Ready for the session

guest commentary by Arkansas Sen.-elect Jake Files, R-Fort Smith

Editor’s note: Arkansas Sen.-elect Jake Files has agreed to provide commentary prior to the beginning of the 88th Arkansas General Assembly. He also will provide frequent updates through The City Wire during the session. Files’ district covers the city of Fort Smith. Link here to his website, or contact him at [email protected]

Elections are over, back to the real world, and really happy not to be interrupted by robo-calls (don’t you hate those), attack ads on television, and the mailbox full of postcards telling you why John Doe should (or shouldn’t) be dogcatcher, right?

Well, not so fast. For those of you who don’t get involved in politics because it doesn’t affect you, welcome to reality. It does affect you, and if you choose not to be involved, do so at your own peril.

This election season saw an infusion of new energy in Arkansas and in our country, and I hope we see some responsiveness from our elected officials, myself included.

What does this mean to us in Fort Smith, and how do we stand to gain or lose?

First of all, Arkansas politics endured a seismic shift that has never been seen before. For the first time in history, Republicans captured multiple constitutional offices, four of the six federal offices, and more State Senators and Representatives than ever before.

What will they do with their newfound status as a large minority, and how will the Capitol function? What will the impact be on the people of Arkansas? I venture to say it will be a benefit to the state to have a real two-party system and hopefully some checks and balances. As all of the newly elected Senators met in the chamber of the Senate while drawing seniority and committees this past November, it was evident things were different and there was going to be some new paths crossed in 2011.

It was also very clear to me that the voters in Arkansas spoke loudly that they were dissatisfied with the status quo and ready for change. Relating that to a local level, change was again the caption of the day as we elected a new mayor for the first time in 20 years and three new directors, and I heard not a whisper but a shout that we wanted to be relevant in state government as a region.

At risk of losing some readers as we wax historic, precise review of the results shows that folks in the River Valley are less concerned about what party you represent and more concerned about you representing. Gov. Mike Beebe and Sheriff-elect Bill Hollenbeck, both Democrats, won convincingly in our area, while Republicans carried the day in almost every contested race. We tend to vote on the person, not the party, and we are ready for action.

We sit in a unique spot in my opinion. We have long been a region that seemed content with just being here. In the last couple of years, we have seen some new announcements that will mean jobs, work, tax base, and futures; while we have also seen, and felt, the contraction of strong companies, large and small, closing their doors or laying off workers.

During my campaign for State Senate in the spring, I heard repeatedly that we need more people to get involved who knows what it means to raise a family, navigate tough economic times, and stand and be counted. I heard that we need not just young folks to become active, we need the young at heart who are ready to stand and be counted.

The time is now, friends. It is time to make hard decisions, realize that our best days really can be ahead, and go about getting things done. I think Fort Smith and Arkansas has a bright future. It is time to be “The Land of Opportunity” again, as our license plate once read, and not just for ourselves but for others who will hopefully be wooed to our state.

Let’s join together to make our state more open for business, more appreciative of the arts, more educating for our children, and more responsive for the future.

My goal for this Legislative Session is to lead effectively, listen attentively, and look for ways to make improvements where they need to be made.

An important part of being an elected official is constituent service, and I hope to be both visible and helpful as needed. I campaigned to go to Little Rock to be a difference-maker, and I intend to do just that. I think the time is now, and I am honored to be a part of what I hope is a bright future for all of us.