Post seating in Arkansas House draws objections

Just a day after they all rubbed shoulders at a chummy legislative reception at the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, State Reps. Gary Deffenbaugh, R-Van Buren; Jon Eubanks, R-Paris; Terry Rice, R-Waldron; and Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, on Thursday voted to delay the seating of Rep. Leslee Milam-Post, D-Altus, in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Reps. Denny Altes and Stephanie Malone, R-Fort Smith, did not vote. Rep. Tracy Pennartz, D-Fort Smith, voted to seat Post.

The vote to delay Post’s seating received 28 yes votes and 61 no votes. A subsequent motion to seat Post received 61 yes votes and 29 no votes.

The effort to delay Post’s seating is rooted in a belief among Republicans in the Arkansas House that Post was illegally involved in using an Arkansas State Police database to research her then-opponent Tom Fite.

Rice said his vote was not against Post, but was against a process that “disenfranchised the voters of that district.”

Prior to the Nov. 2 election, a legal challenge to Fite’s ballot status came from Michael Grulkey, who filed a lawsuit in Pulaski County Circuit Court saying Fite has a 1984 criminal conviction that made him ineligible for election. Fite faced a federal jury trial in February 1984 on several counts of medicaid fraud and bribery. The trial, held in the Eastern District of Arkansas, ended in a mistrial, and Fite eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge and was given three years probation.

Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Collins Kilgore ruled Oct. 27 that Fite’s name be excluded from election ballots and ordered election officials to not count votes for Fite.

“The plain language of the Constitution of the State of Arkansas prohibits one convicted of bribery from holding public office, and Mr. Fite has been convicted of aiding and abetting medicaid bribery,” Kilgore noted in his ruling.

On Nov. 1, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the ruling.

Rice said Kilgore “overstepped his authority” because his ruling resulted in a “de facto” election of Post without any thought of a special election to give the voters a choice.

“It’s not personal against any candidates, it’s just important for the voters to be heard. That’s my concern and that’s the concern of most of the people I talk to,” Rice explained.

On Nov. 5, Fite alleged through a statement to the media that a member of the Arkansas State Police used the state’s information system to gather information about Fite. Fite told The City Wire that the officer did this to help the Post campaign in its effort to remove him from the ballot.

The full statement from Fite noted: “Tom Fite for State Representative Campaign has handed over information it has collected over the past week to the Sebastian County Prosecutors Office today. Over the past week we have received information that alleges a member of the State Police illegally accessed ACIC for information related to Tom Fite’s past, which is a felony. We hope the investigation will be quick and thorough. We also hope justice will be swift.”

Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said Nov. 5 that the ASP Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the allegation.

Sebastian County Prosecutor Dan Shue said Thursday (Jan. 6) the “matter is still under investigation.”

Rice also said he voted against seating Post because of the odd timing.

“Also, I’ll tell you that my vote, and my question was, ‘Why is it necessary to seat her when we are waiting to vote Monday to seat everyone else?’” Rice said.