The Republican primary in District 52 in northeast Arkansas pits a first-term representative against a retired Arkansas State Police trooper.
Dwight Tosh, 65, of Jonesboro is challenging state Rep. John Hutchison, 54, of Harrisburg for the nomination. Hutchison won the seat by 45 votes in 2012 over Democrat L.J. Bryant of Grubbs.
Tosh said Hutchison has been “inconsistent” in his voting in the House and questioned the more than $40,000 the representative owed the federal government for two liens - one for about $18,000 and another for more than $21,000 - filed against him by the Internal Revenue Service.
“I just personally think people are tired of politicians with double standards. I don’t know how you can take a check from taxpayers every month and not pay your taxes,” Tosh said.
Hutchison said he was working with the IRS to set up a payment plan for his unpaid taxes. He said he also regretted the language he used when he was interviewed about the liens by the Jonesboro Sun, because he said he was a Christian and did not use such language.
Hutchison told the newspaper in a story Tuesday that: “I am no thief. I am not a damn politician. I hate them. I don’t want to be anything like them.”
Tosh said that he was the better candidate because people would know how he would vote on issues.
“We have some fundamental differences, and one of them is consistency,” Tosh said, referring to Hutchison’s votes on Medicaid expansion.
The state is using federal funds to help poor Arkansans obtain private health insurance - a program known as the “private option.” The money comes from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare.
Hutchison voted for the private option in 2013 but voted against reauthorizing funding during this year’s fiscal session. He said he changed his vote because he was concerned about how much control the federal government had over the program and because the costs were higher than he expected.
“If it puts more of a dollar burden on the state, it’s going to hurt us bad,” Hutchison said.
The federal government is expected to pay the full cost of the private option until 2017, when the state will begin paying 5 percent. The state’s share will then increase every year until it reaches 10 percent in 2020.
Tosh said that if he is elected, he will vote against reauthorizing the private option. He said the state can’t afford the program and that “whatever positive that was supposed to happen [with its implementation] hasn’t.”
Both candidates said they were opposed to abortion except to save the life of the mother. Hutchison voted for two bills that became law in 2013 that increased restrictions on abortions.
Tosh also said Hutchison should have done more during the 2013 session to “save” the Weiner School District, which was annexed in 2010 to the Harrisburg School District. The Arkansas Board of Education voted to close the 135-student Weiner High School in 2013.
Tosh said Hutchison “walked out” on a bill that would have put a temporary hold on consolidating school districts that fell below the state-mandated minimum of 350 students over two consecutive years. Hutchison voted in favor of the measure, House Bill 1938, when it failed 46-26, but did not vote when it came up again in the House the next day and failed to pass by two votes.
Hutchison said he was getting pressure in his district on both sides of the issue.
“I just didn’t vote. I didn’t vote against them,” Hutchison said.
Tosh said he is running for the seat because he has a lot to offer with his 37 years of experience at the Arkansas State Police, where he made decisions in tough times.
“I just feel like I have a passion to serve the people. I spent my entire life serving the people of this great state,” Tosh said.
Hutchison said he wants to be re-elected because he has shown he provides a voice for the “middle guy.”
“I run for the people that don’t have a say down here. The middle guy. The one that’s expected to pay all the bills, and from my experience down here, they’re not necessarily represented right,” Hutchison said.
Hutchison was cautioned by the Arkansas Ethics Commission and fined $150 in February 2013 for using $863 in campaign funds to pay for his mother’s utility bills while he was using space in her home for a campaign office. He said he did not know his mother would be considered part of his immediate family under state law.
Hutchison appealed the decision to the Pulaski County Circuit Court, where his attorney argued that Hutchison hadn’t benefited directly from the payments and that the definition of immediate family was ambiguous. The court upheld the sanctions in July.
Arkansas, Pages 15 on 04/27/2014