House candidates discuss mental illness, LEARNS Act, voting access

The Sebastian County Democratic candidates for the Arkansas House of Representatives recently expressed concern about the LEARNS Act, healthcare in Arkansas, voting access and political disinformation.

Rep. Jay Richardson, D-Fort Smith, who is running unopposed for reelection, Robin McCray, candidate for the District 50 seat held by Rep. Zack Gramlich, R-Fort Smith, and Jane-Ellen Udouj-Kutchka candidate for the District 51 seat held by Rep. Cindy Crawford, R-Fort Smith, spoke Monday (Jan. 8) during a Sebastian County Democratic Party meeting about why they are running for office and what is important to them.

RIchardson, who is running for his third term in office, said issues facing his district are issues facing all of Fort Smith – a need for housing and solutions for homelessness and food insecurity. He said two of the biggest issues facing the citizens of Fort Smith are the educational cycle and mental illness.

“I think the thing we all talk about but there is not legislation to fight is the mental health crisis we have. There is an issue with mental illness in Fort Smith, with students, children, teachers. That’s the number one thing we have to address among all our citizens,” Richardson said.

McCray agreed that mental health needs to be a topic addressed in the state legislature along with the discussion of the prison system. He also said accessible quality medical care for everyone has to be a priority. Udouj-Kutchka said the biggest issue facing citizens of District 51 is making sure the city’s infrastructure can handle the growth that will accompany the Foreign Military Sales program coming to Ebbing Air National Guard Base, adjacent to the Fort Smith Regional Airport.

Though Udouj-Kutchka said she agreed with Gov. Sarah Sanders that Arkansas needs to focus on education, she said she did not agree with how the LEARNS Act was implemented.

“I believe it was shoved down our throats. There was no account for professional opinion. It needs an overhaul and a change,” she said.

McCray said he agrees with Sanders that teachers need to be paid more and Arkansas needs to be safer.

“It’s the ways of doing something that we don’t agree on,” he said.

When it comes to the LEARNS Act, McCray said it woke people up to what good policy can look like on a local level in terms of education.

“But going forward, I’m glad to be backing the For Our Kids ballot initiative that wants to make private schools that are accepting LEARNS funding follow the same standards that public schools have to and it will provide universal free preschool throughout the state,” he said.

Richardson said LEARNS was pushed quickly through the legislature instead of taking time for it to be done right.

“There are meetings with teachers and administrators now, after it’s a law. We’re a little late now to try to come back and do something we should have done in the beginning,” Richardson said. “There are some good points to LEARNS and some of the direction it was going was right, but unfortunately, there is more wrong than right with it.”

The three candidates also voiced their opinion that there need to be more polling places so all Arkansas citizens have the opportunity to vote in elections. McCray said along with more polling places that are more easily accessible, there need to be proper resources that ensure there is enough time for all to vote and proper education on what is on the ballot.

Richardson said there need to be changes made to recent election laws.

“We did one hell of a job with some of the laws we have passed in the last couple of years at the state level. We made it almost illegal to give water while people are standing in a polling place. These are some of the things that just don’t make good sense to people that we consider our family and friends,” he said. “Accessibility, we reduced polling locations a few years ago. And that was by design. But I think we will see that change as we get more Democrats in these seats. There will be a move to reopen some of those.”

The three candidates also said it is important to make sure correct information is getting to voters. Udouj-Kutchka said it can be difficult to keep disinformation from spreading, but it needs to be a priority to do so. McCray said the Freedom of Information Act needs to be kept intact and that people need to be encouraged to read and take part in critical thinking.

Richardson reminded everyone that votes and decisions made by legislators are recorded and if something sounds odd, they can check those for themselves.

Editor’s note: Talk Business & Politics asked the Sebastian County Republican Committee about a similar forum for Republican candidates. At this time, no event is scheduled.