Sheffield Nelson Accuses State Senator Of ‘Conflict of Interest’

Activist Sheffield Nelson said Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe) had a “conflict of interest” in his efforts to encourage the Arkansas Municipal League to back off its support of Nelson’s severance tax hike proposal.

Nelson held a press conference on Wednesday (Jan. 18) to complain about a letter written to the Arkansas Municipal League by Dismang and signed by  17 other members of the Joint City, County and Local Affairs committee, which reviews bills that affect city and county governments. The Municipal League represents city governments before the state legislature.

Nelson is trying to qualify an initiative for the November ballot that would raise the state’s severance tax on natural gas to 7% to pay for road repairs. Last summer, the Municipal League endorsed Nelson’s proposal as it would gain millions of dollars annually for city streets, if the measure passes.

“These members [of the Municipal League] felt they were being intimidated and being threatened,” Nelson said, “They can do some very punitive things to the Municipal League.”

In the letter, Dismang and others said that supporting Nelson’s “Natural Gas Severance Tax Act of 2012” would be “harmful economic policy.”

“Listed below are the names of several members of the Senate and House City, County and Local Affairs committees who are in agreement with the opposition of any effort to raise the severance tax on natural gas,” wrote Dismang. “Therefore, we encourage members of the Arkansas Municipal League to oppose any effort as well. In these tough economic times, protecting Arkansas jobs, and our local economies, should be a priority for all of us.”

‘HEAVY-HANDED’ ACT
“I’ve never seen such a heavy-handed act by any legislative committee or any legislator in all my years of association with politics,” said Nelson, a former Democrat who has twice run for Arkansas Governor as a Republican. “For this committee and Sen. Dismang to step forward and make a strongly worded letter, such as the one you see here, it’s unheard of. First of all, it almost assumes the role of lobbyist.”

Nelson, who has made significant campaign contributions to candidates and political causes for decades, highlighted several natural gas company contributions to Dismang’s campaigns from 2008 and 2010. He said receiving the money raises questions about Dismang’s motives for pressuring the Municipal League to reverse its support.

“It just cries out for someone to look at,” Nelson said. “This is an ethical question, in my opinion.” He declined to offer a specific statute that was in violation, but he said a complaint was likely to be filed if Dismang was not registered as a lobbyist by a mid-February deadline.

“I was approached by somebody else who is going to file an ethics complaint. I won’t identify the person,” said Nelson, who said he singled out Dismang for his role in the letter but would include others in his criticism.

“Because he was the lead on this, he’s our poster child of the day. There will be others,” Nelson said.

DISMANG RESPONDS
When asked for a response to Nelson’s criticisms, Dismang issued this statement:

“I am disappointed that Mr. Nelson has decided to attack me personally. I have great respect for Mr. Nelson and I appreciate much of the work he has done for Arkansas. He has in fact, supported and acted as a wonderful advocate for several charities that are near and dear to my heart. However, my district is in the shale play, and I will not apologize for standing up for my neighbor that was struggling to support his family and is now making $60,000 a year because of a job created by the natural gas industry. I will not apologize for standing up for local jobs and the future of our local economy. My record shows that I am an advocate for the families in my district, and I am very proud of that fact. Today’s press conference should be seen as what it is: a publicity stunt. I hope we can move past this needless discourse and get back to a discussion based on facts.”