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FRESHMAN LAWMAKERS EAGER TO FACE ISSUES

By Larry Ault/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, November 25, 2006 10:51 PM CST

Jefferson County’s freshman state legislators say they are looking forward to tackling such issues as education, economic development, how to deal with the state’s surplus, and removing the state tax on food and groceries.

The two newest legislators are Rep.-elect Earnest Brown Jr., a Pine Bluff lawyer, representing District 16, and Rep.-elect Toni Bradford, a retired educator who represents District 18. Both are Democrats.

Brown decided to run for a seat in the Legislature because the incumbent, state Rep. Booker T. Clemons, D-Pine Bluff, asked him to consider running for office. Clemons is term limited and unable to seek re-election, Brown said.

“I ran unopposed. I was blessed and fortunate,” Brown said. “I think it’s an opportunity to make a difference,” he said.

Brown said term limits that restrict the number of terms a legislator serves can be both a good and a bad thing.

“Just as you are beginning to learn the process, you are out of the system,” Brown said.

The committees Brown picked are judiciary, and state agencies and governmental affairs. Both Brown and Bradford were placed on the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.

Public health and economic development are two issues important to Brown, a lawyer who has been a deputy prosecutor and worked in civil law. “I have the experience and expertise to be an asset to that committee (the judiciary committee),” he said.

Brown, who grew up in Fulton near Hope, said he is concerned about improvements to the state’s legal system and how to spend the state’s budget surplus.

Brown wants to assist the city of Pine Bluff and Jefferson County, and encourage businesses to move to this area. The state education system remains under a court order to make improvements and that remains an issue, he said. The Legislature needs to ensure education improvements are adequate because education is not properly funded on a level at least equal with neighboring states.

“There needs to be better results,” Brown said, noting that Arkansas continues to lag behind in education and this is “something Arkansas is going to have to address.”

Brown said he is also concerned about health care in Jefferson County and in the Delta, the repeal of the state grocery sales tax, the surplus state budget, development of the biofuel industry, and predatory lending.

“We should expect close to 2,000 bills to be filed,” Brown said.

“We need citizen input,” Brown said, noting that otherwise the lobbyists will be having too much influence on the decisions affecting the outcome of state legislation.

“I feel comfortable we don’t need to increase taxes,” Brown said. “We have probably over taxed our people.”

Bradford replaces Jay Bradford, who was term limited.

Saying she does not have an agenda “going in” to her first term in the Legislature, Bradford said she will listen to people. Freshmen legislators have already had a couple of meetings and will attend an orientation session in December.

Bradford signed up two committees, the education committee and the city, county, and local affairs committee.

Bradford retired from the Watson Chapel School District in 2002 after 26 years of teaching. She taught civics, government and advanced placement U.S. History.

Bradford took her civics students to the State Capitol during each session of the Legislature to observe how state lawmaking works.

During the past two sessions of the General Assembly, Bradford worked at the state Capitol, a job that gave her access to the floor of the House of Representatives.

“There are a number of problems we need to deal with,” she said, identifying job security, attracting more industry to the area, and economic development as issues that need to be dealt with. Bradford sees development of the biofuels industry as a possible boom for farmers.

“There needs to be some studies on that issue,” she said. “This could be an economic boom to this area.”

“I know most all of the representatives who are returning. This will help me tremendously.”

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