State Rep. Trevor Drown of Russellville launches campaign for Arkansas Secretary of State
by June 21, 2017 9:50 am 557 views
State Rep. Trevor Drown says he is running for Arkansas Secretary of State in 2018. The Russellville Republican officially announced his candidacy Tuesday (June 20) during a monthly meeting of the Pope County Republican Committee.
The incumbent officeholder since January 2011, Republican Mark Martin of Prairie Grove, is term limited.
“My entire career has been centered around organization, logistics, and budgeting,” Drown said in a news release “I want to use that experience in the Secretary of State position to help save tax dollars, ensure fair elections, and to make it easy to conduct business in Arkansas.”
Drown, 46, is serving his second term in the Arkansas House of Representatives. He represents District 68, which includes parts of Pope and Van Buren counties.
A U.S. Army Green Beret, he served in Special Forces operations in Afghanistan and South Sudan. He re
tired from the United Parcel Service (UPS) in 2016 after a 27-year career.
Drown maintains reserve status with the Army National Guard, where he continues his military service as a Master Sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Training Detachment. He’s been awarded the Bronze Star for Service and the Army Commendation Medal for Valor.
Drown also commented on legislative redistricting, the process of updating legislative districts every ten years to meet population shifts. The Secretary of State has one of three votes when finalizing the new districts, the other two votes belonging to the Governor and Attorney General. He said partisan politics in the past resulted in a lot of poorly shaped districts.
“Many voters are losing faith in our political system due in large part because of political gerrymandering,” Drown said. “I believe it should be done in a consistent and uniform manner that considers geography and regional input first.”