The federal trial of Jon Woods will determine whether the former state senator from Springdale and his co-defendant are guilty of violating laws, but the testimony so far offers its own indictment of accountability in Arkansas government.
What’s the point?
The public corruption case going on in federal court in Fayetteville has exposed a lack of accountability, which is essential for good government.
We and our readers are following reporter Doug Thompson's excellent day-to-day coverage of the trial, which is expected to last at least another week or two. Jurors will determine whether the men being tried did anything illegal, but it's clear Woods, other lawmakers and state government more generally have done a lousy job watching out for the people's interests.
Woods was indicted in March 2017, accused of a kickback scheme involving grants issued in 2013 and 2014 from the state General Improvement Fund. Two alleged co-conspirators -- Randell Shelton, formerly of Alma, and Oren Paris III, former president of Ecclesia College -- were indicted with Woods. Former state Rep. Micah Neal, of Springdale, pleaded guilty for his part in the scheme on Jan. 4, 2017.
The case presented so far details a loosely controlled state system -- Neal called it a "slush fund" on the stand -- in which, at a minimum, everyone involved ignored the cynical manipulation of weak controls for the purpose of spending tax dollars on a family-run private college that has no business benefiting from public money to begin with.
Some have admitted to corruption. Neal pleaded guilty to it and is helping with the prosecution's case against Woods and Shelton. Paris has also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and will testify for the prosecution.
Ecclesia College "mentors effective leaders to strengthen the foundations of society through the life and values of Christ," according to the school. We respect any private school that wants to offer educational opportunities from a foundation of faith, but do not ask taxpayers to support it. Maybe it should be no surprise that Republican state lawmakers willing to support construction of a monument to the Ten Commandments on the state Capitol grounds would also be so eager to funnel tax dollars to this private, religious-based school.
This financially shaky institution should have never once been considered an appropriate expenditure of taxpayers dollars, yet so many lawmakers saw it, we suppose, as their God-given mission to shore it up through the General Improvement Fund program. That program was actually promoted as offering more accountability for the previous legislator-controlled grants, but what it really became was a sham providing camouflage for lawmakers who still pulled the strings. If a lawmaker wanted something funded, it happened. If the lawmakers didn't, you're out of luck.
According to testimony in court, it took no time for a representative of the Walton Family Foundation to recognize Ecclesia College wasn't everything its advocates wanted people to believe. The college hoped to earn some grants from the foundation, which is clearly smarter about its money than state officials are with taxpayers' dollars. "I wondered if it was economically viable," the Walton representative said regarding his thoughts after he toured Ecclesia at the behest of former state Rep. Tim Summers of Bentonville.
And yet legislators were more than ready to throw money at it. More than $700,000. Why? There's no good reason other than perhaps the glee they must have felt at finally getting to spend some of Arkansas tax dollars on religion. Or, if the allegations in trial are true, because money was changing hands in multiple directions.
But wait, there's more. According to testimony, state employees at the direction of lawmakers worked on legislation to benefit Ecclesia and companies that recycle roofing shingles. Turns out Woods, Shelton and Paris had financial interests in a shingle recycling venture, according to court records.
To keep this parade of ridiculous un-accountability going, we learn Ecclesia received a $50,000 grant before it even applied for it. On a different one, it missed the deadline for applying but why not keep shoveling more money that way?
It may be that by grace one is saved, but our state lawmakers so willing to ship taxpayers dollars to this Bible college appear to have subscribed to the mistaken notion one can buy his way into Heaven. That's proof of a need for deeper study of Scripture, but not justification for propping up a private church school with taxpayer money.
Woods and Shelton may or may not be guilty of illegal acts. That's for the courts to decide. But it's clear from this court case that a whole collection of lawmakers -- Neal, Bart Hester of Cave Springs, Bob Ballinger of Hindsville, Charlie Collins of Fayetteville, Jana Della Rosa of Rogers, Jim Dotson of Bentonville, Stephen Meeks of Greenbriar, Randy Alexander of Springdale, Michael Lamoureux of Russellville -- and other state employees or elected officials were content to send money, through a system that lacks accountability, to an institution that wasn't and should not be the responsibility of Arkansas taxpayers.
The entire system was ripe for anyone who wanted to abuse it to easily find a way to do it. Fort Smith's Jake Files acknowledged doing it. Micah Neal has acknowledged doing it. And all these other folks stood by and allowed it to happen by embracing a give-away program in which lawmakers promoted themselves on the backs of Arkansas taxpayers.
If nothing else comes of all this, we hope everyone in Arkansas will recognize that not all bureaucratic red tape is bad. Formal processes and real oversight that takes spending decisions out of individuals' hands is a necessity to protect the people of this state from those willing to manipulate government to their own ends.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson recently said the General Improvement Fund is "history," but held out the possibility of a competitive grant program administered by the executive branch to help "communities in terms of their unique needs."
If that's the direction Arkansas government want to go, Job No. 1 will be establishing a system that guards against the abuses that apparently are so tempting when millions of dollars taken through governmental power are in play.
Everything that's becoming public now is a result of lax oversight by design of our state Legislature and by acquiescence of other state officials and employees.
Arkansas officials either need to be acutely accountable with taxpayer dollars or stop taking them from us.
Commentary on 04/22/2018