House of Representatives District 85 rivals diverge on president choices

On taxes, both candidates said they would not sign proffered pledges by interest groups to never raise taxes. Both said that emergencies and unforeseen circumstances come up, and they have to retain their options.

FAYETTEVILLE — Who they supported for president drew the starkest contrast in answers between rivals for the District 85 seat in the House of Representatives at a Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce candidate forum Monday night.

“I’m 100 percent for Secretary Clinton,” incumbent Rep. David Whitaker, D-Fayetteville, said in response to that question from the audience. “She’s the most qualified presidential candidate to run in my lifetime — perhaps since Thomas Jefferson.”

Asked who he supported, Dwight Gonzales of Farmington said he would not declare support for a candidate “but I will vote for Donald Trump. I’m with the Republican Party and he was not the one I favored, but I’m not going to disenfranchise myself. This election is too important to sit out.”

Gonzales is a Baptist minister making his first bid for elective office. Whitaker is an attorney seeking his third term in the Nov. 8 general election. Both men appeared Monday at the 6:30 p.m. event in the meeting room of the former headquarters for the chamber. The chamber still owns a building but recently moved to other offices.

On other issues, Gonzales and Whitaker did not clash but did differ. Gonzales said he could not support either of two ballot initiatives that would legalize marijuana for medical purposes, but said he understood the plight of people afflicted with illnesses the drug might alleviate. Gonzales survived testicular cancer, he said, and understands the desire for effective treatments that are more affordable. However, as a pastor and as a foster parent, he has seen too many bad effects from drug use, including marijuana. “I’ve seen children suffer not just from drug use by their parents, but from neglect caused by adults’ drug use,” he said.

Whitaker said that a drug that is useful as a medicine should be prescribed as a medicine. “We have thousands of trained professionals who prescribe drugs. They’re called pharmacists,” he said. “We already have a system, and it works.” Yet one of the marijuana proposals on the ballot would set up designated distributors, while the other would allow sales of the drug from liquor stores.

“If you buy it at a liquor store, it’s not medicine — although I did have one great uncle who called it that,” Whitaker said.

On taxes, both candidates said they would not sign proffered pledges by interest groups to never raise taxes. Both said that emergencies and unforeseen circumstances come up, and they have to retain their options. “What if I want to raise one tax so I can cut another?” Gonzales said. If he signs a “no tax increase” pledge, he cannot do that, he said.