House veteran versus businesswoman in Senate race

FAYETTEVILLE -- The state Senate District 4 race pits one of the state's most experienced House members against an opponent who says the veteran has too little to show for his time in office.

Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, ranks second in House seniority. He entered the chamber the same year as leader Rep. Stephen Meeks, R-Greenbrier. Seniority between lawmakers taking office the same year is decided by a drawing of lots.

What matters is what a lawmaker can accomplish, said Dawn Clemence, his Republican opponent.

Sen. Uvalde Lindsey, D-Fayetteville, isn't running for re-election in the district, leaving big shoes to fill, Leding said. He doesn't presume he can fully replace Lindsey, Leding said, but will come the closest of the candidates. "No one in the House has served longer than I have, and I've served longer that a third of the members of the Senate," Leding said. Leding also served one term as House minority leader for the Democrats.

Leding has served Democratic causes more than district ones, Clemence said. She would be less partisan and more results-oriented, she said.

"I'm a pragmatist," Clemence said. "I'm not a righty or a lefty. My opponent seems proud to be left of the Democrats at the Capitol."

"He's not Uvalde Lindsey," Clemence said. "He's not your traditional, hard-working Arkansas Democrat."

Senate District 4 includes almost all of Fayetteville and Farmington, all of Greenland and small portions of West Fork and Prairie Grove. It includes much of rural, eastern Washington County.

Both candidates said they support technical education to improve the skills of local workers.

"Northwest Arkansas has a fantastic economy, and one-fourth of our kids still go hungry," Leding said. The region needs to look more into transportation and housing issues because of such persistent poverty, he said.

Clemence said she worked her way through college, the first of her family to graduate, and knows first-hand the value of improving skills and the difficulties in doing that. The region could become "a laid-back Silicon Valley" with the right training and emphasis, she said.

Practical matters such as job training need attention and focus, not declarations of support, Clemence said.

"He renamed a dinosaur and supports gun control legislation that has no chance of going anywhere," Clemence said of Leding.

This race isn't a contest between a pro-gun rights candidate versus gun restriction advocate as much as it's a choice between someone who will focus on district needs that can be attained versus a sponsor of causes lost before legislation is filed, she said.

Leding said he worked with notably conservative Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, on landowner protection measures and other issues. He is able to work with conservatives in the Northwest Arkansas delegation effectively while still representing one of the most Democratic House districts in the state, he said.

Leding brought up the matter of unlikely legislation he has proposed before, such as early sponsorship of a bill to ratify the federal Equal Rights Amendment.

"I represent one of the most progressive districts in the state," Leding said. "You are not being a representative if you do not at least try to accomplish what the people in the district want. I am proud I tried to move the needle. You don't know if something has zero chance of passing if you don't try."

State senators serve four-year terms and are paid $40,188 a year.

Early voting in the Nov. 6 general election begins Monday.

NW News on 10/19/2018