ROGERS -- Rep. Jana Della Rosa is running for a third term in the District 90 seat in Rogers, and has competition for it.
Della Rosa, a Republican, has faced opposition each time she has run. She defeated two Republican challengers in 2016, getting more than 64 percent of the vote in the GOP primary that year. Likewise, she defeated two other candidates in the GOP primary for her first term in 2014. In that race she also avoided a runoff by getting a majority of the vote, although with only 52 percent that time. The 2014 race was her first bid for political office.
This year, Della Rosa faces only one primary opponent but will have Democratic opposition for the first time. Della Rosa faces Republican Kendon Underwood in the primary. The winner of that will face Kati McFarland in the general election. District 90 includes parts of Rogers but also includes portions of Bethel Heights, Lowell and Springdale.
The primary is May 22, and the general election Nov. 6. Arkansas House members serve two-year terms and have an annual salary of $39,400. Members can serve 16 years in the Legislature under the state constitution's limit on terms.
Della Rosa, 41, is a homemaker with an industrial engineering degree from the University of Arkansas. She sponsored the bill that will require political contribution records and candidate financial filing reports in a digital, easily searched format. This will be far more accessible to searches than the current paper copies and the copies of those printed documents currently available online. That bill is Act 318 of 2017.
The incumbent is a member of the House Education Committee and also of the chamber's City, County and Local Affairs Committee.
"I will focus most on accountability if I'm re-elected," Della Rosa said. "I don't think we do enough tracking of what we get for the dollar we spend. Another issue I plan to take up is licensing. We passed some reform that allows people in skilled trades who have served in the military to be licensed in those trades when they are no longer serving, but there are still hurdles that shouldn't be there. They are qualified." For instance, electricians and welders have to meet state licensing requirements such as additional training that are redundant for those who have practiced those skills in the service to far more demanding standards than many civilian jobs require.
NW News on 03/06/2018