Campaign Focus : Growth goal for rivals in Ft. Smith
Posted on Friday, October 24, 2008
FORT SMITH — The two candidates for the District 64 state representative seat agree on several issues.
Democrat Mike Bock and Republican Stephanie Malone said one of the most important issues they have focused on during their campaigns is economic development, but how to accomplish that shows the differences.
Bock and Malone are vying for the seat being vacated by Republican Jim Medley because of term limits.
Malone is running for office for the first time, while Bock hasn’t held office since he sat on the Sebastian County Quorum Court 38 years ago.
Malone said she has worked on economic development in her last two jobs.
The first was as communications director for the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce and in her current job as marketing director for the Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority.
She said she gained her experience working with local, state and federal officials at the chamber on economic development projects and enjoyed the work. Her economic development work was part of the reason she said she decided to run for public office.
An important part of the economic development of the Fort Smith area and the state is the completion of Interstate 49, which would provide a north-south artery for western Arkansas.
“I’m going to explore all opportunities to get that completed,” she said.
She said some voters in the district have told her they were concerned about jobs and the loss of several hundred positions at the Whirlpool plant in Fort Smith.
She said she would work with in the Legislature to retain jobs in Fort Smith.
She also said she wanted to consider creating a free trade zone in Fort Smith to attract new industry.
She said the advantage of a free trade zone is that manufacturers would pay taxes only on completed products not on their components.
She said a new port on the Arkansas River, whether in Van Buren, at Fort Chaffee or in Fort Smith, would be a plus for the region.
Bock said he would work with city officials to attract new industry to the area. He said the area is losing jobs.
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith is one of the keys to economic development, he said.
He pointed to Conway where, he believed, the high number of University of Central Arkansas graduates living there was responsible for attracting 1, 200 high-tech Hewlett Packard jobs last summer. The university in Fort Smith could have a similar impact there.
“When the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith starts turning out graduates, it will help us attract new industry here,” he said.
He favored offering tax incentives to draw new industry to the area, saying the Fort Smith region would make up for the loss of tax revenue with higher salaried residents.
Bock said he always has wanted to run for the Legislature. He is retired and that will allow him to work full time for the district.
He said it would be difficult for a person working part time to devote the time necessary to provide good constituent service.
“I like politics, and this will give me the chance to serve the people,” he said.
Working for the state with the Division of Developmental Disabilities Services of the Department of Human Services, Bock has been connected with such programs as Bost Human Development Center, Abilities Unlimited and Stepping Stone.
He has been the longtime president of Sebastian County Girls Softball and is a past president and current board member of the Fort Smith Razorback Club.
Bock said he wanted to ensure that programs for the elderly, such as Meals on Wheels, received adequate funding.
Malone, who grew up in Rogers and who described herself as “true conservative,” is a member of the Junior League and the Young Emerging Leaders and is a board member of Abilities Unlimited.
Both candidates said they are anti-abortion and are members of the National Rifle Association. Malone said she has been endorsed by the Arkansas Right to Life.
Malone and Bock said they favored total repeal of the sales tax on groceries.
They said the tax break would help all Arkansans who have enough financial worries in these worsening economic times.
Malone said she was in favor of dropping the bingo tax, a $ 1 tax on each bingo card sold. She said of the $ 1 million the tax raised each year, $ 600, 000 of it went to administrative costs. She said the tax is used by groups like the American Legion to send young people to Girls and Boys State.
Both also said they opposed using state funds to provide services to illegal aliens.
“I don’t feel Arkansas taxpayers dollars should be used for people who are in this country illegally,” Malone said. “I also do not agree that they should receive state scholarships or any benefits whatsoever.”
Bock said he did not hate illegal immigrants but that the state’s tax dollars should be spend on Arkansas citizens.
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