Williams, Gaines vie for GOP House seat

SPRINGDALE -- The Republican primary for Springdale's District 89 state House race is between a Washington County government veteran and a Springdale Planning Commission member who said he is open to all perspectives.

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Charles Gaines, a candidate for a state House race in Springdale.

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Jeff Williams, a candidate for a state House race in Springdale.

"I haven't been here 50 years, but I'm not 50 years old yet," quipped Charles Gaines, who is running against former Washington County Assessor Jeff Williams. Sitting district Rep. Micah Neal, R-Springdale, is not running for re-election. Neal seeks election as Washington County judge instead.

Arkansas House

District 89

Republican primary

Charles Gaines

Age: 27

Residency: Springdale; six-year resident of the area

Employment: Assistant director of development, J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas

Education: Bachelor’s degree in sociology, Abilene Christian University

Political Experience: Member, Springdale Planning Commission

Jeff Williams

Age: 53

Residency: Springdale; 24-year resident

Employment: Owner, Williams and Associates Property Tax Management LLC of Springdale

Education: Bachelor’s degree in microbiology, University of Arkansas

Political Experience: Washington County assessor, 2011-15; Springdale City Council, 2003-04

The winner of the March 1 primary will face Democrat Irvin Camacho.

The decisions of Neal and Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, to bow out from the Legislature in this election resulted in three seats falling open in the Springdale delegation. Rep. Lance Eads, R-Springdale, also decided to leave his seat and run for Woods' position.

Gaines' appointment to the Springdale Planning Commission gives him insight into the city's needs and issues, he said. He also said his experience as an assistant director of development at the University of Arkansas is relevant to the task of being a House member.

"I'm a fundraiser at the university and 95 percent of that job is building relationships. That's the position I want to fill for Northwest Arkansas and District 89," Gaines said.

Williams cited his experience.

"It really just comes down to that," Williams said.

As a former member of the Lowell Planning Commission, a former Springdale City Council member and a former official in county government, "I know what it's like to go to the state Capitol and stand on the stairs while convincing a legislator to either promote something or try to kill it."

"There are very few people who know the district as well as I do -- not just the concerns of the district, but the people themselves," Williams said.

The district is rapidly changing, ethnically, socially and economically, Gaines said. It needs a representative who will listen to all sides and find common ground among its constituencies. "The district is multifaceted and multiethnic," Gaines said. "There are some tensions. Representing that is like playing chess, only in 3-D."

"I was going door-to-door and one person I met said he was a convicted felon," Gaines said. "He couldn't vote so I might as well go to the next door, he said. We talked anyway. I wanted to know his concerns. When we were done, he said, 'I can't vote for you, but I have three sons who can.'"

"At the end of the day, people want the best representative for their issues," Gaines said.

Nothing promotes a better understanding of the changes in the district than living through them, Williams said. "I live off (U.S.) 412. I have Latinos for neighbors on both sides of me and a Marshallese neighbor across the street," Williams said. "I know them, they know me and I can and will represent all groups effectively."

"My business is there, my home is there and I've raised my kids there," Williams said of the district. "I would not have any trouble knowing what the people of the 89th District would want me to do on an issue."

On health care, both candidates said in separate interviews that the there is much more work to do than simply deciding whether or not to keep the "Arkansas Works" system, formerly known as private option.

"People want to know if you support option 'A' or option 'B' on an issue," Gaines said. "Nine-tenths of the time I'm for option 'C.' I'm not for a solution found prior to a visit at the table. I'm for listening to all sides and finding a new solution."

Like it or not, federal health care reform is "the law of the land," Williams said.

"We can either let the feds run it or have Arkansas control some of its destiny. I prefer that we keep trying to adapt the system as much as we can."

NW News on 02/01/2016

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