GC woman announces bid for US House seat

LITTLE ROCK — A high school teacher and chairwoman of the Garland County Democratic Party is running for a U.S. House seat in south Arkansas next year.

Hayden Shamel filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission last week to run for the Democratic nomination for the 4th Congressional District in south Arkansas. The seat is currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, who was first elected to Congress in 2014 and is seeking re-election.

Shamel is an English and Spanish instructor at Lakeside High School, according to her campaign website.

Westerman’s latest FEC filing says he has nearly $622,000 in cash on hand for his re-election bid.

Filing seeks refund of local project money

LITTLE ROCK — A former Arkansas lawmaker is asking a judge to order a planning and development district to refund money it received to pay for local projects after the state Supreme Court ruled a series of grants violated the state constitution.

Former state Rep. Mike Wilson on Monday asked a Pulaski County judge to order the Central Arkansas Planning and Development district to refund $2.5 million to the state treasury, with a third of that to go toward his attorney fees. Wilson also asked that the district pay more than $4,500 in plaintiffs’ costs.

The state Supreme Court in early October ruled that the local project grants violated a constitutional requirement that budget measures distinctly state their purpose. Justices didn’t say, however, whether those grants defied a ban on strictly local legislation.