Murdock, Fuller discuss plans in Senate District 9 race
Candidates for the Senate District 9 seat plan to focus on improvements for Eastern Arkansas and the Delta if elected.
State Rep. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna, and Terry Fuller, RPoplar Grove, are seeking election to the Senate seat, replacing Sen. Keith Ingram, D-West Memphis, who announced in January that he would not seek reelection.
Ingram represented District 24, which became District 9 after the state’s redistricting process. District 9 includes all of Phillips and Crittenden counties, along with the eastern portions of St. Francis and Lee counties.
Murdock, who is the current District 48 Representative, has served 12 years in the Legislature. He is married to Willie Murdock, and they are the parents of a Arielle Murdock, and the late Reginald Murdock Jr.
Fuller owns Fuller Feed and Supply in Poplar Grove with his twin brother Jerry. They also own Ray Fuller Farms Inc., farming soybeans, corn and cattle, and own RF Beef Company. He and his wife, Lisa, have two daughters, Rayann and Gracie.
Murdock said he is running for the Senate seat to represent the residents of Eastern Arkansas.
“I’m running for the same reason as I have done with the Representative position. The people of Eastern Arkansas have asked me to continue to serve in the capacity I have served and continue to help the Delta. There are things we need to address to become a better Delta in areas of education, health care, housing, senior care and developmental disabilities,” said Murdock. “There are so many things we’ve been able to do in the 12 years we’ve been in office and people have asked us to continue that in the Senate.”
The state’s term limits allow legislators to serve a total of 16 years in the Legislature, whether as Representative or Senator. If elected, Murdock could serve one term in the Senate, unless he draws a four-year position. “The Senate draws, and if I draw a twoyear slot, I can do a two-year and a four-year term,” he said.
“Eastern Arkansas needs some help,” said Fuller of his decision to seek the Senate seat. “We need better roads, better health care, better education. Those are the three big things for me.
“I have volunteered, or given a lot of time to volunteer organizations for 40 years, and when the opportunity came up with Sen. Ingram not seeking reelection, I decided to run for State Senate to give Eastern Arkansas a voice at the State Capitol, specifically the small independent business owners and the people from here,” said Fuller. “It seems like our four counties really don’t have a voice at the Legislature, especially the south end of the district.”
Fuller said he would like to see infrastructure improvements made throughout the Delta. “Our water systems are over 60 years old, and if a line breaks, they’re so old you can hardly patch them because of the materials they were made of, and that’s just the start. It’s not just the infrastructure, since health care and education are in basically the same situations.”
Both Murdock and Fuller support increases in teacher salaries.
“I’ve been an advocate for that. Look at the education committee meetings, and the last two or three you’ll see my testimony as I talk about teacher salaries and advocate as a state to do what’s necessary to not only give a raise but to make us competitive to nearby states, and we have not done that,” said Murdock. “I’m totally in support of that, and not just for teachers, but support staff as well. We have enough money in the state surplus to prioritize our teachers. We have expectations of school districts to perform at a
level of adequacy of above, but we do not fund them that way. I will continue to implore the Legislature to do that.”
“I am absolutely in favor of increasing current pay across the state. According to the Bureau of Legislative Research, the State Senate, for 15 years in a row, has passed a raise for the state’s teachers,” said Fuller, noting that three of the seven school districts in District 9 are currently under state control, including Lee County, Marvell-Elaine and Helena-West Helena.
The candidates also agree the state should help fund additional safety measures on school campuses.
“Safety should be one of the measures front and center for teachers, students and everyone involved,” said Murdock. “I want us to provide funding so it is not an unfunded mandate.”
Fuller said he would like to see better safety measures put in place for everyone.
“Obviously, kids are really important to all of us, but the safety of all of us is really important too,” said Fuller.
Fuller said he would support tax cuts for Arkansans.
“I think we’re going to be able to take care of the income tax for the state so we can be competitive with surrounding states,” said Fuller. “We have to change the business economics for the state where it’s easier for an independent or small business to start up or stay in business.”
Murdock said he does not support removing the state’s income tax until the state brings it services up to par.
“I’m only in favor of tax cuts when we don’t have a situation like we’re in now where we’re not adequately funding teacher pay or taking care of other developments. Our seniors and others in the state do not favor tax cuts with those outstanding issues, especially when our roads are like they are,” said Murdock. “When those things are not up to par, I’m not in favor of taking dollars out of general revenue.”
Fuller and Murdock disagree on abortion rights.
“I don’t think the government should be in the room when those decisions are made. They are not government decisions. That’s the doctor, the mother and the Lord. That’s between them,” said Murdock.
“I’m anti-abortion but I do think there has to be some exceptions and there are some now, but possibly not enough. I would have to see the bill to see what I would vote on,” said Fuller.
The candidates also offered their thoughts on the Second Amendment and assault weapons.
“I do support the Second Amendment and reasonable use of weapons in general,” said Murdock. “The problem is not the weapons, it’s the people, and people with weapons can cause problems. A weapon by itself is not a problem, but it’s what people do with weapons. I’m in favor of people using their rights but not to alienate and infringe on other rights, such as living and being safe while doing so.”
Fuller said he “absolutely” supports the Second Amendment.
“A ban on assault weapons would absolutely be an infringement on the Second Amendment,” said Fuller. “I don’t know how you would vote against an assault weapon because who decides what an assault weapon is. The way it’s defined today and the way it’s defined in 60 years could be completely different. We didn’t have automatic weapons when the Second Amendment was written.”
Murdock said he does not “have a political stance” on the move to legalize recreational marijuana.
“I don’t think either are a very good idea, but we already have the
STATE SENATE DISTRICT 9
medical marijuana. I don’t know if the recreational will pass or not, but I just don’t think any substance abuse is a good thing for us,” said Fuller.
Murdock said, if elected, he is interested in addressing issues regarding the mentally impaired.
“I’m very interested in taking care of the mentally impaired in our communities and how they’re dealt with in the justice system, when they’re adjudicated and the support we give them, especially the adults because after a certain age they don’t have the services they need. We need to address this in our communities,” said Murdock. “I’m going to focus on that this time along with other things I’ve always focused on such as health care and education.”
Fuller said he plans to be proEastern Arkansas and probusiness.
“Some of the regulations we have appear to me to be strictly to keep a person from getting into business or to be able to survive in business,” said Fuller. “There was an instance not long ago where a small country store basically couldn’t get qualified to accept EBT because of the state’s guidelines and that’s not where we want to be. Over 30% of the food bought in Phillips County is bought with an EBT card, but yet we’re limiting people who can accept EBT cards.”
Early voting in this year’s general election is underway. Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.