Three state senators bid farewell as special session nears close

As the Arkansas General Assembly prepares to wind down legislative duties at the State Capitol that began in early February, three state senators — two Republicans and one Democrat — gave emotional farewell speeches on Wednesday (March 14).

Sens. David Sanders and Jeremy Hutchinson, both Republicans from Little Rock, and Uvalde Lindsey, a Democrat from Fayetteville, all bid their good-byes to fellow lawmakers in an emotional sendoff that brought tears, laughs, handshakes and hugs to the Senate floor.

Sanders said he had come to the decision to leave public office after much prayer and consideration about running for the District 15 seat again, which includes parts of western Pulaski County.

“I do cherish my time in public service and I do cherish the time I spent with each of you,” he said. “But I look forward to writing a new chapter in my life.”

Two weeks ago on the last day of filing for statewide office, Sanders did not seek re-election for District 15. In late September, he was named director of Winrock International’s Innovate Arkansas, the statewide initiative that helps startups and other technology ventures reach their potential. Sanders, who was assistant pro tempore of the Senate, was first elected to serve in the state’s upper chamber in 2012. He also served one term in the Arkansas House of Representatives.

His Senate mate, Lindsey, was also first elected to the chamber in 2012 as a Democrat in District 4, which includes most of Fayetteville and parts of Farmington, Prairie Grove and Greenland. He told his fellow senators that he has “been around” state government for nearly 40 years in different capacities, serving the last decade as a lawmaker. He also served in the House from 2009 to 2013.

“The last 10 years have been an honor to serve in the Arkansas General Assembly,” said Lindsey, who is not seeking re-election. State Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville and Dawn Clemence, a Republican, have filed to run for Lindsey’s seat.

Sen. Hutchinson also is not defending his Senate District 33 seat, which he has held since 2011. In October, Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, announced he was running for the Senate seat that includes parts of Saline and Pulaski counties. Melissa Fults, a Democrat, has filed to run against Hammer in the 2018 general election.

In his last speech on the Senate floor, Hutchinson joked with his colleagues about his colorful and sometimes controversial tenure in the chamber, including his post as chairman of the influential Senate Judiciary Committee.

“I am not going to cry like Sanders …, but my time here has been life-changing,” said the Little Rock attorney, who also served in the House from 2000-2007.

Sanders, Lindsey and Hutchinson will continue serving in office through the end of 2018, but will not be involved in another legislative session unless the governor calls lawmakers back to the Capitol before the 92nd General Assembly in 2019. Candidates elected to their seats in the November election will take their oath of office in the 2019 legislative session, which begins in January 2019.

In other business, both the House and Senate approved all nine bills that Gov. Asa Hutchinson put on the special session call. Both chambers will now take up each other’s bills on Thursday morning with the three-day session expected to end shortly thereafter after the bills are signed by the governor and enacted into law.