Harris, Hunton push for District 87 House seat

story by Marla Cantrell
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Republican Justin Harris will face Democrat Earl Hunton in the District 87 Arkansas State Representative race in November.

Both call themselves conservatives.

Hunton is pro-life and supports gun rights. Harris says he’s not only morally conservative, but fiscally conservative as well.

Each is hoping to replace Rep. Mark Martin, R-Prairie Grove, who is term-limited and is running for Secretary of State. Hunton lost to Martin in 2008.

Harris, 34, serves on the West Fork City Council and was previously on the planning commission. Hunton, 43, serves on the Lincoln School Board. Both graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and both work in family businesses. Hunton is a farmer, employed by Hunton Farms in Prairie Grove; Harris and his wife own Growing God’s Kingdom Preschool in West Fork.

When asked what each considers the biggest challenges for the district, Hunton cited needed improvements in education, roads, and support for fire and police departments.

“The state constitution says it’s the state’s duty to educate our children,” Hunton said. “We have to provide the funding and require accountability. We have to be proactive in fixing roads in District 87. I will actively pursue the (Arkansas) highway department to repair Highways 59 and 71. The police and fire departments in District 87 need help to get funding for equipment and training. I will help them do so.”

Harris sees government spending, the unemployment rate, which is at 7.7% (February 2010) in Arkansas, and the burden small business face as the district’s biggest obstacles.

“The biggest issue I hear facing the people of District 87 is being jobless,” Harris said. “People are out of work! … First of all, we must create an atmosphere that gets us back to the entrepreneur spirit in America. Government in Arkansas has been growing at an alarming rate since 2003. Private jobs in the state have been on the decline. There needs to be a paradigm shift. Private jobs need to grow, while government jobs decrease. One way to do this is by lessening the tax burden on the small business owner.”

The health care reform issue is a hot topic for both candidates.

“Never in the history of these United States has a product been forced upon us like the Health Care Bill that was passed on Sunday (March 21),” Harris said. “I plan to work vigorously with conservative state legislators from across Arkansas to propose legislation to keep this fiscally irresponsible bill from harming our great state. The legislation will be modeled after the Idaho Health Care Freedom Act. A key provision will be to allow every person in Arkansas to choose or not to choose health care services and insurance without penalty.”

“I understand people’s concerns about health care reform”, Hunton said. “I am mixed about this bill. I like being able to keep your children on your insurance until they are out of college. I like the part about not being rejected for pre-existing conditions. I don’t like the mandates that will cost the state millions and force people to buy insurance. I would like to see some tort reform for medical malpractice.”

If elected, Hunton said it won’t be politics as usual.

“I am not a party person I will do what is right for my district,” Hunton said. “The people deserve someone who will look out for their interests and not their own.”

Harris said his service would be conservative with a capital “C.”

“I want to take my conservative values to Little Rock and represent the people of District 87,” Harris said. “When I say conservative, I am not just talking about moral issues; I am talking about less government and less spending. Right now, we have borrowed $300 million, from the federal government, to pay the unemployed in the State of Arkansas. We are going to have to pay that back.”

Harris, at least in fundraising, is ahead right now. He estimates he’s raised $10,000. His campaign expenditure report filed March 12 shows a campaign fund balance of $4,576.46.

Hunton has only a fraction of that amount. He said he’s raised $1,500. Hunton has yet to file a campaign expenditure report with the elections division of the Arkansas Secretary of State.