ARKANSAS GOVERNOR'S RACE: For Democrats Henderson, Sanders, pot, schools on radar in their primary

Jared Henderson (left) and Leticia Sanders (right) are shown in this combination photo.
Jared Henderson (left) and Leticia Sanders (right) are shown in this combination photo.

The Democratic gubernatorial primary pits a hair braider who wants to legalize recreational marijuana and a former Teach for America executive who wants Arkansas to become the top state in which to be a public school teacher.

The former, Leticia Sanders of Maumelle, was a surprise candidate for governor when she signed up on March 1, the last day of candidate filing.

The latter, Jared Henderson of Little Rock, announced his bid for his party's nomination in December.

Both are making their first bids for elected office.

They're vying in the May 22 primary election to take on the Republican gubernatorial nominee, who will be either Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Rogers or gun range owner Jan Morgan of Hot Springs, in the fall. The Nov. 6 general election ballot also will include Libertarian candidate Mark West of Batesville.

In their latest campaign finance reports, Sanders reported a campaign treasury of $1,920, and Henderson reported $188,308 in his campaign treasury as of March 31.

MARIJUANA PROPOSAL

Sanders said she wants to change state law to legalize marijuana for any Arkansans 21 years and older, not just those with specific medical conditions. Her proposal would require Arkansans who want to buy marijuana from state-licensed dispensaries to pay a tax of $450 a year.

In 2016, Arkansas approved a constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana grown and dispensed in state. No medical marijuana is currently available. The permitting process is the focus of a court challenge.

"The plan is for it to actually be on their driver's licenses showing that they are recreational tax citizens," Sanders said in a recent interview. She estimates that the tax would raise more than $1 billion a year, based on 2.5 million of the state's more than 3 million residents purchasing recreational marijuana. The recreational marijuana tax wouldn't apply to medical marijuana patients, she said.

The proceeds from the tax could be used for such things as road projects, helping fire departments and "whatever special projects we need," she said.

Henderson said in a recent interview that he doesn't know enough about the proposal to support it or oppose it.

But, he said, "If Arkansas wanted to go down a route to legalize that, I think the best way to do it, as we did with medical [marijuana], is to put it before the people. If people wanted it, I'd support it.

"It is not something that would be a top priority. In my administration in the first few years, we are going to have a full plate with other things," Henderson said.

Still, Henderson said, it's outrageous that "we still haven't found a way to put that into practice," referring to Amendment 98 on medical marijuana.

Sanders said she also wants to change state law to decriminalize marijuana and so reduce the crime rate for nonviolent offenders.

"The drug problem is more of cocaine, crack, heroin, meth, ice, and that contributes to the crime rate. It is not that marijuana contributes to the crime rate. If a person has done a crime, they are on more than just marijuana," she said.

EDUCATION PLANS

The candidates differ on their top education proposals.

Sanders said she wants to create public schools that allow students to attend pre-kindergarten through high school at the same school as a way to increase literacy and graduation rates.

Henderson said, "We need to set a single defining goal in education in 10 years that this is the best place to be a public school teacher." He said the state should conduct a thorough review of the various options to achieve that. He said he plans to hold teacher town-hall meetings across the state in the next three months to gather specific ideas for changes, including developing a plan to dramatically boost teachers' salaries.

Until June, Henderson worked as the state director for four years for Teach for America, a nonprofit group, and recruited college graduates and professionals to teach in low-income areas.

He said he wants to reduce barriers to the creation of small businesses, particularly in rural areas, and make it easier for entrepreneurs to get seed capital and get affordable health insurance.

Henderson also wants high schools and community colleges to provide some basic business training. He said he would like to try to reduce the state's high rate of teenage pregnancies by consulting with local officials to determine which measures used by other states would work in their respective localities.

MEDICAID EXPANSION

Both Henderson and Sanders said they support Arkansas' version of Medicaid expansion that is now called Arkansas Works. The program uses Medicaid funding to provide private health insurance to about 280,000 low-income Arkansans.

"I think we need to protect Medicaid expansion," Henderson said. He opposes Hutchinson's request to the Trump administration to reduce the income threshold eligibility from up to 138 percent of the poverty level to 100 percent, which the state estimates would reduce the number of people on Arkansas Works by about 60,000.

Sanders said she's trying to figure out how Arkansans enrolled in the Medicaid expansion can maintain their health insurance coverage "if an individual can be fired for any reason or any not-given reason."

The Trump administration has approved the state's request for a waiver so it can require able-bodied Arkansas Works recipients ages 19-49 to work, attend school or job training, or volunteer for at least 80 hours a month.

The state pays for 6 percent of the cost of the program this year. Its share of the cost will increase to 7 percent next year and then 10 percent in 2020 under federal law. The Department of Human Services projects the state's cost will be about $135 million in fiscal 2019, which starts July 1, and the federal government's share will be about $1.95 billion.

MINIMUM WAGE

Sanders said she supports raising the state's minimum wage from $8.50 an hour to between $9.50 and $10 an hour.

Asked about raising the state's minimum wage, Henderson said, "I definitely want wages to be higher. I can't tell you what I think the right amount is for Arkansas because our state economy is different than others."

Henderson said he opposes Hutchinson's proposal to reduce the state's top individual income tax rate from 6.9 percent to 6 percent. The cut, if approved by the Legislature in 2019, is projected to reduce state tax revenue by about $180 million a year.

"Especially after we just got some tax relief from Washington, I would rather see that money fund other things like making sure that we have high-quality pre-k everywhere, making sure that we get broadband to every place that doesn't have it yet, and some of that money could be used to fund rural roads and infrastructure in some places," he said.

Henderson said he wants to explore the modernization and simplification of the state tax code and the creation of a state earned income tax credit.

Asked about Hutchinson's tax cut plan, Sanders said on April 16, "I will have to get back to you on that one." She could not be reached for further comment by telephone since then.

ABORTION

Sanders said she would allow for abortions to save the life of the mother and in cases of rape and incest. "Women that have health issues, they should have that right. Women, who are just having relations and getting pregnant and aborting their babies, they should not," she said.

Henderson said, "I think that mothers should have the choice in consultation with their doctors and families and ministers. I would trust a mother to make that decision before [lawmakers] in Little Rock or Washington."

CONCEALED CARRY

Both Henderson and Sanders said they oppose a 2017 law that allows concealed carry license holders, who have up to eight extra hours of training, to carry their concealed firearms on college and university campuses and some other public places.

"I was against that for the safety of others. If a person steps off on the wrong side of the bed, innocent people are being killed," Sanders said. "I think it needs to stay like it was with no weapons on campus."

Henderson said the 2017 law "to me ... is not even a Second Amendment issue.

"That is a local control issue," he said. "Every single college chose to opt out" of allowing concealed weapons on their campuses under a law approved in 2011. The "state Legislature came back and said, 'No, you actually have to have that.' To me, that is just wrong, regardless what you think about the Second Amendment."

photo

Bios of Democratic candidates for Governor

SundayMonday on 04/29/2018

Upcoming Events