Sharp barbs exchanged between state rep candidates at the NEA Political Animals meeting

State representative Brandt Smith, R-Jonesboro, told attendees of the NEA Political Animals meeting Friday that spending more money on education was not the solution to the state’s education, criminal, and economic problems.

During a sometimes heated debate with his Democratic opponent, attorney Nate Looney of Jonesboro, he said that Looney’s proposals to expand pre-K in the state were farfetched and unneeded.

“There is not a bottomless pit of money in Little Rock,” Smith said.

Looney fired back, noting that many studies, including one he cited by the University of Chicago, indicate there is a strong correlation between early education availability and crime rates. When economically disadvantaged children have access to education at an early age, the chances that they will become criminals later in life is greatly reduced, he said.

In Arkansas, there are about 200,000 children who live at or below the poverty line, Looney said. Smith answered by saying that poverty is much greater in other parts of the world that he’s worked or visited, and many impoverished residents in Arkansas still have access to air conditioning, cell phones, and other non-necessities.

“We can either build prisons in the future or preschools today,” Looney said. “These kids are starting out miles behind their peers (once they reach kindergarten).”

Looney is hoping to unseat Smith in the district 58 house race. Smith won the seat in 2014.

Smith responded by saying he thinks young children should be at home with their families and not at school. He also said research from the University of Chicago couldn’t be trusted, because the city is a Democrat stronghold, plagued by violence and other problems. It was also noted that Arkansas has a $6.5 billion annual budget, and more than 80% of that is already spent on education.

Looney also touted the benefits of spending more money on higher education, especially institutions like Arkansas State University. The state has cut funding to colleges and universities in recent years, meaning students are taking out more and more loans to meet rising tuition costs, he said.

“There is over $1.2 trillion in college student loan debt in this country,” he said.

A member in the crowd asked the candidates if they would accept or if they have accepted money from political action committees. Looney said he has not accepted any money from a PAC, but admitted that he did work with one in the past. Smith said he has gladly taken money from them, as long as it was from a reputable organization.

At no time has he traded favors for money from a PAC, and he said he will support the Republican nominee for president. Smith refused to say which PACs have given his campaign money, but did tell the crowd those records are filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

“Everyone knows I’m a conservative and that’s how I vote … I’m supportive of Donald Trump,” he said.

Looney launched a political assault, noting that large corporations funnel money into PACs, and try to influence elections. The system is akin to a “money laundering scheme” in which influence is bought and sold, he said.

A lot of Looney’s comments and solutions to problems are typical political rhetoric, Smith said. Since he’s been in public office, he and his Republican colleagues have been spending a lot of time undoing all the problems caused by Democrats who dominated the state’s political landscape for generations, he said.

“There’s no gridlock in Little Rock,” Smith said. “Everything is moving along great.”