes from us,” said Coleman, who has been a staunch foe of the private option.

Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe is barred from seeking re-election under the state’s term-limits amendment. Mike Ross, a former 4th District congressman, has said he will be filing to seek the Democratic nomination for governor.

Cotton - who wants to oust two-term U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Little Rock - described filing for office as “just one more step along the road to victory this fall and helping send a conservative to the U.S. Senate so we can have a conservative governing majority there.

“I think Arkansans are ready for a change. They’re ready to move the state in a new direction, to turn around some of the damage that’s been caused by the Obama agenda and to start getting Arkansas back to work,” he said.

State Rep. Andy Mayberry of East End and U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin of Little Rock each filed Monday to run for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.

Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Darr of Springdale resigned Feb. 1 after he was fined $11,000 by the state Ethics Commission for improper spending of campaign and taxpayer funds. Some legislators threatened to impeach him if he didn’t resign.

Mayberry said he’ll be the first candidate for lieutenant governor to advocate for abolition of the office.

In 2015, the Legislature could refer a proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the lieutenant governor’s office, effective in 2019, to the voters in the 2016 general election, so he “would effectively be a one-term lieutenant governor,” if voters approve the amendment, the Mayberry said.

He said five states don’t have a lieutenant governor’s office and three of them require the secretary of state to succeed the governor if the governor is no longer able to serve. The Senate president tempore could preside over the Senate rather than the lieutenant governor, he said, and he’s not sure the state needs someone to serve as acting governor when the governor goes out of the state, which is now part of the lieutenant governors’ duties.

Griffin said the office should be kept, noting that two lieutenant governors have been promoted to governor in the past 22 years.

The last two lieutenant governors promoted policies during their campaigns - a state lottery and a state website on state spending - that were enacted into law, he said.

Griffin said he wants to push for “comprehensive tax reform” in the state as lieutenant governor.

Two Republicans - state Rep. Ann Clemmer of Benton and businessman French Hill of Little Rock - and a Democrat, former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Hays, filed for the 2nd Congressional District seat held by Griffin.

Clemmer said she’s feeling “poorer” after paying a $15,000 filing fee to run for Congress but she’s feeling good about her chances in the race because of an outpouring of support.

Hill said fewer people are working in the congressional district than in September 2008 and “so everywhere you go that’s the issue.”

Hays said he’s wants to “take a new voice to Washington and to take a little city-hall sensibility up to Congress, and that’s what we intend to do.”

Democrat James Lee Witt of Dardanelle, a former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and state House Republican leader Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs filed Monday for the 4th Congressional District seat held by Cotton.

Witt said his experience in government should help him in the race.

“We’ve been listening to people, and they’re telling us some of the issues they’re concerned with - jobs, job training, education and economic development,” he said.

Westerman said his experience will set him apart from Hot Springs Republican Tommy Moll, who has said he plans to seek the congressional seat, too.

“We don’t know who is going to file for sure yet, but right now, I believe from the field I know, I am the only one with a [voting] record. I have the life experience and I’ve got the political experience. Plus I have a voting record that I’m proud of and I think that voters in the 4th District will support,” he said.

State Court of Appeals Judge Rhonda Wood of Conway filed to run for state Supreme Court position No. 7.

To kick off the start of the filing period Monday at noon, Rob Hammons, the elections director for the secretary of state’s office, counted down from 10 to one, banged a gavel and announced that “filing begins” with several dozen people on hand.

Moments later, state Sen. Cecil Bledsoe, R-Rogers, was the first candidate to file. She said she had been waiting in line since 10:30 a.m.

“I am running for my last term, and I’ve never been first before, so I thought I would get here early and be No. 1,” said Bledsoe, who has served in the Senate since 2009 and was in the state House of Representatives from 1999-2005.

She said she was pleased that she got there first.“In years past there has been a line very early, but [Monday] there wasn’t.

“I always expect an opponent, so I am ready if I have one,” said Bledsoe, the chairman of the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 02/25/2014

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