House contests start shaping up
Education a prevailing theme
Bill Rahn of Morgan will run as a Democrat for the seat held by Rep. Mark Lowery, R-Maumelle, Rahn said.
And Kent Walker, a Democrat from North Little Rock, said he will seek the seat now held by Rep. Donnie Copeland, R-North Little Rock. Copeland has reported raising campaign funds to run against Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock.
Democrat Victoria Leigh and Republican Carlton Wing, both of North Little Rock, already have said they’re running for the House District 38 seat held by Copeland.
Rahn said Wednesday that he’s making his first run for elected office because “I just feel like I can make a difference with my experience.” He said he wants to work on improving public education, early childhood education and the two-year colleges, and create knowledge-based jobs.
Rahn is owner of Snap Fitness Gym in Little Rock and has been a licensed attorney since 1977. He is a former senior program manager for the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, program officer for the Foundation for the Mid-South and director of the Center for Arkansas Legal Services’ Legal Services Support Center.
Lowery has served in the state House of Representatives since 2013 and represents District 39. He is a public relations and communications consultant.
He has been an opponent of the state continuing to use the Partnership for As- sessment of Readiness for College and Careers exams, or PARCC, to measure the academic achievements of students. In July, the state Board of Education voted to sever ties with PARCC and to use the ACT and ACT Aspire exams instead.
Lowery said he wants to continue working to improve education and focus his time on a legislative task force to realign the state’s higher education institutions.
Walker, who is an attorney, said he’s running for the Legislature because he wants to get involved with public service.
He said if elected to the House, he would fight to improve educational opportunities; encourage entrepreneurship and incentives for sustained job growth; and protect senior citizens. He said he’s also passionate about expanding early childhood education and improving school nursing programs.
Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe appointed Walker to the Pulaski Technical College board of trustees in 2014. He also is a former chairman of the Pulaski County Election Commission.
Leigh, who is the other Democrat seeking the House District 38 seat, is an attorney. Wing, the Republican vying for the seat, owns Wing Media Group.
The filing period for state and federal offices runs from noon Monday 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 next year’s general election is Nov. 8.