Dardanelle Democrat Lesa Wolfe Crowell has announced plans to run for the seat now held by state Rep. Mary Bentley, R-Perryville, who Crowell contends focuses more on national politics, Obamacare and abortion rather than the interests of House District 73.
Bentley countered Tuesday that she has worked very hard on a variety of matters for the district and said Crowell is unaware of Bentley's record in the Arkansas Legislature.
House District 73 includes parts of Conway, Perry, Pope and Yell counties.
Crowell, 46, is a parole officer for Arkansas Community Correction and a U.S. Army veteran who served as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, 307th Medical Battalion, based at Fort Bragg, N.C. She is making her first bid for elected office.
Bentley, 53, is owner of Bentley Plastics and serving her first two-year term in the House of Representatives. In November, Bentley defeated Rep. John Catlett, D-Rover, by 196 votes, after losing to him by 338 votes in 2012.
In a written statement, Crowell said she isn't "a single issue candidate," although her education, training and expertise is in the field of law enforcement.
She said she wants to bring concerns about prison overcrowding's impact on local law enforcement to the Capitol from a first-person perspective; focus on the linkage among high school dropout rates, drug use and recidivism; and represent farmers and factory workers. Crowell said Monday that Bentley overlooks local issues such as combating crime and drug use.
Bentley said she worked with Circuit Judge Jerry Don Ramey of Morrilton to enact a law authorizing the issuance of a restricted driving permit for drug courts; worked hard on education issues and job creation; and voted for an income tax cut of more than $100 million.
"I know people are concerned about Obamacare and religious liberties," Bentley said. "I have voted exactly the way the people in that district wanted me to vote."
Obamacare is the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by President Barack Obama in 2010. The state is using federal funds, authorized under the federal law, to purchase private health insurance for more than 200,000 low-income Arkansans.
This year, Bentley voted with the minority against authorizing the use of federal funds for the program. She said she hasn't decided whether she'll vote to authorize funding for a program to replace the private option in the future because she doesn't know what that new program would be.
Bentley also unsuccessfully pushed legislation requiring doctors performing abortions to have admitting privileges at hospitals within 30 miles of where the abortions are performed.
The state House of Representatives includes 64 Republicans, 35 Democrats and an independent.
The parties' filing period for state and federal offices runs from noon Nov. 2 until noon Nov. 9 at the state Capitol in Little Rock. The primary election will be March 1, while the runoff election will be March 22 and the general election will be Nov. 8, 2016.
Metro on 10/07/2015