A summary so far

Our first picks this election year

If you think Tuesday, November 4th is just around the corner, even closer is this coming Monday, October 20th, when early voting starts in Arkansas. Here are the candidates we’ve endorsed so far:

French Hill in the Second Congressional District. This comer already has a lot of experience—in both government and business, specifically banking.

Mr. Hill was a senior policy adviser for the first President Bush, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury, and an adviser to Governor Mike Huckabee back here at home. All before he and some friends started their own bank. It’s an impressive résumé all around.

Our conclusion: The man is ready for Congress. And the smear campaign waged against him by his opponent in this race—which was out of bounds even by the usual standards for electionyear smears—cinches the case for French Hill’s election. Unless you like to line yourself up with the shoddiest of campaign tactics.

Andrea Lea for state auditor. In this race between two qualified candidates, Arkansas can scarcely lose. But we recommend Andrea Lea based on her experience(s) on various levels of government: from a JP in Pope County to the Russellville City Council to the state House of Representatives.

Stacy Hurst in state House district 35. This long-time city director in Little Rock just has more practical experience at getting things done in government than her up-and-coming, promising but still young opponent. Miss Stacy has been involved in so many civic causes, and a leader in such a variety of community activities, that we’ll just have to refer you to stacyhurst.com for the exhaustive details.

Against Issue No. 3. Last year, under cover of the usual last-minute rush to adjourn a regular legislative session, our self-interested solons agreed to put a little ol’ constitutional amendment on the ballot—one that would extend the term limits for state representatives from 6 to 16 years and for state senators from 8 to 16 years. It was the outrage of the year. Even when there’s a lot of competition for that dubious honor. It’s definitely the sleaziest proposition on the ballot facing Arkansas voters election day. There oughta be a law against this kind of fraud on the public. There is in business—where this tactic would violate all the rules and regulations about truth-in-advertising.

Against Issue No. 4. Which is more formally known as the Alcoholic Beverage Control Amendment. While some of us can’t understand why a county would give up the tax revenue that comes with selling booze, that decision should be left to the counties themselves. If its voters want to keep their own county dry, why should the next county over have any say in the matter? The principle involved here is simple: Leave local issues to the locals.