More file as candidates as state deadline nears

Circuit Judge Dan Kemp of Mountain View walks away Friday with his wife, Susan, after he filed at the state Capitol to run for chief justice of Arkansas.
Circuit Judge Dan Kemp of Mountain View walks away Friday with his wife, Susan, after he filed at the state Capitol to run for chief justice of Arkansas.

Circuit Judge Dan Kemp of Mountain View filed papers to run for chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court on Friday -- four days after state Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson filed for the same post.

RELATED ARTICLE

http://www.arkansas…">Battery charge against judge dismissed

Also Friday, on the fifth day of filing for state and federal offices at the state Capitol in Little Rock, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack's chief of staff, Beau Walker, filed papers for the Republican from Rogers to seek re-election.

Representatives of former Hewlett-Packard executive Carly Fiorina of Virginia and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina filed their paperwork as Republican presidential candidates. Ten people have so far filed in Arkansas as GOP presidential candidates, each paying their party's $25,000 filing fee.

A representative of developer Roque De La Fuente of San Diego filed Friday as a Democratic presidential candidate. Five Democratic presidential candidates have paid the party's $2,500 filing fee to be on the Arkansas ballot.

About two dozen candidates filed Friday at the state Capitol. About 340 candidates have filed for state and federal offices so far. Filing ends Monday.

The primary and nonpartisan general elections will be March 1, while the primary runoff will be March 23 and the general election will be Nov. 8.

Kemp and Goodson, of Fayetteville, will vie to succeed state Supreme Court Chief Justice Howard Brill, who is completing the term of Jim Hannah, who had served as chief justice for the past 10 years. Hannah retired because of poor health at the end of August.

Kemp, who has been a circuit judge since 1987, said he's running for chief justice in part because he wants to maintain the integrity of the state's high court.

"I believe that the rule of law applies to all cases and I believe that politics has no place in a courtroom," Kemp said. "Once you walk through the doors of that courtroom, politics shouldn't be involved and a person that has got a case shouldn't worry that politics is going to be involved. If I have an opportunity to serve as chief justice, I don't believe politics should be involved in any decision in the Supreme Court."

Asked whether politics has been involved in any of the court's recent decisions, Kemp said, "That's up for the public to make a decision on."

In a news release, Kemp said it's time to follow the U.S. Supreme Court directive and "make a clear set of rules and conditions governing whether a biased judge must recuse in a case," and "there should never be another situation like the [former circuit judge Mike] Maggio case in Arkansas." In January, Maggio of Conway pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges.

Kemp said he would "champion the adoption of a strict new set of ethics rules that prohibit all judges from accepting any personal gifts." He pledged greater use of drug courts and veterans treatment courts to tackle "the core problems leading to prison overcrowding," and to provide "a strong voice" to help remedy the state's severe shortage of public defenders.

Goodson, who has been on the state Supreme Court since 2011 and previously served on the Court of Appeals from 2009-2011, said Friday that she looks forward to seeing Kemp on the campaign trail.

"Campaigning statewide is a joy, and I'm sure he will enjoy his first major race," Goodson said in a written statement. "Our state has great people, and we're better off when we have justices on the Supreme Court who get out and work and listen to them through these campaigns."

Womack has represented Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District since 2011. Womack spokesman Claire Burghoff said, "If re-elected, Rep. Womack will continue to represent Third District Arkansans to the best of his ability and focus on the economy and jobs, national security and fiscal prudence."

Nathan LaFrance, a Libertarian from Bella Vista, filed for Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District seat earlier this week.

Meanwhile, legislative races continued to take shape on Friday.

Sonia Eubanks Barker of Smackover, an English and French teacher and tennis team coach at Smackover High School, filed Friday to run as a Republican in House District 7. That House seat is held by state Rep. John Baine, D-El Dorado, who isn't seeking re-election.

El Dorado Democrat Floyd Thomas and former state Rep. Garry Smith, D-Camden, filed for the House seat earlier this week.

Barker said she wants "to be a voice for south Arkansas and be a conservative voice from south Arkansas."

She said that she wants to be "a moral conservative voice" in the Legislature and "not be swayed by certain outside forces and stand up for what I believe in."

Paragould Democrat Frankie Gilliam, who is an economic development specialist at the Arkansas State University's Delta Center for Economic Development, filed Friday to run in House District 57. That House seat is held by state Rep. Mary Broadaway, D-Paragould, who isn't seeking re-election.

Paragould Republicans Jimmy Gazaway and Shawn D. Strouss filed for the House seat earlier this week.

"I want to be here because I want to be a voice for our community," Gilliam said.

She said she was asked to run for the House seat as a Republican and declined to say who asked her to do that.

"But I think this is an opportunity to show it is about collaboration. It is not about changing sides just because it is perceived the other side is way ahead. It is about being able to work together and that is the primary tenet of economic development," Gilliam said.

The state House of Representatives is comprised of 64 Republicans, 35 Democrats and an independent, state Rep. Nate Bell of Mena.

Metro on 11/07/2015

Upcoming Events