Candidate gets head start in race for land commissioner
A candidate for Arkansas land commissioner got an early start campaigning for next year’s election by making an appearance Wednesday in Texarkana.
Businessman and Republican party leader Tommy Land welcomed voters to a meetand-greet lunch at Newcom Networks, a digital networking business on Arkansas Boulevard.
“I felt like the thing to do was to get out early. … My intention is to visit every county and meet as many people as I can. You’re not going to get that accomplished in just six months. That takes a while,” he said.
Land touted standard conservative Republican planks like limiting government, supporting Second Amendment rights and opposing abortion, and he highlighted protection of personal property rights as a key issue in the race.
“I have seen an overreach by the federal government. I’m not questioning the motives of those involved. I believe sometimes they have good motives, but what happens is they lose sight of the fact that a person has bought a piece of property, he has invested not just his money, but many times he’s invested a great deal of time in that property, and then government comes along and decides well, what’s best is that we restrict his use of that property.
“I’m not going to say that never should we have a restriction. I’m saying that it ought to be after very careful consideration and on a limited basis,” he said.
After a decades-long career with Southwestern Bell Telephone/ AT&T and then starting his own digital phone system business, Land thinks he has what it takes to perform well in office.
“My 30 years of customer service experience I think give me an edge up when it comes to dealing with taxpayers. Because taxpayers, you can’t really say they’re a customer in the same sense, but our attitude ought to be the same way. And of course, one of the things you learn when you’re a small businessman is you stay within your budget,” he said.
A 46-year resident of Arkansas, Land lives with his wife, Judy, in Heber Springs. He has been active in GOP organizing since 2012 and serves as the state party’s first district chairman.
Arkansas Republicans will hold a primary election next spring, and the general election is in November 2018.
Democrat Shaun Hubanks also has announced plans to run for land commissioner, and Democrat Mark Robertson and Republican State Rep. Laurie Rushing have expressed interest in the office, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
On Twitter: @RealKarlRichter