Three hopefuls seek state office

Candidates tout backgrounds

In the three-way race for commissioner of state lands, the candidates are touting their experience — some in the private sector, some in the public sphere.

Larry Williams, a Democrat and former county judge in Garland County, said his “intimate acquaintance” with the office makes him the right choice for the next Arkansas land commissioner. While county judge, Williams, who is now a Hot Springs city director, served on the Commissioner of State Lands Advisory Council under then-Land Commissioner Charlie Daniels.

Republican Tommy Land, a small-business owner and real estate agent in Heber Springs, said his experience in real estate and selling mineral rights makes him the best fit for the job.

Libertarian T.J. Campbell, a Bentonville real estate agent, stressed his experience in real estate, sales and marketing, but he also said he believes the land commissioner’s office should be

The office’s primary responsibility is to collect delinquent real estate taxes that normally are paid at the county level.

abolished.

Arkansas is one of just five states with an elected commissioner of state lands. The office was created by the General Assembly in 1868, and it became an elected office when the state constitution was adopted in 1874.

The office’s primary responsibility is to collect delinquent real estate taxes that normally are paid at the county level. It also has jurisdiction over the state’s navigable water, submerged lands and mineral leasing on state property.

If elected, Land, 63, said

that one of his first actions will be to travel the state meeting with different groups and property owners associations to start moving delinquent properties into the hands of private companies and individuals.

“Moving that property out of the commissioner of state lands office and into private hands should keep the tax base stable, which will mean lower taxes in Arkansas,” Land said.

Williams, 66, said a major focus of his would be ensuring that cities and counties know about and take advantage of a process that allows the state land commissioner to donate certain delinquent properties to public entities.

That, Williams said, would allow municipalities or counties to acquire land for parks and trails or simply to make their areas look better.

“A lot of these properties are unloved properties,” Williams said. “I think through this donation process we can make it easier for cities and counties to condemn and acquire these properties and put them into public use, or if nothing else, clean them up.”

Campbell said the office should be eliminated, and, if elected, he’d lobby the Legislature to make him the last elected land commissioner. He also said the land commissioner’s salary ($89,301) should be cut in half, and if the Independent Citizens Commission, which sets the pay of elected state officials, declined to cut the salary, he would donate half to charity.

However, Campbell acknowledged legislators may not be eager to eliminate the office, so he’d focus on eradicating waste, fraud and abuse.

The three candidates are running to replace Commissioner of State Lands John Thurston, R-East End. Thurston, who is running for secretary of state, has served the two-term limit.

Land retired from Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. about 15 years ago after a 30-year career in construction and customer service at the company. After retirement, he started his own digital telephone equipment and computer networks business, and in 2016, he got his real estate license.

Land and his family also operated a cattle farm, and he has experience leasing mineral rights on his personal property.

Land’s wife, Judy, was elected Cleburne County assessor in 2014.

Land said he’s had an interest in real estate since he was 19 and had to ask a judge to declare him an adult so he could sign a contract to buy a house. The request was granted, “but not to drink beer,” the judge told Land.

“I recognize the great opportunity we have to invest in real estate because I’ve done it myself,” Land said.

He said he’d prioritize customer service in the office if elected.

This is Land’s first run at public office.

Williams is the longest serving county judge for Garland County. He was elected in 1994, and he retired in 2010 after eight terms. He ran unsuccessfully for the state House after retiring, and he was elected to the Hot Springs Board of Directors in 2014.

Williams is now an adjunct faculty member at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he teaches government.

With his public service background, Williams said that he’d probably be a “more visible” land commissioner, and an active participant on the Arkansas Natural and Cultural Resources Council, on which the land commissioner is a de facto member.

He also said he’d promote the story of the state’s survey notes, particularly those on the original Louisiana Purchase survey, which began in east Arkansas. Many of the notes are on display in the office.

“That’s a story that needs to be told,” Williams said.

Williams also wants to reinstate an advisory council for the office composed of county officials and other stakeholders similar to the council he served on under Daniels.

All three candidates said that the land commissioner’s race was nonpartisan, and all three praised their opponents.

The election, which includes state and federal offices, is on Nov. 6. The commissioner of state lands serves a four-year term.