MY NOVEMBER 2024 VOTING RECOMMENDATIONS

 

©Wendell Griffen, 2024

 

Early voting begins across Arkansas on Monday, October 21. I urge you to cast your vote as follows in the interest of advancing fair and more effective government. 

U.S. President                                                      KAMALA HARRIS

U.S. Vice President                                             TIM WALZ

U.S. Congress

1^ST Congressional District                      RODNEY GOVENS

2^nd Congressional District                      MARCUS JONES

3^rd Congressional District                       CAITLIN DRAPER

4^th Congressional District                       RISIE HOWARD

State Treasurer                                                    JOHN PAGAN   

Chief Justice, Arkansas Supreme Court       JUSTICE KAREN BAKER

Arkansas Court of Appeals (District 6)          MOLLY MCNULTY

Arkansas House of Representatives

          District 69                                                   KWAMI ABDUL-BEY

          District 71                                                   CASSANDRA D. GREEN

          District 75                                                   ASHLEY HUDSON

          District 78                                                   JAMES BARTOLOMEI

          District 81                                         GINA THOMAS-LITTLEJOHN

          District 82                                                   SAMUEL BRAZELL JR

Arkansas Senate

          District 25                                                   MICHELLE JUSTICE

Justice of the Peace, District 3                        KATHY LEWISON

Justice of the Peace, District 4                        JULIE BLACKWOOD

Circuit Judge (Seventeenth Division)            ROBERT CORTINEZ ii

Little Rock City Director – Position 9             ANTWAN PHILLIPS

Little Rock City Director – Position 10           BLAKE TIERNEY

Annual LRSD millage tax                                  FOR

Little Rock School District – Zone 4               TONY ROSE     

Constitutional Amendment Issue 1                FOR

·       This proposed constitutional amendment would allow proceeds from the Arkansas lottery to also be used to fund scholarships and grants to Arkansans in vocational schools. 

Constitutional Amendment Issue 2                AGAINST

·       This proposed constitutional amendment would change Amendment 100, enacted in 2018, by repealing the current authority of the Arkansas Racing Commission to issue a casino license in Pope County and require local voter approval in a countywide election for any new casino licenses. 

Constitutional Amendment Issue 3                FOR

·       Issue 3 proposes changing two existing Arkansas laws:     Article 5, Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution, titled “Initiative and Referendum,” and       Amendment 98, known as the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016.  Currently, Article 5, Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution, “Initiative and Referendum,” allows constitutional amendments to be amended or repealed if approved by two-thirds of all members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Issue 3 proposes adding a new subsection to Article 5, Section 1 that would prohibit legislators from changing or repealing constitutional amendments without approval from voters unless the amendment expressly allows them to do so.    Issue 3 also proposes adding and removing sections of Amendment 98 – The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016.

THE 1 CENT LITTLE ROCK SALES TAX INCREASE MEASURES

Little Rock leaders have proposed a one cent sales tax increase that has two components. Voters will have the opportunity to vote for or against each component separately. Three-eighths (3/8) of the penny would be allocated for “general operating purposes.” If enacted, this measure would be permanent. Five-eighths (5/8) of the penny increase would be allocated for “capital improvement purposes.” If enacted, that measure would sunset after ten (10) years. Mayor Frank Scott Jr. and City Directors are pushing the sales tax by calling it “Results for the Rock.” That’s a catchy title, but as the saying goes, the devil is in the details.

If enacted, the 3/8 cent measure for general operating purposes will be permanent. Little Rock leaders expect that part of the sales tax increase to produce about $244 million ($243,750,000) in additional revenue over the first ten years – averaging $24,375,000 a year.

·       $10 million - $1 million every year – increase for the Little Rock Zoo (more on that one later).

·       Almost half of the projected revenue for the first ten years of the 3/8 cent measure - $113,000,000 (46%)– is allocated for public safety.

·       $95 million – 84% of the public safety allocation – is for policing.

·       Passage of the 3/8 cent measure will increase spending for policing by $9.5 million every year, PERMANENTLY. City leaders are signaling they intend to impose “patrol and control” – PERMANENTLY – on Little Rock residents who have complained about policing practices for decades.

The 5/8 cent measure intended for “general capital purposes” is projected to produce $650 million – two-thirds of a billion dollars – in new tax revenue for the City of Little Rock over a ten-year period. 

·       City leaders propose to allocate $10 million for “Affordable Housing” over a ten-year period, but none of that amount annually.

·       $20 million in increased funding - $2 million a year – is proposed to address “Homelessness.” However, personnel and fiscal issues remain concerns for the Housing Authority.

·       $249 million additional revenue is intended for “Parks and Quality of Life.” Here are a few features listed by supporters.

o   $30 million for “Zoo Master Plan Implementation.” What plan? How? Mind you, the 3/8 cent part of the "Results for the Rock" aims to increase funding for the LR Zoo $1 million a year, permanently, on top of the $30 million for "Zoo Master Plan Implementation." 

o   $60 million for an “Indoor Sports Complex” in “Downtown Little Rock.” Where? What will that mean for downtown traffic congestion?

o   $15 million for War Memorial Park. Where is the plan?

o   $10 million for a new “15 Acre Park – Downtown.” Where? And a 15-acre park downtown when downtown residents don’t have a full-service grocery store?

o   $55 million for a new “Outdoor Sports Complex (Multi-Purpose Fields) – Southwest Little Rock (West of I-430). Where specifically? How will it affect green space?

o   $3 million for “Expansion and Rebranding” 1^st Tee Golf. How? Why?

o   $10 Million for Rebsamen Golf Pro Shop and Renovations. When have city directors, let alone voters, seen the renovation plan? 

Residents of Little Rock neighborhoods south of I-630 are not wealthy. They have complained for decades about food deserts, lack of affordable housing, poor drainage, and “patrol and control” police tactics. The “Results for the Rock” sales tax will require them to pay more for food they must struggle to find yet do nothing to address food deserts. 

Meanwhile, the “Results for the Rock” sales tax will produce $9.5 million more "patrol and control" policing every year, no additional community mental health services, and do little to correct the shortage in affordable housing. And it will require Little Rock residents to pay almost $650 million – that’s 2/3 of $1 billion – for “capital investment” projects that have not been explained to them, let alone embraced by them. 

Little Rock Sales Tax  increase                       

Question 1 3/8 cent for general operating purposes          AGAINST

Question 2 5/8 cent for general capital purposes               AGAINST