Gov. Hutchinson touts limited government, inspired leadership and bipartisanship

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said Northwest Arkansas is a place where inspired leadership has achieved phenomenal success on the world stage despite the sometimes crippling hands of government.

Hutchinson was the featured speaker Thursday (Feb. 11) at the Cross Church Summit Luncheon in Rogers. He shared his vision for the state and discussed some of the challenges he hopes to tackle with the help of the private sector over the next few years.

When Hutchinson speaks in Northwest Arkansas he reminds folks that he learned a lot about life on the family’s farm in Gravette, and where he learned the value of a work ethic watching the likes of Sam Walton and J.B. Hunt. He said they were visionaries with strong value systems that inspired others through their leadership.

“I bought my first home with funding from the Bank of Bentonville, long before it became Arvest. I called the bank and told them I wanted to buy a house. I got in the car by the time I got there from the home we were looking at they had the paperwork ready to sign.  That’s quite different than it is today,” he said, referring to federal bank regulations and other criteria now required for home loans.

Hutchinson said he lost his share of political races and there have been plenty of ups and downs throughout his professional career, which he counts as helpful in preparing for the job as governor.

“After I lost the 2006 election for governor I thought that phase of my life was done. But a delegation of young people in the state came to me and asked me to consider running again and I feel blessed to lead this state,” he told the crowd.

His goals now include being an economic development ambassador for Arkansas across the globe, working on education system improvements, supporting foster care programs, incentivizing job growth, and providing more opportunities for prison parolees seeking a second chance.

Hutchinson talked briefly about one of his pet projects – the effort to bring computer coding classes to every high school in Arkansas. Hutchinson said the nation is now looking at Arkansas and what it’s doing with requiring high schools to teach computer coding.

“It was recently noted as the No. 1 idea coming out of high schools today, according to a Washington, D.C. publication,” he added.

Hutchinson said managing well is simply not enough as today’s challenges require inspired innovation and unilateral cooperation between parties, public, private and government stakeholders.

“Washington can learn something from Arkansas, where we are finding ways to reach across the line to work together for the greater good,” he said.

Hutchinson remains concerned about the lack of Arkansas foster care facilities for abused and neglected children, and children removed from homes by the courts. He said Fort Smith, one of the state’s largest regions, is grossly underserved in this area. Overflow kids are routinely shipped to Northwest Arkansas and even as far as Crossett in south Arkansas – wherever they find a bed.

“This problem cannot be solved with money alone. It takes private and public help as well as federal and state government to provide these safety nets for our most vulnerable citizens,” Hutchinson said.

The same is true for worker programs geared to help prison parolees who are given $100 and a bus ticket upon release. Hutchinson said not all of them want a second chance at a productive life, but plenty do. He said meeting with private employers is a key effort of his administration to try and enlist their support. He also encouraged employers in the room to be more open to carefully reviewing applications of felons to see if there is a possibility for hire.

“I don’t expect bankers to put embezzlers to work as a teller, but there are likely other jobs that they could do,” he said. “We have to work together on this.”

One safety net Hutchinson said he felt needed tightening was the SNAP program, also known as the food stamp program. He defended his position to eliminate the required non-work waiver, saying that anyone who can work should do so, and if they can’t find a job then volunteering could be substituted.

“I did this because there is dignity in work and good honest work should be valued in our society,” he said. “When I was a kid, my dad would ask me to help some men on our chicken farm to clean out the poultry houses. It was hard, dirty, but honest work and when I finally got to bed at night I was exhausted, but also proud to know that my work was valued and important to our family farm.”

Hutchinson also shared an interesting observation he made while recently touring the Facebook corporate offices in Silicon Valley. He described a state-of-the-art corporate setting that included virtually every amenity an employee could want. On the roof, he said there was green space in a park-like setting, fully equipped with wireless so employees may work from the rooftop. In the corner, he noticed an unfinished bar counter and he jokingly asked the guides if the company ran out of money and stopped short of completion.

“They told me that there were several unfinished areas in the building design because the architect wanted the workers to see and know there is always work to do, a problem to solve and innovation to discover. I loved the symbolism here and that’s something we too, must remember,” Hutchinson said.