Two Independent candidates running for office
This is being written between the ending of the Republican Party’s political convention and prior to the completion of the Democratic convention. It is probably a good time to note that not all political candidates are affiliated with a party. We have two contests in Benton County that have drawn Independent candidates into their races. One of the contests is for an open seat in the State Legislature and the other is for the position of Benton County judge — the chief executive of the county for those unfamiliar with the position in county government.
Not having the support of a political party can be a heavy handicap for a candidate because raising funds to promote a campaign can be a full-time job if you don’t have the support of a bonafide party. My sympathy and support goes to those willing to undertake this effort and they deserve our consideration regardless of our personal party affiliation. Sometimes, being unencumbered by a party profile allows a candidate a degree of freedom otherwise unavailable, which can be a good thing. And, we have probably had some very good people seek office as Independents for the sole purpose of providing a choice in November long after our local (state) primaries have been forgotten. Independents are not encumbered by party platforms and the kind of debates that we witnessed in the early stages of the Democratic convention over issues of whether God should be included, how to handle the abortion/right to life issue and the support of, or lack of support for, gay marriage. The Independent candidate is not tied to the popular party view and is free to express his or her opinion if they choose.
One of those candidates is Mark Moore, a resident of Pea Ridge, seeking a seat in the legislature as the representative for District 95. He will appear on the ballot Nov. 6 opposing Sue Scott of Rogers, the previously unopposed Republican nominee. The seat is currently filled by Representative Donna Hutchinson (R) of Bella Vista who is termlimited. The area served by District 95 is “basically” the west half of the northeast corner of Benton County. It includes Pea Ridge, Little Flock, portions of east Rogers and the east side of Bella Vista (east of I-540).
Until signs began going up in the area, I was unaware of anyone opposing Mrs. Scott. Moore has contributed numerous articles to this newspaper over the years and many readers probably know him from those writings. If you are not aware of his political views, he is a regular contributor (and moderator) to ArkansasWatch. The website is arkansaswatch. blogspot.com and has some very interesting information and comments on political issues. In addition, there are several links available and one of them has information about Mitt Romney and Bain Capital which surprised me.
Something I found most interesting was a lead through Google which revealed Conservative Arkansas had endorsed Mr. Moore over Mrs. Scott based on the responses to a questionnaire sent out by the Conservative Arkansas organization. Mrs. Scott did not respond and Mark Moore did respond. Mark appeared to be the only non-Republican they endorsed. They also have a website you can view if you wish to know more about the organization.
Since we spend very little time on our computer, we were not familiar with either of these organizations. It just goes to show there are lots of things going on in the political realm that some of us older folks miss and we probably could benefit from their information.
The other Independent is running for the countywide position of Benton County judge. This office is pertinent to all of us because the holder of the position controls (or affects) the spending of a large portion of our taxes.
Ronnie L. Smith easily completed a county-wide petition campaign to get his name on the Nov. 6 ballot as an Independent. He is an ex-Marine, and a life-long Benton County resident from the Avoca area. For this article, I Googled him on the internet and found old archived newspaper articles from early in his campaign and also found there are lots and lots of Ronnie Smiths in the United States — and some of those other than the Benton County Ronnie Smith are political candidates; one a sheriff in Tennessee! Talking with Ronnie’s wife Paula, I learned details of Ronnie and his family, as well as his experience, are available on his Facebook page. (Note: Not being a Facebook member nor a Facebook stock holder, we do not use the site).
You can find out more about Ronnie by going to his Facebook page or by asking anyone you meet. It seems everywhere you go someone knows him from one of his many activities. He co-owns J & R Dozer Construction Company, serves on the Avoca Planning Commission, is on the Board of Directors of Benton County Water District No. 1, coaches Little League baseball, is a life-time National Rifle Association member and still has time to cook chicken on Saturday mornings with Whitey’s Chicken crew in Rogers to support fundraising for numerous activities. You might want to check out his qualifications since he will appear on the ballot in the first position for county judge Nov. 6.
••• Editor’s note: Leo Lynch is an award-winning columnist. He is a native of Benton County has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace. He can be contacted at prtnews@nwaonline. com.