FAYETTEVILLE -- The two Democratic primary candidates in Washington County's state House District 19 race both entered because they did not want the race to be left with no Democrat at all, they said at a candidate forum Tuesday.
Both Richard Billingsley and Paula Irwin had decided to run before they learned they would be competing in the May 24 primary, the two candidates said at the forum hosted by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce. The two talked, but neither decided to back out, the candidates said. "We agreed there would not be any fighting," Billingsley said.
The winner will face Republican Steve Unger in the Nov. 8 general election. This seat was left open after Rep. Clint Penzo, R-Springdale, announced his bid for the state Senate.
The chamber started its series of candidate forums on Tuesday, starting with the Democratic primary candidates in House District 18. Candidate Monique Jones got to speak at that 2 p.m. meeting, but opponent Hunter Vick did not show. The winner of the District 18 primary will face Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs.
The forums are held in the Fayetteville Public Library. Billingsley and Irwin's forum began at 3 p.m. The next chamber forum is set for 3 p.m. today in the three-person Republican primary for House District 23.
District 19 extends from Tontitown in the west to east of Butterfield Coach Road in Springdale. It reaches Har-Ber Avenue in Springdale in the north and Mud Creek in Fayetteville on the south. District 18 includes parts of western Fayetteville and extends westward from there.
Jones is a minister who serves as director of the St. James Missionary Baptist Church food pantry. Addressing the state's widespread food insecurity ranks high on her priority list, she told forum attendees.
"There is no common face, there is no common race and no common gender," she said of people needing assistance who came to the pantry. She found more people needing assistance after she began campaigning and knocking on doors, she said. "They are suffering in silence," she said.
Arkansas has among the weakest protections for renters of any state, Jones said. The state needs better laws to ensure rental dwellings are safe and sanitary, she said. "You should be able to set your child on the floor without something crawling on her," she said.
Irwin, a retired teacher, told the audience that assisting veterans would be a priority for her. She also wanted to be a representative of all district residents, she said. "I include everyone at the decision-making table," she said.
Billingsley identified inflation as the district residents' biggest immediate problem and proposed a reduction in the state sales taxes to alleviate it. He also said the region needed to improve its infrastructure, particularly in transportation, before the growth here turns into a problem as serious as those as the traffic tangle in Austin, Texas.
Missy Kincaid, Northwest Arkansas development director for Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, asked Irwin and Billingsley at the forum if they supported expanding early childhood education. Both said they did.
Monique Jones, director of outreach for St. James Missionary Baptist Church and a candidate for Arkansas’ 18th Congressional District, speaks Tuesday during a candidate forum hosted by the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce at the Fayetteville Public Library. Her opponent, Hunter Vick, did not attend the forum. Visit nwaonline.com/220504Daily/ for today’s photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)