LITTLE ROCK — Oklahoma Lt. Gov. Jari Askins’ talk about being business-friendly and uninterested in pursuing legal disputes impressed Arkansas poultry company bosses who donated money to her gubernatorial campaign, a poultry company executive said Wednesday.
Mark Simmons, chairman of Simmons Foods in Siloam Springs, said about 15 poultry company executives met with Askins in Siloam Springs for about 45 minutes on July 22.
“Her philosophy is to come to an agreement without legal action,” Simmons said.“That’s as close as she got to talking about the poultry lawsuit.”
Askins won the Democratic gubernatorial primary Tuesday by a slim margin over Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson. She faces Rep. Mary Fallin, a Republican, in November’s general election.
Edmondson sued Simmons Foods, Tyson Foods and other poultry companies, accusing them of polluting the Illinois River watershed.
During a 50-day trial that ended in February, Edmondson claimed that the companies violated federal and state laws because the chicken and turkey manure used by farmers as fertilizer on their fields was leaching into streams and degrading water quality in the watershed. The federal judge who heard the case has not yet issued a ruling.
Edmondson declined Wednesday to answer questions about what he will do regarding the lawsuit before his term expires at year’s end.
Spokesmen for Askins and Fallin suggested that both candidates dislike litigation.
Fallin believes “overlitigation and unnecessary lawsuits destroy jobs and hurt the economy,” said spokesman Alex Weintz. Litigation “runs contrary” to her goals of job creation, government efficiency and a balanced state budget, he said.
Askins wouldn’t discuss the specifics of the lawsuit,but she “wants to work well with everyone on our border,” said Sid Hudson, her campaign manager.
Hudson attended the meeting in Siloam Springs.
“They told us they thought meeting with her ... might hurt her campaign, and they didn’t want to hurt her,” Hudson said. “They were pretty upfront about it.”
A contributions report filed Monday with the Oklahoma Ethics Commission by Askins’ campaign showed that she received money from several people connected to Arkansas poultry firms.
The contributors and the amounts listed were:
Simmons, $5,000; Don Tyson, CEO of Tyson Foods of Springdale, $5,000; John Tyson, Tyson Foods chairman, $5,000; Gene George, board chairman of George’s Inc. of Springdale, $3,000; Gary George, George’s Inc. CEO, $3,000; and Randall Goins, vice chairman of the board of O.K. Industries Inc. of Fort Smith, $2,000; Todd Simmons, Simmons Foods vice chairman, $1,000; Gene Woods, Simmons Foods president, $1,000; and Steve Butler, owner of Green Country Farms of Westville, Okla., which raises chickens for Tyson Foods, $1,000.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 07/30/2010