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| Governor Asa Hutchinson |
A Northwest Arkansas native seeking reelection this year, Hutchinson
recounted accomplishments of his first term. A $100 million income tax
cut, computer coding taught in schools, and a desire to be known as “the
jobs governor” were goals set and met since taking office in 2015, he
said. His reelection platform is focused on education, tax cuts, and
economic development.
Hutchinson’s administration oversaw “the
largest tax cut in the state’s history,” which was absorbed by economic
growth and job creation including last year’s “lowest unemployment rate
in Arkansas history.” GDP growth was 3.5 percent, higher than the
national rate, he said, and during his administration more than
60-thousand jobs were created.
Hutchinson responded to criticism
of him for not signing a bill prohibiting Sharia law being used in
Arkansas courts: “The bill did not say ‘Sharia law.’ It said ‘foreign
law.’” He said as a longtime lawyer he had never seen a problem related
to this, and was concerned that the language of the bill could cause a
problem for a foreign-based company operating in Arkansas. However,
Hutchinson said “I am opposed to Sharia law in American courts.”
Other
critical issues to which Hutchinson responded included cutting taxes,
which eventually totaled $150 million, while raising others, such as
tire disposal fees. He said some categories of the fees were lowered
while others increased. Also, he defended referring increased funding
of the state’s highway program to the voters and responded to criticism
that he oversaw the biggest spending in Arkansas history. Hutchinson
noted that similar accusations have been made against governors of Texas
and Tennessee and against President Trump. Arkansas, he said, is
increasing in population and needs
more money for prison reform,
foster care, and education. Prison spending requires an additional $30
million for space increase for prisoners and K-12 education has a
constitutional mandate to match inflation.
On the other hand, the
governor said Arkansas Medicaid spending is down $117,000. “There are
fewer people on Medicaid in Arkansas than when I became governor and
there are fewer people on food stamps.” Except for people employed, in
school, or contributing time to voluntary organizations, he favors a
state-mandated work requirement for Medicaid recipients.
Hutchinson
said the state’s manufacturing and agriculture are dependent on the
North American Free Trade Agreement and that Arkansas’ top two trading
partners are Canada and Mexico. “NAFTA is 25 years old. It needs to be
modified,” he said, indicating that he has to trust President Trump, who
has been critical of NAFTA, to make a good judgment on the agreement.
Other accomplishments during his administration noted by the Governor were:
--Strong
defense of the National Rifle Association. --Signing of every pro-life
bill. Videos of Planned Parenthood abuses prompted him to defund and
decertify Planned Parenthood in the state as a Medicaid provider. --Resistance
to an Obama administration mandate requiring gender-neutral bathrooms
in local school districts – “I wrote local school superintendents
telling them to disregard the Obama directive; local school districts
are doing just fine.”
Hutchinson also gave a brief
biographical sketch of himself, noting his career as a Republican.
Besides being chair of the Benton and the Sebastian County Republican
Committees, he served in the 1990s as the state Republican chairman.
And, he said: “In the early days, the Republican Party was too small to
divide. I fought for the principles of our party and I’ll support the
Republican platform.”
The Washingon County Republican committee
meets the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Willie James Event
Place in Tontitown.
