The state Senate District 7 contest in Springdale and Elkins pits two longtime supporters of Gov. Asa Hutchinson against each other in the Republican primary.
There is no incumbent in the race. Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, decided against running again days before the candidate filing deadline ended in November.
The winner of the district's March 1 primary faces no opposition in the November general election. The District 7 race is one of only three contested primaries for the 35-member state Senate this year.
State Rep. Lance Eads, R-Springdale, said he joined the District 7 contest after Hutchinson asked him to.
Washington County Justice of the Peace Sharon Lloyd of Springdale had already filed for the office. Lloyd supported Hutchinson for governor. The governor appointed Lloyd to her Quorum Court seat last year to fill a vacancy.
But she and the governor disagree over several issues, Lloyd said, including health care policy.
"He needs this Senate vote for Arkansas Works, and he knows I oppose it," Lloyd said.
"Arkansas Works," formerly known as the private option, accepts federal taxpayer money to pay for health care for lower-income Arkansans. The program's budget must be approved every session.
"That was the big issue between us, but there were others. For instance, he recently sought support for an increase in the gas tax. I would oppose that. He knows I do my own research and make my own decisions."
The change sought by the governor, now dropped, would have extended the state sales tax to gasoline and offset the added cost to Arkansans with cuts to the state income tax.
"The governor is looking for a yes man," Lloyd said. "I support Asa. I went door to door for him. But I don't want to be just a rubber stamp."
Eads said he has a good working relationship with both the governor and with legislative leaders, but his relationship with the people he represents is older and stronger. He has lived in Northwest Arkansas for more than 40 years and has forged many relationships as a vice president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce.
"There are literally a thousand or more members I've met through the chamber, and one or more of them will know something about any issue that comes up," Eads said. "I call that person and say, 'Hey, you know about this. This affects you. What do you think?' That's what I'm supposed to do. You represent people.
"I listen to other people, but I'm my own person and I make up my own mind," Eads said.
Eads said he hasn't made any promises on health care changes.
"I'm going to make my decision based on what saves the state the most money and provides the most opportunity. I'm going to look at all the possible solutions," he said.
Eads added he also opposed changing the gas tax.
"I don't think there was any appetite for that at all among the voters," Eads said. "The recession had gone on a long time and people were finally feeling a little relief. Taxing their gas would have been like pulling the rug out from under them."
Eads served one term in the House after unseating Rep. Randy Alexander, R-Springdale. Eads was chief legislative sponsor of a successful effort to amend the state's constitution to allow local entities to issue economic development bonds backed by local taxes.
"That's the ultimate in local control," Eads said.
One important aspect of that amendment is often overlooked, he said. The state has authority to issue bonds to build "super projects," such as financing for a major new factory. That authority is limited. In the unlikely but possible event that two worthy projects considered coming to Arkansas in the same year, the state would be forced to choose one, Eads said. With the new amendment, the state could finance one and a local community could finance the other, he said.
"Creating opportunity for Arkansas is one reason I got into the Legislature," Eads said.
Lloyd's priority as a legislator would be education, she said. She is a special education teacher in the Springdale School District who obtained a leave of absence to run for office.
"I'm very passionate about education and would not forget teachers when I go to Little Rock," she said.
She and her husband also run a small business, Extreme Athletics, a baseball and softball training facility. They are very aware of business-related issues, so business owners should have no fear that their concerns won't be represented if they choose her over a chamber employee, she said.
"I was going door to door and met a day care provider who gave me an earful," Lloyd said. "We talked and talked about all the state and federal regulations she had to comply with, right down to what kind of stove she could use. That's one of the reasons I want to go into government, to stop things like that. We're smart people. We know how to run our businesses."
Lloyd's been active as a worker and organizer in Republican politics for years, but she didn't seek office while she had children at home, she said. She was a paid staff member of President George W. Bush's campaign in Arkansas in 2000 and of Sen. Tim Hutchinson's unsuccessful re-election bid in 2002, she said. She is also immediate past president of the Washington County Republican Women.
She decided to oppose Woods' expected run for re-election because he supported lengthening term limits, she said. Woods sponsored a constitutional amendment, approved by the voters, that expanded a legislator's eligibility to 16 years. This was an increase from six in the House and at least eight in the Senate.
"I'm a firm believer in term limits," Lloyd said. "I don't think a professional political class is what the founders wanted."
Eads had some reservations about running for the Senate after one term in the House, he said.
"On that Wednesday I was still running for state representative," Eads said of the week before filing closed on Nov. 9. "Then I was contacted by the governor. It was short notice, and I had to decide whether to give up an unopposed House seat."
Metro on 02/04/2016