Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow, so that means Arkansas' primary election comes early.
Or maybe we're a little mixed up on that particular piece of American lore.
Regardless of the prognosticating predilections of the meteorological marmot, here we are in mid-February and the early voting for party primaries and the state's judicial elections is about to get under way. We Arkansans usually line up to make party picks in May of election years, but lawmakers in Little Rock got all amped up about being part of what's known as "Super Tuesday," champing at the bit to wield some wee bit of influence on presidential politics.
So candidates facing opposition in the primary or judicial elections had to put on their insulated boots and heavy coats to spend time knocking on doors over the last few months. It's certainly no New Hampshire, thank goodness, but campaigning in Arkansas in the spring is a lot more fun.
So what's that mean here on the editorial page? It means endorsements in mid-February. Today kicks them off and we'll have a few more to follow.
Newspapers have been offering editorial page endorsements for candidates since, well, newspapers became a thing. We offer information and opinions about important community, state, national and international issues on this page all year long, so why would we run silent on a matter of such importance as who leads?
Reporters have their jobs to do -- and we love them for it -- but none of them have anything to do with the opinions expressed on this page.
We interview candidates and, like many voters, study up on their campaign materials and read stories about forums where candidates speak. We try to evaluate their knowledge of issues and their ability to think through them.
What we don't try to do is force any particularly political viewpoint onto, say, every legislative district, because we recognize voters in downtown Fayetteville are very different than voters in rural Benton County, for example. To suggest those areas should have the same kind of political representation is folly. But, staying with our example of the state Legislature, every district needs well-informed and smart representatives who are willing to listen, evaluate and cast votes based on knowledge and constituent feedback.
How should readers use this information? In short, however you want. We offer endorsements as one piece of the election puzzle, but we hope voters will also avail themselves of as much information as they can to make informed choices. Sure, if a voter knows absolutely nothing about a race, we'd hope they'd take our recommendations at face value. Otherwise, we suggest our recommendations as just one factor in reaching a conclusion.
So, let's get busy with a few contested primary races for the Arkansas House of Representatives.
Arkansas House of Representatives
District 90
In this district serving south Rogers, Lowell to Bethel Heights and areas just south of the regional airport, two candidates are challenging three-term incumbent Jana Della Rosa for the Republican nomination to face Democrat Kelly Krout in November. The challengers are Chris Latimer and Kendon Underwood.
Della Rosa has been a strong lawmaker in the House, wielding influence hard earned through engagement in the legislative process. In this campaign and the last, she's been challenged as not conservative enough. Note that the criticism isn't that Della Rosa isn't conservative -- she is -- but to run against a successful incumbent in the GOP primary the mantra has to be that she's insufficiently so.
She's undoubtedly an independent and practical thinker, and that means she sometimes runs afoul of colleagues whose view of GOP politics incorrectly assumes groupthink is a way of life. The people of District 90 deserve a conservative candidate who recognizes not every bill filed by a fellow conservative makes sense in governing the state.
Incumbents don't deserve reelection solely because they hold the office, but they also shouldn't be tossed aside without regard to the legislative experience the district's voters would be giving up. In the case of District 90, Della Rosa offers solidly conservative representation by a House member nonetheless unafraid to buck the trend when necessary.
District 91
This district covers an area generally around Centerton south to near Cave Springs, then west past Gentry to the state line and south circling around the east side of Siloam Springs. It's been represented by Dan Douglas, who is not running for reelection to the seat he's held for four terms.
Voters will pick from among three Republicans in the primary -- Delia Haak, Scott Richardson and Jorge Becker. The Republican who wins in the primary (or a runoff, if necessary) will face Democrat Nick Jones in November.
Some may remember Haak, a 40-year resident of the area, for her years as executive director of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership, now headquartered in Cave Springs, but she and her husband also operate a small dairy in rural Benton County. Fiscally and socially conservative, she has demonstrated a capacity to bring varied interests together. We're convinced she would would work well with lawmakers from across the state to govern through reason and practicality. She's served on the state's Pollution Control and Ecology Commission since being appointed last year by Gov. Asa Hutchinson and chaired the Arkansas-Oklahoma Arkansas River Compact Commission.
Haak has shown a capacity to grasp complex issues that will no doubt be important to the future years of population and development growth in her district. We recommend a vote for her in the primary.
District 94
Three-term incumbent Rebecca Petty decided against seeking a fourth term, opening the door for GOP candidates Adrienne Woods and John P. Carr in a contest to face Democrat Jené Huffman-Gilreath in November.
Huffman-Gilreath ran well two years ago in challenging Petty, so whoever the GOP voters select March 3 will need to be a strong candidate with a clear capacity to address complex issues. Adrienne Woods is that candidate, and it's really no contest who is best qualified to represent the party and, perhaps after November, the people of District 94. Woods has extensive experience with helping get other GOP candidates elected, and has a strong command of the necessary analysis skills a good lawmaker must have. Woods checks all the conservative boxes, but if elected in November will also be well-armed with her political and legal background to engage the many interests lobbying lawmakers in Little Rock for the benefit of District 94 and the state. Woods is an impressive candidate GOP voters would be wrong not to take advantage of.
Commentary on 02/16/2020