Rep. Cavenaugh, Powers square off (again) in House 30 GOP primary

Two Republicans will square off in the Tuesday, March 5th primary election race in the State House District 30 race. Incumbent Rep. Fran Cavenaugh, R-Walnut Ridge, is being challenged by Walnut Ridge businessman Coty Powers.

The district includes parts of Craighead, Greene, and Lawrence counties. It’s the second time Powers has mounted a primary challenge to Cavenaugh. Talk Business & Politics asked both candidates the following questions:

Q: What specific changes do you think need to be made to the LEARNS Act to make it more effective moving forward?

Cavenaugh: I think we need to find a way to address the tenured teacher issue. We need to look at a pay scale for experienced teachers. I think that’s one of the biggest issues with LEARNS that we need to look at.

Powers: I am very supportive of the LEARNS Act, most especially the sections involving school choice and educational freedom accounts. However, I also recognize more than a few educators throughout Arkansas have expressed concern with the Act removing the pay schedule to which they were accustomed. I understand and empathize with their concern. As a former state employee, I could see how this might cause concern. Yet, as a firm believer in the local control of schools, I think Arkansas school boards will rise to the occasion and construct pay schedules which will attract and retain the best educators.

Q: Do you support making the FOIA a part of the state constitution and if not, what changes need to be made to the laws? If a constitutional amendment isn’t the answer, then what protections need to be installed legislatively to protect our citizens rights when it comes to knowing how the government is operating and spending its citizens’ tax dollars?

Cavenaugh: I think we need to look at whether it should be in the constitution or not. There’s a lot of things we put into our constitution, and we probably put too many things in the constitution. We have to keep things transparent. I think we have to be careful. I think if we are going to carve out exceptions for FOIA they have to be for specific reasons and should be very narrow. We have to make sure we can balance the public’s right to know what’s going on in government with some reasonable exceptions.

Powers: I believe citizens have the right to know what is going on in their government, period. Exceptions to this should be exceptionally rare and require justification. I, therefore, support enshrining the FOIA in the Arkansas Constitution. Furthermore, I oppose wholeheartedly any attempt to remove or weaken enforcement mechanisms within the current FOIA. I was disheartened with the most recent attempt by certain efforts by those within my own party to weaken the FOIA. I was especially troubled by the dishonest and hurried way in which it was pushed through the General Assembly during a special session. Unlike others in my party, I will not bow the knee to those who would rob of us this sacred right.

Q: The state needs more prison bed space, but Arkansas Department of Corrections officials say that they can’t hire enough people to safely operate the current prison system. How do you think these problems need to be solved?

Cavenaugh: One way that we can fix this problem is to pay our Arkansas Department of Corrections workers better wages. We have to provide competitive salaries so that we can attract and retain our employee base within the state’s prison system. Another way that we can help better the situation would be to expand the number of beds within the system. Right now, we have a lot of overcrowding due to a lack of space and beds and it causes more stress for the workers who are already working for ADC. If we had more beds it would reduce the burden on those workers.

Powers: I worked for the ADC for six years. Since then they’ve raised the start pay to over $40,000 a year in a largely unsuccessful attempt to attract and retain employees. What they fail to recognize, however, is that it’s the toxic management style within the department which is leading to their failure to retain employees. This is not something you will hear in the halls of the capitol or within any committee room, but it is true nonetheless. I would suggest a thorough house cleaning within the ADC administration. I would further suggest amending the state constitution eliminating the Board of Correction and placing the ADC under the supervision of a single head accountable to the governor and General Assembly. This would allow greater accountability within the ADC and would permit more efficient and swift response to failures within the state prison system.

Q: What are some personal legislative priorities for you if win the primary and the general election?

Cavenaugh: Anyone who knows me and knows my record knows that my focus is on cutting spending and cutting taxes. We need to find ways to cut needless spending. One of the things I want to do is examine the fund balances and see if there are ways to trim these budgets. Our citizens pay a in taxes and we need to find ways to be better stewards with the public’s money. I will not support any taxes hikes of any kind. Another thing that is important to me is the development of public policies that give more control to local school districts and communities.

Powers: Some of my legislative priorities in addition to the above points would be the following: increasing felony classifications for heinous crimes such as child rape. Integrating both faith-based and secular rehabs into our criminal justice system as an alternative sentencing option for drug offenders. The state would save approximately $20,000 a year per inmate it would not have to incarcerate, and we would see more positive outcomes than sending people to traditional prison. I think clarifying what “best interest of a child” means for child custody hearings. Judges currently have too much discretion in interpreting this overly vague phrase. I think we should provide a forum for parents to settle custody disputes as an alternative to the costly lawyer-lead system currently in place. And I think clarifying municipal laws regarding the hiring and firing of municipal employees is needed.

Q: What qualifies you more to be the Republican nominee for this seat as opposed to your primary opponent?

Cavenaugh: I think what qualifies me is my record. I am a consistent conservative. I have worked hard for the people of my district. I have worked hard for the people in Arkansas. I think anyone who has followed my record knows where I stand on just about any issue. I firmly believe in lower taxes, less spending and I firmly believe in the concept of more local control when possible.

Powers: I am more in tune to the day-to day issues Arkansans face everyday. I would keep my constituents informed on the issues coming up before the General Assembly and would integrate them more fully into my decision making than my opponent. I will stand for the citizens natural rights with every fiber of my being and will go against the grain if necessary doing so. These rights include the right to life, the right to bear arms, the right to peaceably assemble, the right to own property and use it as each citizen see fit, the right of each citizen to know what is going on in their government, the right to privacy, the right to due process, etc.