Experience earns a vote for Womack

I feel compelled to relate a personal experience about Rep. Steve Womack given his reelection efforts.

As a Northwest Arkansas attorney involved in family law issues, a few years ago I represented a woman who had separated from her husband, an active-duty sailor. The husband, while deployed, had begun another relationship and subsequently cut off all financial support for his wife and small child. She had returned to Northwest Arkansas with her special-needs child. A divorce complaint was filed and a temporary hearing date set, but his base command (he had returned to the states by that point) refused to allow him to be served the required legal paperwork. Mom and child had to rely on the kindness of family and friends to survive, while the husband continued to collect thousands of dollars the military paid him specifically to support the housing and other needs of his wife and child.

As a former Marine, I had some experience in military procedures. I reached out to his base commanders and noncommissioned officers seeking assistance to get the financial support for my client. These efforts were fruitless.

I then sent identical emails to U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and 3rd District U.S. Rep. Steve Womack. Within two days, Womack’s office responded with a promise to get back to me after I answered a few more questions. I received a form response from Cotton’s office informing me I needed to complete some specific form, which I completed and returned. Womack’s office followed up with me within, or sooner than, each time frame given to me and requested I keep them informed. I never got so much as another canned reply from Cotton’s office.

Within a week or so of Womack’s first contact, I heard from a senior Department of Defense staff member requesting information on my client. Shortly thereafter my client began receiving monthly support as it was deducted from her husband’s income, per the stated Navy regulations regarding the obligation of a service member to support dependents. I was also given a direct phone number and email address and any questions I had were promptly addressed. Womack’s office followed up with me over the next couple of months to make sure things were progressing satisfactorily and offering any additional assistance. Sen. Cotton has, now some years later, still not bothered to address the concerns of his constituents.

Rep. Steve Womack describes himself, in part, as a successful Army officer and has demonstrated the very core principle of taking care of his own. Sen. Cotton seems to wrap himself in his military service (some suggest it’s been exaggerated) but has demonstrated he will not “walk the walk.”

Ideologically, I am a Democrat and will always differ with Womack on many of his core Republican positions, but I will support him throughout his political career based on my experience and his loyalty to the citizens of our state. I will never support a senator who abandons a citizen in her time of need and ignores a plea for help. SCOTT E. SMITH

Fayetteville