BENTONVILLE – Attorney Greg Payne of Bentonville has announced his bid for the state House of Representatives.
Payne announced he intends to run for proposed House District 13, which includes portions of Bentonville and Rogers in Benton County.
Payne, 61, moved to Northwest Arkansas from southwest Missouri in 2016, he said. He began practicing law in 1998 after graduating from the law school at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He works for the Story Law Firm of Fayetteville and is licensed to practice law in both Arkansas and Missouri.
"Even though I have been making some effort as an attorney to try and change some things, I look forward to the opportunity of being proactive rather than reactive," he said in a video statement on Facebook. He confirmed his bid in a telephone interview Wednesday.
This is Payne's first campaign for public office, he said.
Payne is an attorney for parents who sued the Bentonville School District to overturn the School Board's mask mandate. Benton County Circuit Judge Xollie Duncan granted an injunction Oct. 6 to prohibit the district from enforcing the mandate. The board is appealing Duncan's ruling.
The state Board of Apportionment redraws legislative district boundaries every 10 years, after each U.S. Census. The board consists of the sitting governor, attorney general and secretary of state. The board set its next meeting for Nov. 29 to consider final approval of the maps after a 30-day public comment period. The board unveiled the proposed map Oct. 29.
Proposed House District 13 is one of two House seats Benton County gained thanks to population growth there and population declines in other parts of the state. The other new House district in Benton County with no sitting House member is proposed District 14, directly west of proposed District 13.
House members run for two-year terms. Their base salary is $39,399.84 a year, not including per diem and expenses.