Democrats’ New Chairman Formulating Plans To Reverse 2010 Losses

Will Bond, the former Jacksonsville legislator and new chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, understands pressure.

He not only inherits a political party organization that suffered huge losses at the local, state and federal level in 2010, he’s had his arm twisted by the most powerful Democrat in the state.

"When the Governor calls and asks you to do something, it’s very hard to tell him no," Bond explains as one reason he accepted the call to serve as party chairman.

Bond, who has been visiting with elected officials and local Democratic activists, says he plans on seeing new staff join the Democratic Party of Arkansas employment rolls with an emphasis on a refocused communications strategy.

"I think the number one thing that we’ve heard over and over again is the message of ‘Arkansas Democrats being responsible leaders’ did not break through all the noise in the last election cycle," Bond tells Talk Business. "We have a great story to tell. If you look around our border states and all the surrounding states, how Arkansas fared in this tough economy is really incredible."

"That was based on strong Democratic leadership from Gov. Beebe and our House and Senate. We’ve got to figure out a way to get that message through to folks that, ‘Hey, although it’s been tough. Arkansas has done better than many of our surrounding states and all the states in the nation,’" Bond said.

He also says that part of reshaping the Democratic Party’s message will center around "good policy" as Democrats have and still control the majority of seats in state government.

"To me, what is very important is that Arkansas Democrats really stand for the Arkansas people and good policy, not politics. Not just trying to get a vote on an issue or trying to make some vote with a bill. We have to figure out how to govern. That’s what we do best. We lead the state. We govern responsibly," Bond said.

For perspective on the 2010 elections, which saw Arkansas Democrats lose two open Congressional and one incumbent Senate seat as well as their supermajorities in the state legislature and constitutional offices, Bond suggests time will tell if this was a permanent pendulum swing. He contends that Arkansas has been a two-party state in his estimation for some time, owing to Mike Huckabee’s ten-year gubernatorial run.

"To say that somehow it was a sea of change in 2010 may be an overstatement. To say that it was just an anomaly is an understatement. The truth lies somewhere in between," he added.

Bond shared his thoughts on other issues unfolding at the state capitol, including prison reform, tax cuts and Congressional redistricting. Of course, he stated last week that a "majority-minority" Congressional District was a "factual impossibility."

You can watch his full interview in the video below.