Hard as it may be to believe, there's one heck of an election today.
Doesn't seem like it, does it? It's not fall, football is nowhere in sight, it's not a presidential election year, and the number of yard signs seems down this time around. But your ballots today, Wary Voters, will decide who wins the Republican and Democratic primaries in 2014, which to a large extent will determine whose names you'll see on your ballot come November, which is why you need to vote in these primaries. And so do all the concerned citizens of Arkansas.
Here are our picks for your consideration:
Congress:
In the Second Congressional District, over on the Republican side, our pick is French Hill. The man already sounds like a congressman--a rational, conscientious, sensible one. And, no, that's not an oxymoron. He offers voters a business background to go along with all the time he's spent advising public officials on both the federal and state level. Mr. Hill offers experience, his opponents offer mainly talking points.
In the Fourth Congressional District, in the Republican primary, our pick is Bruce Westerman over his talented but still hesitant young opponent. Mr. Westerman, who served as the first Republican majority leader in the state House of Representatives since Reconstruction, has earned, and voted, his way to the nomination.
Governor:
In the Republican primary, of course it's Asa Hutchinson. His years of respected public service recommend him. He has served as congressman for the Third District of Arkansas, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security, and earned respect in all those roles.
In the Democratic primary, again of course, it's Mike Ross, a former congressman who was one of the last remaining blue-dog Democrats in Congress, a sadly disappearing breed. We'll miss 'em. Instead the party has too many demagogues, and not enough voices of reason--like Mike Ross'.
Lieutenant Governor:
How can you not like a candidate with a down-home name like Andy Mayberry in the race for the Republican nomination for Lite Gov? But the most responsible choice in this race is Tim Griffin. On the basis of his judgment, experience and his own down-home decision to leave that madhouse known as Washington on the Potomac, and return to home and family in home sweet Arkansas. What a sensible decision, and it bodes well for restoring good sense to an office its previous holder disgraced.
Attorney General:
There is one candidate in the Republican primary who knows the job, has the right experience and temperament, and who is more interested in being an effective AG than in distracting voters with issues that have little to do with the job. Her name is Leslie Rutledge. Call her the responsible choice in this race.
State Treasurer:
Duncan Baird is the Republican who should face the Democratic candidate in the this race come fall. Somebody has to clean up the mess Martha Shoffner left behind. And you can trust that Duncan Baird has the integrity to restore some public trust to that office. His opponent, not so much.
State Auditor:
Forget politics. What this state needs is more mothers, PTA volunteers and citizens like Andrea Lea. She's running in the Republican primary, and there would be no better fit for the lady, and we mean lady. She's got not just the legislative background but the life experience to take over this important constitutional office and do right by it.
Supreme Court:
In picking a member of the state's highest court, better to go with somebody who's, well, been a judge. Judge Robin Wynne--of the Fordyce Wynnes--has experience as an attorney in both private practice and public office, but it's his years on the state's Court of Appeals that set him apart. A respected and trusted judge, his election today would be good news for all of Arkansas--and the kind of recognition his years of devoted public service has earned.
Editorial on 05/20/2014