Elvis joins Gov. Mike Beebe, Jim Keet at forum

Mojo Nixon is correct. Elvis is everywhere.

Maybe not everywhere, but he was at a Monday (Oct. 11) candidate forum in Fort Smith hosted by the League of Women Voters.

Elvis D. Presley, a write-in candidate for Arkansas Governor, joined Jim Lendall, the Green Party candidate for governor, Jim Keet the GOP gubernatorial candidate and Gov. Mike Beebe, the incumbent and Democratic candidate.

Presley and Lendall admitted early in the forum they were not likely to win. Presley said he was “new to politics and open to suggestions.” Lendall said he was hoping to gain at least 3% of the November vote in order to maintain the future ballot status of the Arkansas Green Party.

Obviously, comments from Keet and Beebe were the focus of the forum.

Keet told the crowd of about 115 that he entered the race to help bring better jobs to the state and to remove obstacles to small business growth. He promised to “get regulation out of the way of small business” and curtail what he called an “unsustainable level” of state and federal government growth. The primary obstacle to future economic growth in Arkansas is the new federal health care law, Keet said.

“It is without question going to cost us jobs,” Keet said.

Beebe said his campaign message of four years ago and philosophy during his first four-year gubernatorial term was and continues to be the “twin pillars” of education and economic development.

“Nothing has changed from four years ago, notwithstanding the progress that has been made,” Beebe said.

Beebe credited a quick action closing fund approved by the General Assembly in helping his administration “fight this recession.” The fund, replenished with $50 million in the 2009 General Assembly, is used to help increase jobs through recruitment or expansion of existing operations. He said there are 3-4 “major plant announcements” in the Fort Smith area that would not have happened without the fund.

However, Beebe said he is concerned about those in the area losing jobs.

“But you still have to worry about the Whirlpools and the Tranes,” Beebe said, a reference to the more than 200 jobs Trane will cut at its Fort Smith operation and the about 400 job reduction at Whirlpool’s Fort Smith plant by the end of the year.

With respect to an education, Beebe said much is being done, especially in terms of improving early learning skills.

Coincidentally, it was reported during Monday’s meeting of the Arkansas Board of Education that Arkansas students ranked first in the United States for increased qualifying scores on math, science and English Advanced Placement tests between 2009 and 2010. The top ranking is for both overall student achievement and for minority student achievement.

Not all has been a success. Beebe said the “worst statistic” that remains is the state’s low number of bachelor’s degrees per capita compared to the other 49 states.

Much of the credit for the improvements is attributed to the Arkansas Advanced Initiative for Math and Science (AAIMS), which has been implementing its three-year program with a grant from the National Math and Science Initiative, according to a statement from Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample.

Keet advocated a focus on literacy in the early grades. He also said teachers should be supported in returning “back to the basics” of discipline in schools. Part of the educator support would be in reducing the paperwork teachers are required to produce.

OTHER CANDIDATES
Also attending the forum were Mark Darr, Republican candidate for Lt. Gov., Rep. Mark Martin, Republican candidate for Secretary of State, L.J. Bryant, Democratic candidate for Land Commissioner, and John Thurston, Republican candidate for Land Commissioner.

Darr wants to create an “online checkbook system” that tracks every dollar spent. Also, he promised to be an advocate to represent “Arkansans who are opposed to federal health care.” Darr said if Attorney General Dustin McDaniel won’t oppose the law, he would pursue legal options to stop the law from being implemented in the state.

Martin, a state Representative from Prairie Grove, said he intends to modernize the office using his business experience as owner of a high-tech company (PsyberSimula). He said the Secretary of State’s office needs a “CEO-type” person in charge.

Bryant and Thurston said they would work to educate Arkansans about the role of the Land Commissioner and modernize record keeping and public access to important land records.