Lt. Gov., Secretary of State candidates on the attack

Candidates in Arkansas’ Lt. Governor race and the Secretary of State race are taking political jabs at each with the November general election closing in.

Mark Darr, a Republican candidate for Lt. Gov., proposed abolishing the corporate franchise tax and advocated for a repeal of federal health care reform, according to this report from Talk Business — a content partner with The City Wire.

His Democratic opponent, Shane Broadway, said he was open to the tax revision, but suggested the office could do little on the health care front.

Darr told reporters at a state capitol news conference that the $150 franchise tax, which helps support public education funding as a result of the Lake View litigation, is "an unnecessary tax" that could be put back into the private sector "for creating jobs."

Darr also said he would raise money for legal fees to file a state lawsuit to repeal the federal health care reform legislation due to lack of participation from Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and Gov. Mike Beebe.

McDaniel and Beebe have avoided joining other states’ lawsuits on the matter, which some have called publicity stunts and others have argued has no legal footing.

Broadway issued a statement after Darr’s press conference saying his opponent had a "basic misunderstanding of what a Lieutenant Governor can and should do."

Darr is a restaurant owner with several pizza outlets in northwest Arkansas. Broadway is an economic developer from Saline County.

“There are plenty of people focused on fixing health care. I am focused on helping businesses create jobs for Arkansas’s future with tax incentives and lower energy taxes," said Broadway.

SECRETARY OF STATE
The race for Secretary of State took a turn in the interesting category on Wednesday (Sept. 22) as two candidates for the office volleyed back and forth on travel reimbursements, noted a second report from Talk Business.

Democrat Pat O’Brien, seeking to capitalize on his opponents receipt of more than $56,000 in mileage and travel reimbursement expenses while a member of the Arkansas Legislature, challenged Republican Mark Martin to a "full disclosure" debate.

O’Brien released travel records for his six-year tenure as Pulaski Circuit/County Clerk.  The total of all the expenditures was $4,805.67, according to O’Brien.

"I did this because I’m a strong advocate of open, accountable and transparent government. I am happy to answer any questions from the media regarding any of these expenditures," O’Brien said. "Will Rep. Martin release his records in the same fashion that I have done? What did the taxpayers receive for their $56,290.00 in reimbursements in 2009? What legislative accomplishments did Rep. Martin have for all of this taxpayer money?”

Various reports have noted that Martin, a term-limited State Representative from Prairie Grove, was reimbursed $56,290 in 2009 for travel and per diem expenses related to his legislative duties.

Martin countered that O’Brien had engaged in a "Chicago-style" attack although he defended his travel tab.

"In regards to traveling to committee meetings that you are not a part of, I have several bills and issues that constituents have asked me to follow and provide input. I don’t control what bill gets assigned to what committee for interim study, where those committees meet, or when they meet," Martin said.

Martin said the records O’Brien called for have already been given to the Democratic Party of Arkansas through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. He called on O’Brien to respond to an FOIA request made by the Republican Party of Arkansas seeking information from O’Brien’s office regarding leave policy and a car allowance, which Martin contends is a $650 a month stipend in replacement of certain travel expenses.

"During 2009, I served as the Republican Whip throughout the year, which required me to attend meetings on behalf of the GOP leadership. I’m not surprised that O’Brien has issue with Republicans conducting oversight of the Democratic majority in the legislature," Martin said.