Benton County’s new state Senate District 34 has two experienced, elected officials running in the May 24 Republican primary to represent it.
Mayor Peter Christie of Bella Vista has presided over that city in the district since he was first elected in 2014. State Rep. Jim Dotson, R-Bentonville, served on the Bentonville City Council before running for the state House, where he ranks 13th in seniority among the 100 members.
“When you’re running for the Legislature, legislative experience is important,” Dotson said.
Christie said in his interview that a close working knowledge of the district and its issues — and business experience outside of government — matters.
The winner of the primary will face Libertarian candidate Jean Pierre DeVilliers in the general election Nov 8. No Democrat filed in this race.
Benton County gained this new Senate district thanks to its population growth shown by the 2020 census. Population declines in other parts of the state also figured into the redrawing of district lines last year, shifting representation to growing areas of the state. The new district stretches as far south as Southwest Regional Airport Boulevard in Bentonville and reaches the Missouri state line on the north. The eastern boundary reaches Looney Road in Bella Vista. On the west, the district includes Hiwasse and extends as far as Horman Road.
State senators normally serve four-year terms and receive a base salary of $44,357.
Christie cites his 22 years of experience with NCR Corp., an Atlanta-based software, management and technical assistance company. He supervised over 2,000 employees when he retired from the company, he said. Then he ran his first political race for mayor in 2014.
“It’s a seven days a week, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year job,” Christie said of being mayor. He has made himself open and accessible to his city’s residents throughout his tenure, he said.
Christie works with mayors, civic clubs and other groups throughout the district, he said. He is thoroughly aware of the district’s needs and issues beyond those in his city, he said.
“We have to manage growth and not let growth manage us,” he said. He pointed to both increasing the size and modernizing his city’s police and fire departments as examples of how to both keep up with growth and encourage it to continue.
“Bella Vista is no longer a place where people come to retire,” Christie said. “We’re becoming a very diverse community not only in race and creed, but also in age.”
Businesses in the region need more skilled labor and young residents graduating high school need more opportunity for an education in skilled labor fields — two parts of the same problem, Christie said. He pointed to the Arkansas Coding Academy at the University of Central Arkansas as the type of program Northwest Arkansas needs.
Technical infrastructure also needs improvement, he said.
“The whole state needs broadband access,” he said. “There are even pockets of Bella Vista with no internet access. That needs to change.”
Dotson said the voters of Senate District 34 want a government that operates as efficiently, quietly and with as little interference in their daily lives as possible.
“I’ve dealt with every piece of major legislation to come before the Legislature since I was elected in 2012, including the ones that don’t get a lot of news coverage,” Dotson said.
He emphasized his support for lowering taxes and cutting needless regulations throughout his career in the House.
Dotson also experienced the crisis of constituent services during the covid pandemic, he said.
“Most people’s experiences with state government before that was with registering their vehicles or paying their taxes,” Dotson said. “For a while there it seemed as if all the calls I was getting were about unemployment benefits.
“Voters know my stance on all the issues. The number one issue is life, and people know they can count on me to protect the right to life,” Dotson said of his pro-life abortion stance.
“If the government isn’t going to protect your right to life, what right can you expect it to protect?”
Dotson cited his legislation on granting health care by video link, or telehealth. Arkansas authorized greater access to this method of checking with physicians during the covid pandemic, but it has proved to have lasting value, he said.
Voters in the district know he is a strong supporter of individual rights, particularly the rights of parents to have a say in their children’s education, Dotson said.
Arkansas Senate District 34
Peter Christie (R) Age: 70
Residency: Bella Vista, 12 years Occupation: Mayor of Bella Vista; retired as vice president of NCR Corp. in 2013
Education: Associate degree in business and management from Algonquin College, Ottawa, Canada Political Experience: Bella Vista mayor, 2015 to present
Jim Dotson (R)
Age: 44
Residency: Bentonville, 20 years Occupation: Realtor with Gibson Real Estate; house builder Education: Attended Northwest Arkansas Community College Political Experience: State representative since 2013; Bentonville City Council 2009-2012
Doug Thompson can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWADoug.