Overbey to seek spouse’s House seat

His wife, elected in 2011, decides against running again

Former state Rep. George Overbey, D-Lamar, said Wednesday that he’s seeking the House seat held by his wife, state Rep. Betty Overbey, D-Lamar, who isn’t seeking re-election.

George Overbey said the couple recently decided that he would run for the House District 69 seat rather than his wife, who referred questions about their decision to him. District 69 includes Johnson County and part of Pope County.

“I have the knowledge, time and want to, so I am going to throw my hat into the ring,” he said.

George Overbey, 67, served in the state House of Representatives from 2005-11. Betty Overbey, 69, has been in the House since 2011.

George Overbey is a retired state Department of Finance and Administration hearing officer who served 12 years on the Lamar School Board and 24 years as the mayor of Lamar.

He said he has a good understanding of state and local government and that he’s proud of what he and his wife have accomplished and their record of serving constituents.

Nearly three weeks ago, Clarksville Republican Aaron Pilkington announced that he would run for the House seat no matter what the Overbeys decided.

Pilkington, 24, is director of client development for Phyzit, a Little Rock-based health care startup company. He served as campaign manager for successful West Virginia state House candidate Eric Householder in 2010, but he hasn’t run for elected office before.

Pilkington said Wednesday that he believes that George Overbey’s record “would prove that he’s not a good choice” for House District 69.

“His party has got us into this economic mess,” he said.

The House has 64 Republicans, 35 Democrats and an independent, state Rep. Nate Bell of Mena.

The parties’ filing period for state and federal offices runs from noon Nov. 2 until noon Nov. 9 at the state Capitol in Little Rock. The primary election will be March 1, the runoff election will be March 22 and the general election will be Nov. 8, 2016.