Riding off before the sun has set

Feb. 25, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Scott Bennett has often had one of the most frustrating tasks at the State Capitol. Last week he announced he was leaving his job, just before there might not be a reason to be so frustrated anymore.

Bennett has been the Arkansas Department of Transportation’s director for nine years. Each legislative session he’s pleaded for more money for his department, which he says is underfunded by about $478 million annually.

That shortfall is the result of three factors, Bennett has argued. First, state and federal fuel taxes hadn’t been raised in decades and weren’t tied to inflation. Meanwhile, construction costs have risen. Finally, fuel-efficient cars are burning less gas and therefore are generating less in gas taxes. The bottom line has been that ARDOT needs money, or else it can only manage the highway system’s decline.

Many legislators have been sympathetic. Others say ARDOT is wasting too much money or not building roads in the right places (translation, my district). Some have argued that parts of the state’s really big highway system – it’s bigger than California’s – should be transferred to local control. Continue reading →

Her name’s Mosie, and she’s running for president

Feb. 20, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Were you watching the New Hampshire presidential primary results Feb. 12? Fort Smith’s Mosemarie “Mosie” Boyd was, because she was on the ballot.

The founding attorney of the True Grit Law Firm collected 32 votes and placed 25th in New Hampshire, then drove all night through a snowstorm to Cleveland and flew to her home state of California to campaign there. She spoke with me Sunday from Fair Oaks, where she attended high school and where her mother has a campaign sign in her yard near that state’s governor’s home.

“She’s very proud that he and his security detail drive by my presidential campaign sign every morning on his way to work,” she said.

Boyd, 50, planned to spend this week campaigning in California before returning to Arkansas. Both states have their primaries March 3. She’ll be one of 18 candidates on the Democratic Party ballot here. Continue reading →

Primary ballots: Not much to vote about

Feb. 18, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Early voting has begun in Arkansas’ March 3 primary elections, which feature a Democratic presidential race, an Arkansas Supreme Court race, and not much else.

Eighteen presidential candidates are on the Democratic ballot, but most have suspended their campaigns. If former Vice President Joe Biden doesn’t win South Carolina Feb. 29, then by March 3 the field of serious contenders may have winnowed to five: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Thirteen other states along with Arkansas vote March 3. The next day, it could be down to Sanders and Bloomberg. Sanders has a base of supporters committed to his socialist candidacy. He spoke to a crowd of 17,000 in Washington state Monday. That’s a Trump-like number. Bloomberg has a base of billions of dollars and the increasing attention of traditional Democrats who fear what Sanders will do to their party if he’s the nominee.

On the Republican side, two other names are on the ballot alongside President Trump’s. Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld ran for vice president in 2016 as a Libertarian and hoped this year to position himself as some kind of return to post-Trump Republican normalcy. That ain’t happening, at least not this year. Rocky De La Fuente is also on the ballot, but he was never a serious candidate and has dropped out. Continue reading →

Bloomberg winning Arkansas, as of last week

Feb. 13, 2020

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg placed first in a poll of likely Democratic primary voters in Arkansas conducted Feb 6-7, but much can change before the votes are counted here March 3.

The Talk Business & Politics/Hendrix College poll found Bloomberg leading with 19.6% support, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden with 18.5%, Sen. Bernie Sanders with 16.4%, and Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 15.5%. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was fifth with 8.9%, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar was sixth with 4.8%. Andrew Yang had 2% support, but he has since dropped out of the race. Another 3.3% said they would vote for “someone else,” while 11% were undecided.

The poll had a margin of error of plus-minus 4.3%, which would encompass any of the top four candidates and would leave Warren not far behind.

Polls provide a snapshot of the campaign when they are taken, but they cannot predict the future. Continue reading →

Webb-Gorsuch vs. Welch-Roberts

By Steve Brawner
© 2020 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

Feb. 11, 2020

The Arkansas Supreme Court justice race is the only one that will be on every voter’s ballot March 3. The candidates can’t tell voters how they would rule on specific issues because they’re supposed to judge each case on the merits. But they can send signals, if the right question is asked.

Judge Morgan “Chip” Welch and Workers’ Compensation Commission Chief Law Judge Barbara Webb spoke at the Arkansas Bar Association’s midyear meeting Feb. 6. They are competing for the seat held by the retiring Justice Josephine Hart.

When they talked to reporters afterwards, they were asked to name the U.S. Supreme Court justice with whom they most align. The question originally had been asked by the Family Council for its Voters Guide.

The Family Council had asked only about current justices. Welch named Chief Justice John Roberts, a President George W. Bush nominee who has emerged as the Court’s moderate and swing vote. Welch noted that Roberts, last seen presiding over President Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, has described himself as an umpire whose job is simply to call balls and strikes.

Continue reading →