Rogers House race rematch draws a third contender

ROGERS -- State Rep. Jana Della Rosa faces another Republican primary after surviving 2018's by three votes.

This year's primary is a rematch between Della Rosa and Kendon Underwood, a lawyer from Cave Springs, joined by newcomer Chris Latimer of Rogers.

The three are running to be the Republican candidate for Arkansas House District 90. The winner of the March 3 primary will face Democrat Kelly Ross Krout in the Nov. 3 general election.

Early voting begins Feb. 18. A runoff election will be March 31 if none of the candidates gets more than 50% plus one vote.

District 90 extends from New Hope Road in Rogers on the north to Bethel Heights in the south. It runs from Old Wire Road on the east through Springdale and Elm Springs to the west, reaching the city limit of Highfill.

"I'm the only one in the race who has experience," Della Rosa said. "Neither of my opponents in the primary has any experience in elected office inside or outside the Legislature," she said. "I've been in the Legislature five years, not 10 or 20, so you can't say I'm building a kingdom."

The district has grown in population during her time as a lawmaker. The responsibilities of helping constituents navigate government to get practical problems solved has grown with it. Della Rosa said it takes an understanding of how government works to help cities get assistance from state departments and help individuals clear up problems with state programs such as ARKids First health coverage.

"That kind of knowledge is accumulated over time," Della Rosa said. "They don't hand it to you in a packet at orientation."

Big issues in District 90 include infrastructure needs such as roads, she said. Workforce training is also a serious need, she said. Her best known recent legislative accomplishment, she said, is getting extended time for recess in public schools. That bill passed in the last regular legislative session.

Chris Latimer said he decided to run because voters in the district want someone who will put more priority on conservative values.

"A lot of people are mad about something and want the campaign to be about that, but we want our campaign to be about us," Latimer said about himself and his family.

He intends to state his conservative beliefs and, if voters agree, they can choose him, he said.

Topping his priorities is a pro-life stance followed closely by protecting the right to bear arms. While gun owner's rights are a constitutional issue, the state can and should do more on a practical level, he said. State laws on concealed carry of firearms and other gun laws are ambiguous and should be clarified, he said.

For example, current law says a gun owner has a duty to retreat in a dangerous situation before the use of a firearm, he said. That law should be revisited and a debate on a "stand your ground" law, which is expected to be proposed again in the upcoming legislative session, would accomplish that, he said.

Latimer said he intends to run a positive campaign, but said Della Rosa's continued support of convicted former state Sen. Jon Woods of Springdale factored into his decision to enter politics and run against her.

"I realize an investigator in his case did mess up, but the evidence against him is pretty overwhelming that he took taxpayer money," Latimer said.

Woods was convicted in federal court on May 3, 2018, for taking kickbacks on state grants. Della Rosa said the Woods case, which is on appeal, was severely mishandled by an FBI agent who admitted to wiping the hard drive of a computer used in the investigation. That was not the only problem with the investigation and prosecution; justice was not done, she said.

Underwood, Della Rosa's returning challenger, also mentioned the incumbent's support of Woods as a factor in his decision to run. He said Della Rosa is untouched by scandal, but her support of someone convicted like Woods causes concern.

"In my view and that of the legal system, he took tons of taxpayer dollars," Underwood said of Woods. As for Della Rosa's representation, "I don't think she's as conservative as her district," he said.

In particular, Arkansas has a high sales tax rate that residents want their representative to work harder to reduce, he said.

Another issue is Della Rosa's opposition to bills restricting where convicted sex offenders could reside. Della Rosa said during debate on those bills existing laws leave few areas where offenders can live and, in effect, concentrate them in the few available neighborhoods.

The No. 1 priority among district constituents is to support pro-life positions, Underwood said. Second is protecting gun owner rights, and third is reducing taxes.

"When I knock on doors, they want someone absolutely pro-life," he said. "If you don't care about that, nothing else matters."

State House members serve two-year terms and have an annual salary of $41,393.

NW News on 02/06/2020