HOT SPRINGS -- Candidates for lieutenant governor and attorney general sparred during two separate debates Friday morning at the Arkansas Press Association's annual convention in Hot Springs.
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In the attorney general's race, Republican candidate Leslie Rutledge of Little Rock and Democratic state Rep. Nate Steel of Nashville debated how much time the attorney general should spend battling the federal government. Libertarian party candidate Aaron Cash focused much of his time advocating for personal liberties including the legalization of marijuana.
Rutledge said she plans to defend the citizens of Arkansas against the "overreach of the federal government" when necessary.
"My primary focus will be to protect Arkansans, even if that's against an overreaching federal government," she said. "While some folks want to sit by and say, 'We might not win, so why fight?' I will not be just present: I will fight for Arkansans."
Steel said he would fight the federal government when appropriate, but noted that his primary focus will be on issues in Arkansas.
"We send six members of Congress to D.C. every year to worry about federal politics, and I don't think we need to turn the attorney general's office into a seventh," Steel said. "I think we have so many problems here at home, it would be a huge disservice to have an attorney general who's focused on federal politics."
Steel said he plans to focus on more of Arkansas' issues by pushing a legislative agenda that will include truth-in-sentencing legislation, fixes for the overcrowding in the state's prison system, limits on outside counsel for the attorney general's office and expansions of alternative sentencing programs such as drug courts.
"I will have it ready to walk it over the first day," he said. "Experience will be critical to passing that through the Legislature."
Rutledge said she doesn't have any plans to create a legislative package if elected, but said she'd offer her assistance to lawmakers if they seek it.
"I believe the role of the attorney general is to help legislators write good, clean laws," she said.
Cash, a Springdale lawyer, said he supports legalizing marijuana as one way to address prison overcrowding. Steel and Rutledge -- both of whom worked in prosecuting attorney offices -- said they would oppose the legalization of marijuana.
In the lieutenant governor's race, Democrat John Burkhalter and Libertarian Christopher Olson faced off. Republican opponent U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin used a live video feed to call into the debate for about 20 minutes before being called to the House floor for a vote.
Burkhalter portrayed Griffin as a Beltway insider.
"I think in this race, there's going to be a distinction between a career politician who's been in Washington, D.C., for 20 years versus a small businessman who's been in Arkansas for 30 years," Burkhalter said.
Griffin said most of the last 20 years of his life were spent in military service, not in public office, noting he's been in Congress for less than four years. That's less than Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mike Ross, who served in Congress for 12 years.
"If he's talking about a career politician, he's not talking about me. He's talking about Mike Ross," Griffin said.
After Griffin was called away, Burkhalter and Olson debated the purpose of the office and whether it needed to be full time and have a $400,000 staff.
Burkhalter said the office is important, noting that two of the last four lieutenant governors completed the terms of governors who departed early. Olson said he wanted to abolish the office and consolidate the duties under the secretary of state's office.
Metro on 07/12/2014