Below are excerpts from Scott Davis’ Northwest Arkansas Times article on last week’s forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters. If you have a subscription, you can read the article on the Northwest Arkansas Times’ website.
FAYETTEVILLE — Former State Rep. J. W. “Bill” Ramsey says his experience will let him “hit the ground running” at the state Legislature while Greg Leding says he’s more in touch with Fayetteville’s “progressive” voters.
The two candidates for state representative in District 92 squared off Friday in a debate hosted by the Washington County League of Women voters in Fayetteville. The race will be determined in the May 18 Democratic primary because no GOP candidates filed.
The District 92 House seat is held by Rep. Lindsley Smith, D-Fayetteville, who can't run for re-election because of term limits. The district covers a large portion of Fayetteville, including the downtown area. Smith backs Leding.
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Leding, 32, said when Ramsey retired from the House “no one had cell phones” and today’s freshmen at the University of Arkansas were not even born yet. “Learning on the job is essential” in today’s modern world, Leding argued. He called himself a “strong voice to progressive beliefs — a full-throated advocate.”
During his closing remarks, Leding attacked Ramsey’s voting record in the House as conservative. Ramsey voted against the Equal Rights Amendment four times and also voted for a bill requiring balanced treatment in public school of both evolution and creation science, or teaching the world was created by a deity, he said.
Ramsey said he will support the Equal Right Amendment now, but in the 1970s his rural, conservative constituents were “very much opposed it.” When the so-called Creation Science Bill came before the House on the last day of the session in 1981, he voted for it because his many of his constituents asked him to.
The full debate will air on Fayetteville’s government channel at 2:00 PM Thursday, April 29; 2:00 PM Friday, April 30; and at 8:00 AM Saturday, May 1.
