Put Fort Smith, Eureka Springs, Madison County in the same congressional district, governor says

3rd U.S. District should include Fort Smith, Hutchinson tells NW audience

FILE — Gov. Asa Hutchinson answers questions from the media Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, during the weekly coronavirus briefing at the state Capitol in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)
FILE — Gov. Asa Hutchinson answers questions from the media Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, during the weekly coronavirus briefing at the state Capitol in Little Rock. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staci Vandagriff)

FAYETTEVILLE -- Fort Smith and Eureka Springs should be in the 3rd Congressional District along with Madison County, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Friday.

"It's a legislative decision, but I do get to approve it," he said of congressional district boundaries.

The Legislature convenes next week to draw district lines, based on figures from the 2020 U.S. census. The four districts must be close to equal in population to comply with federal law. The 3rd District includes Northwest Arkansas.

Hutchinson served three terms as the 3rd District's U.S. House member. He is from Benton County, but spent much of his career as a lawyer, including as a U.S. attorney, in Fort Smith.

"The district should continue to have Fort Smith as a part of it," Hutchinson said Friday during a meeting of the NWA Political Animals Club.

Northwest Arkansans helped successful efforts to get Ebbing Air National Guard Base in Fort Smith chosen as a base for up to 36 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs and General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft, Hutchinson said. That is expected to draw more than 800 pilots, support workers and dependents to the area, according to military estimates. Such cooperation is vital to the region, he said.

A district including Fort Smith in Sebastian County, Eureka Springs in Carroll County and moving Madison County back into the 3rd District from south Arkansas' 4th District can "be done numbers-wise," Hutchinson said.

[ARKANSAS MAP: Interactive state and Pulaski County map not appearing above? Click here » arkansasonline.com/924sb724/]

A district that included all of Benton, Crawford, Carroll, Madison, Sebastian and Washington would far exceed the 753,439-person target size for equal congressional districts, census figures show. Hutchinson said after his speech that he is aware that a district including Fort Smith, Eureka Springs and Madison County would require splitting some counties.

"I chose my words carefully," he said.

He also noted that five counties are split in congressional district maps now.

The Legislature will set congressional boundaries, but the state Board of Apportionment will redraw legislative district boundaries for the state's 35 Senate and 100 House districts. Hutchinson, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Secretary of State John Thurston make up that board.

The board's staff hopes to have maps prepared for public view by mid- to late October, Hutchinson told the group. A public comment period of 30 days will follow before the board makes a final decision, he said.

The information from the U.S. Census Bureau that was needed to draw legislative districts was held up most of the year because of the pandemic and successful legal challenges to the previous presidential administration's repeated attempts to include a citizenship question in the tally. Figures finally became available in September. Previously, census figures were available in March or April.

Also Friday, Hutchinson publicly thanked Canopy Northwest Arkansas, an immigrant relocation group, for its role in helping 49 Afghan refugees arriving in Northwest Arkansas. Another 49 refugees will go to Central Arkansas.

"I want to give my thanks to Canopy Northwest Arkansas, who represent the very best of your community and your churches," he said. He also praised Northwest Arkansas' medical community for its response throughout the ongoing pandemic.

A spokeswoman for Canopy called the governor an "invaluable partner" in efforts to resettle the refugees.

The part of Hutchinson's talk that received the most applause from the crowd was his call for more civility in national politics. He said he would work now and after his term as governor ends to help "common sense conservative candidates" solve problems rather than pick partisan fights. He is serving his second term and is ineligible to run for reelection in 2022.

"I loved hearing him talk about more civility in politics," said Kelly Krout of Lowell, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.

State Sen. Lance Eads, R-Springdale, said he was glad to hear the governor talk about key issues necessary for the economic development of the state, such as Hutchinson's intention to ask for another $250 million in spending to extend high-speed internet service to rural areas.

"We have the schools connected to high-speed broadband, but too many of those students lose that when they go home," Hutchinson said.

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