Area leaders seek the positive in Congressional redistricting

It’s not life and death, like his son David faces in Afghanistan, but Van Buren Mayor Bob Freeman said political and business leaders in the Fort Smith metro area must stay focused on the mission and accept and work proactively within new Congressional district lines.

Freeman, speaking Wednesday (April 13) during a Regional Intermodal Transportation Authority board meeting, said of the new Congressional districts: “It is what it is.”

When the new redistricting plan formally approved Wednesday morning becomes law, Crawford County will be split almost evenly down the middle with the western half in the 3rd District and the eastern half in the 4th. The city of Alma — about 5,000 people — will be split down the middle, with 2 city precincts voting in the 3rd District and 2 precincts voting in the 4th District.

Franklin County is moved entirely out of the 3rd District and into the 4th District.

Lavaca and environs in the northeastern corner of Sebastian County are pulled into the 4th District. Roughly one-third of Sebastian County below Greenwood and below Fort Chaffee and Chaffee Crossing will be in the 4th District.

Essentially, the Fort Smith metro area will soon have two Congressman — 3rd District Congressman Steve Womack, R-Rogers, and 4th District Congressman Mike Ross, D-Prescott.

Freeman said during a recent phone call he encouraged his son to stay focused on his military mission while struggling with day-to-day problems in Afghanistan. He said that advice now applies to economic development missions in the Fort Smith area.

“We’ve got to change tactics a little bit and stay focused on the mission,” Freeman told the RITA board members.

After the meeting, Freeman told The City Wire there is too much potential for growth in the area to not try to find a positive in the redistricting.

“Really, this is what it is. I don’t have to like it, but I have to make it work and we can make it work,” he said.

Freeman’s sentiment mirrors that of Crawford County Judge John Hall.

“We now understand the importance of regionalism, so we’ll have to accept it and do what we can to work under it,” Hall said Tuesday when it was first learned the new Congressional redistricting would cut through Crawford County.

Paul Harvel, president of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce, lobbied hard to oppose the Congressional redistricting plan eventually approved, but he is ready to build new political bridges.

“We’re going to reach out. My idea is to get his (Womack) staff with Ross’ staff and we all sit down together for a dinner or whatever, but we sit down and talk,” Harvel said. “I think we can figure out how to make the best out of this situation of having two Congressmen.”

Sen. Jake Files, R-Fort Smith, who voted against the plan and opposed against the “Fayetteville to the Fourth” plan, said now is the time to determine where the opportunity is within the new political reality.

"While I don’t think the process was fair, the product is our new reality. This is a chance, once again, for the people in our Region to step up to a new challenge in working with multiple districts as it relates to funding, constituent issues, and building relationships. I hope we find more benefits because of this and look forward to making new paths,” Files said in a statement.

Reps. Ross and Womack issued statements Wednesday about the new lines.

Ross: “I am proud to represent all 29 counties that currently make up Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District. While I’m disappointed the final plan passed by the state legislature calls for the Fourth District to lose Chicot, Desha and Lincoln counties and a small portion of Jefferson County, I recognize our Constitution and the census require congressional districts to change once every ten years. I also welcome each of the new communities in Franklin, Johnson, Madison and Yell counties and in parts of Crawford, Newton and Sebastian counties. I have said all along that I will continue to work hard to represent the Fourth District to the best of my ability – regardless of its boundaries.

“Arkansas’s congressional delegation has a long-standing tradition of working together to move our great state forward, regardless of party affiliation or congressional district boundaries. I will continue to work with our entire congressional delegation to give Arkansas a powerful voice in Washington and to fight for the Arkansas values we all share.”

Womack: “I am glad the issue is behind us, even though I have some reservations about the final map. I am disappointed that the legislature chose to split several counties and even small cities to achieve the preferred balance. I believe the same could have been achieved without splitting neighborhoods.

“I regret that I will no longer have Madison, Franklin, and Johnson Counties—some of my district’s most valued rural area—but I understand the fact that the 3rd District was ‘overweight’ in population and nearly 100,000 people had to be redistributed to other districts.  I just wish it would have been accomplished more along the lines of keeping communities of interest together and less about political objectives.”