UA student enters race for congressional seat
Posted on Tuesday, April 8, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE — Abel Tomlinson began thinking about running for Congress when he realized U. S. Rep. John Boozman could be re-elected without challenge this year.
With no Democrat in the race, Tomlinson decided about a week ago that he will seek the Green Party nomination in his bid to unseat Boozman, a Republican.
Tomlinson, a Fayetteville resident and a University of Arkansas graduate student, knows it’s a long shot.
“But I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think I could win,” he said Monday.
Green Party officials hope to recruit candidates to run in all five congressional races in Arkansas this year. Tomlinson, so far the only Green Party candidate seeking the 3 rd Congressional District nomination, announced his candidacy to fellow UA students on Monday afternoon.
He set up a microphone and speaker, taped an American flag to a table and made his speech to a mostly indifferent lunchtime crowd near the Arkansas Union.
About 20 Tomlinson supporters, some standing behind and some sitting in front of him, cheered him on as he described Boozman and President Bush as “joined at the hip like Siamese twins.” He denounced the Iraq war, tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, and the Republican administration’s environmental approach. He described himself as a “social progressive and fiscal conservative.” Tomlinson is an outspoken senator in the UA’s Associated Student Government and a former columnist for The Arkansas Traveler.
He was arrested in 2006 for disorderly conduct after using a bullhorn to debate evangelist Gary “Moses” Bowman on campus. Tomlinson said Monday that he still believes his free speech rights were violated with the arrest, but he said he took his attorney’s advice in pleading guilty to the misdemeanor charge and paid a fine of about $ 200.
He said he acted immaturely then and now feels more compassion for those who disagree with him, including Bowman.
Boozman said Monday that he’s proud of his record in Congress and that it’s appropriate for representing the “conservative values” of the Northwest Arkansas district.
“The Green Party is pretty far left, both socially and economically,” Boozman said.
On Saturday, the Green Party will hold the first part of its nominating convention in Little Rock. The party will seek nominations for federal office, including congressional races, then seek candidates for state offices in early June.
Mark Swaney, the Green Party treasurer, said the party will continue to recruit federal candidates and may make more federal nominations in June, in hopes of fielding challengers in all congressional races.
Rebekah Kennedy of Fort Smith already announced she’d run against U. S. Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat.
As a new party, the Green Party is allowed to select its nominees at a convention this year rather than holding primaries like the Republicans and Democrats. In 2010, the Green Party will hold a primary election at the same time as the major state parties.
Without the Green Party, Swaney said, Arkansas would have “Soviet-style” elections for Congress this year, with only one person on the ballot in each race. Republicans haven’t challenged the four incumbent congressional Democrats who are up for re-election, and Boozman is the only Republican in the state delegation.
Darinda Sharp, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, said the party has recruited candidates for state offices in the 3 rd District.
“It’s not like we’re conceding the territory,” she said. “We’re proud of the candidates we have.” Tomlinson, 27, said he was born in a tent near Kingston to parents who were poor and trying to live off the land. He’s a graduate of Mountainburg High School with a bachelor’s degree in horticulture science from the UA. He is seeking a graduate degree in political science.
Tomlinson and his wife, Amanda, have a daughter, Anna.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
