Two Democrats say they're vying for the House District 36 seat for the same reason: to fight for the state's underserved population.
Businessman Darrell Stephens, 44, is challenging incumbent Rep. Charles Blake, 35, who is running for his third two-year term. Both are from Little Rock.
There is no Republican candidate for the District 36 seat -- which includes a portion of Pulaski County -- so the nominee elected in the May 22 primary will fill the spot. The next term starts in January.
Blake -- president of CenArk Transportation LLC, which specializes in nonemergency medical transport of patients -- said his track record in the Legislature is one of someone unafraid to take on the tough battles.
"I have been fighting for our families. I have been fighting for justice. I have been fighting for the last four years," Blake said. "And, if you go down the line and see the battles I've been involved in, the wins have been great, but the losses have not stopped me."
Blake co-sponsored a bill in 2015 to separate the same-day celebration of slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. The bill failed to pass in that session, but Blake said it started the conversation that led to the eventual passage of a similar bill last year.
"One of my biggest accomplishments was starting that conversation as far as making sure we're fighting for social justice and things that are culturally competent," Blake said.
He twice co-sponsored with state Rep. Warwick Sabin, D-Little Rock, a bill to enact a state earned-income tax credit that would mimic the federal earned-income tax credit for low- to moderate-income working taxpayers.
"That's a battle I plan to take on in 2019, making sure we're putting more money into working families' pockets," Blake said.
Blake said he also will propose that citizens be automatically registered to vote when they visit the state revenue office to renew car tags or get new driver's licenses. He also sees this as a way to keep the voter rolls current by updating the information anytime a change of address is submitted.
He said he will continue the push to increase state pre-kindergarten funding.
"We need to get sufficient funds to make sure it's there for the next 10-15 years," Blake said. "We're trying to get line items in the budget and going to the governor to make sure that he knows that's still a priority of our party."
Stephens said Blake hasn't done enough for the district, and that's why he decided to run.
"As I went across this district, nobody knew who their state rep was," Stephens said. "It just got on my mind that our seniors can't suffer and our veterans can't suffer. We need someone to fight for those people that suffer the most so I had no choice but to run."
Stephens, who owns a company that finds employment for the disabled, said he has been in politics for more than two decades. He* is the former president of the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus. He also worked as a volunteer on former Gov. Mike Beebe's campaign and for the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008 and 2012.
Through a series of town-hall meetings that Stephens said he conducted, as well as walking door to door, he has a good grasp of the priorities of the district's voters: infrastructure, education, crime, rezoning and cleanup.
"My personal agenda goes back to our seniors, goes back to our veterans, the working middle class and people with disabilities," Stephens said. "For so many years, I've seen nothing done for seniors. Promises have been made to these groups, but nothing has been done."
Blake expressed his opinions on hot-button topics like Medicaid expansion, enhanced gun carry rights, abortion and medical marijuana in a lengthy sit-down session with a reporter and then expounded on his answers by email.
Stephens had one brief meeting with a reporter but missed three earlier appointments to discuss his positions. He was asked numerous times to answer questions by email, but he had difficulty emailing responses.
MEDICAID EXPANSION
People kicked off the state's rolls by the Medicaid expansion initiative are ending up in expensive emergency rooms for basic health care, Blake said.
Beebe authorized the Medicaid expansion in 2013 to use Medicaid dollars to provide private health insurance for low-income Arkansans who make up to 138 percent of the poverty level.
This year, Gov. Asa Hutchinson's request was approved by President Donald Trump for a waiver to impose a work requirement on some of the 280,000 people enrolled in the program, now called Arkansas Works. Participants will be required to work, volunteer or take job training for 20 hours a week.
Blake pointed to the recent layoff of about 730 employees at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as a prime example of the impact of the Medicaid changes.
"It's just not responsible. We should be the safety net of our citizens who need health care," Blake said. "It's going to save us money down the road as well."
ABORTION ISSUES
When it comes to abortion, it's solely up to the woman, Blake said.
"In the long-run it's women who have to give birth. It's women who have to go through that process. It's women who may be putting their life in jeopardy," Blake said. "Like I said, I believe that's a conversation that should happen at the personal level, and the government shouldn't be putting mandates on those tough conversations."
MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Arkansas voters approved a 2016 constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana grown and dispensed in the state. The permitting process is being challenged in court.
Blake said his biggest concern is diversity in the selection of growers and dispensaries, as well as preventing conflicts of interests from the commission that issues permits.
"I would hope that process gets cleaned up as quickly as possible so those people that are needing their medicine can get it, but making sure that process was done as fairly as possible," Blake said. "I wouldn't be opposed to bringing in a contractor who is not on the commission that looks at those applications with a blind eye."
ENHANCED CARRY
Blake fought against the passage last year of Act 562 of 2017 to allow people to take concealed weapons onto public university campuses and into other public places if they take an extra eight hours of training.
"I believe that there are some places that guns should never be," Blake said. "Some enclosed public places, like college campuses, should not permit guns even with eight hours of enhanced training."
SundayMonday on 05/13/2018
*CORRECTION: House District 36 candidate Darrell Stephens of Little Rock is the former president of the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus. He also worked as a volunteer on former Gov. Mike Beebe’s campaign and for the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008 and 2012. His political experience was incorrectly attributed to his opponent in a previous version of this article.