A Fort Smith attorney announced her intention Wednesday to run for the House seat now held by Rep. Mat Pitsch.
The District 76 seat is open because Pitsch, R-Fort Smith, said last month that he would run for Sen. Jake Files' seat in 2018. Files, also a Republican from Fort Smith, said he did not plan to seek re-election. No other candidates have yet announced an intention to run for the House seat in the 2018 election.
Kelly Procter-Pierce, a 51-year-old Republican, said if elected to the District 76 seat she would be an advocate for overhauling the state foster care system. She noted the area has a high number of foster children compared with the rest of the state.
State data show that about 24 percent of the state's foster children come from Sebastian County, the bordering counties and Johnson and Yell counties. The area accounts for 9.6 percent of Arkansas' population.
"Fort Smith, Ark., and the surrounding area does not have a disproportionate bunch of bad families. We just don't. So there has to be some other reasons that are compounding the issue," she said. "There are some problems with [the Department of Human Services] itself."
District 76 stretches from the Arkansas River in the north to near Howard Hill Road in the south. The district -- mostly to the east of Interstate 540 -- encompasses the Fort Smith Regional Airport.
Procter-Pierce said the area has been hit hard by job losses. She said lessening the size of government to promote business would be a key goal if elected.
"Fort Smith has lost so many factories. We've lost so much of our middle-class income in this area. We've got to do something to help people," she said. "Whirlpool is gone. Trane -- just a few weeks ago -- put their last air conditioner together locally."
Procter-Pierce touted her experience in the legal community. She holds an undergraduate degree, a juris doctorate and a master's in law from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She said she has represented clients in and around the Arkansas River Valley for more than 20 years.
She serves as a board member and volunteer attorney for the Center for Arkansas Legal Services, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal services to low-income individuals.
"We have some wonderful legislators that are really compassionate and really passionate about trying to make a difference, but without having the legal knowledge, the legal training to know what the practical application is to the laws that they're passing to you and I and the everyday guy out there -- they're impeded a little bit," Procter-Pierce said. "There are some times when it's good to have a lawyer with some experience."
Metro on 06/09/2017