Two in District 99 tout Linck's efforts

Emerson, Fortner seek GOP nod

A map showing the location of House District 99.
A map showing the location of House District 99.

Both candidates running for the Republican nomination to represent House District 99 in north-central Arkansas say they want to continue the work of Rep. Kelley Linck, R-Yellville, who has held the seat for the past five years.











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Arkansas Secretaray of State

Bruce Emerson, 59, of Pyatt

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Arkansas Secretaray of State

Jack Fortner, 69, of Yellville

District 99 comprises parts of Baxter, Boone, Searcy and Marion counties.

The primary is Tuesday. There is no Democratic challenger for the two-year position, which pays an annual salary of $39,500.

Jack Fortner, 69, of Yellville and Bruce Emerson, 59, of Pyatt each cited Linck, a Flippin resident and executive director of Ozark Mountain Region Inc., who served as the district's representative since 2011, as reasons for their own campaigns. Linck will not seek re-election.

"When I heard he wasn't running, I thought I needed to make sure our counties have a qualified guy to do it," said Fortner, a retired businessman who works for Goodyear Racing at several NASCAR events each year. "I have no desire to be a politician, but I do want to be a representative of our area."

Emerson, a Marion County turkey farmer for Butterball LLC, also noted Linck's work on education and health care while a representative.

"There are things I want to keep doing that these last two legislative sessions began working on," Emerson said.

Both candidates said they favored maintaining Second Amendment allowances to ensure gun owners keep their right to own weapons.

"They are being chiseled away," Emerson said of efforts to regulate ownership. "It's a wedge to start whittling away our rights. What's next?

"I will fight with every fiber of my being for the Second Amendment."

Fortner, who is known for his The Car Guy with Jack Fortner program on KTLO-FM in Mountain Home, is a former justice of the peace for the Marion County Quorum Court. He has been on the county's planning board, the Marion County Regional Airport Board and the planning commission.

He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and served during the Vietnam War.

Fortner said that if elected, he will work toward keeping the budget balanced.

"I believe the state should control its money," he said. "I'm proud to be part of a state with a balanced budget."

Emerson is serving his first term on the Marion County Quorum Court and is on the county's budget and personnel committees. He worked on Arkansas Land Commissioner John Thurston's successful campaign in 2011 and for U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., during his bid for the state's 3rd Congressional District.

"I have to operate my turkey farm on a budget," Emerson said. "I have to operate in such a way that I know I can have income to pay my expenses."

He said he would work to ensure the state controls its spending.

"I'm on a shoestring budget," he said. "Why can't the state be?"

Both candidates said they will continue their campaigns in the days leading up to Tuesday's primary election by meeting residents and discussing the state's issues.

"I'm going to keep on doing what I've done," Fortner said. "I'll be talking to the people."

State Desk on 02/14/2016

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