Johnny Rye Officially Announces For State Representative

Johnny Rye, Jr. of Trumann announced Aug. 29 his candidacy for State Representative District 54.

Rye, a Republican, is running to replace GOP Rep. Dave Wallace of Leachville, who announced he will challenge incumbent Democratic State Sen. David Burnett of Osceola for the State Senate.

On Saturday, Rye changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican after 25 years of service as the Democratic Assessor in Poinsett County. Former Democratic state legislator Wes Wagner, who also switched his party affiliation on Saturday, said he plans to run for the District 54 House seat, too.

“My desire is to serve all citizens of district 54 by addressing any legislation that can be a benefit to our area,” said Rye. “As a conservative, it is important to me we don’t burden Arkansans with government mandates and a high cost of living. That’s why I want to limit the negative impact of things like Obamacare and will work to balance our state budget without having to increase taxes to pay for it.”

Rye was first elected to his county assessor post in 1990. In 2002, he was elected by the Arkansas Assessor Association to represent them on the Association of Arkansas Counties Board, where he served on their legislative committee until 2012.

While serving as the President of the Arkansas Assessor’s Association in 2001, he helped with the development and implementation of Amendment 79, which gave all Arkansas homeowners up to a $350 tax credit.

Rye said he hopes to continue the work he began while with the Association of Arkansas Counties and said it gave him a complete picture of all issues that came before the General Assembly.

“My time in county government has proven to me the importance of more local control. I believe it is the best way for us to protect our small town life, improve local schools, and ensure our roads are well taken care of,” Rye said. “As a legislator, I will make it a priority to see cities and counties have the resources they need to work efficiently. That includes stopping big government mandates and ensuring proper reimbursements for holding state prisoners.”

Rye also mentioned economic development in the Delta and agriculture as two other areas he hoped to work on, if elected.

Rye attended Marked Tree High School and Arkansas State University. He and his wife, Julie, are members of First United Methodist Church in Marked Tree. They have one daughter, Dr. Robin Dabney, who is a nurse practitioner at the University of Tennessee Vascular Surgery in Memphis.