Two members of the Gravette School Board and a resident dissatisfied with their record there are competing for the Republican nomination for the open state House District 12 seat in northwestern Benton County.
Hope Hendren Duke, Jason Maxwell and Jay Oliphant are the contenders in the May 24 primary. Duke and Oliphant are the school board members. The winner will face Libertarian Party candidate D. Michael Gill in the Nov. 8 general election. No Democrat filed in this district.
District 12 is largely composed of the district Rep. Gayla McKenzie, R-Gravette, is leaving in her bid for the state Senate. District lines were redrawn last year following the U.S. Census of 2020, to equalize district populations.
District 12 is bounded by the Missouri state line on the north and the Oklahoma state line on the west. The district takes in Decatur and reaches as far south as Floyd Moore Road. The district's eastern extent reaches parts of Bella Vista.
Duke is McKenzie's sister. Both are sisters of Sen. Jim Hendren, I-Sulphur Springs. All three are children of former state Sen. Kim Hendren, R-Gravette, who was Jim Hendren's predecessor.
State law requires a runoff if no candidate gains a clear majority -- 50% plus 1 or more -- in the primary. This is to ensure no candidate advances to the general election with only a plurality of the primary vote. The runoff, if needed, will be June 21 between the two candidates in the May 24 primary who receive the most votes. House members serve two-year terms and receive a base salary of $44,357.
Duke cited her experience on the school board including her support for making mask-wearing optional during the height of the covid pandemic. She also pointed to her efforts before being elected to the board to defeat, on 2014, a proposed a 3.6-mill tax increase.
She has a proven history of listening to others and a consistent conservative record, Duke said.
"I decided to run because I've seen how local government and school boards face a lack of control," Duke said "Little Rock [the state capital] is taking so much away from parents, school boards and even cities."
Residents of District 12 want to make their own decisions. "They want government to trust them to lead their daily lives," she said. "These are good, smart, hard-working people who want to keep more of their own money, and they are compassionate too."
Duke grew up in a family where it was expected of each of them, even as children, to give back to the community, she said.
More than one family should represent the district, Maxwell said. "The constituents of District 12 need a larger voice than the one from just one family," he said.
"One big issue is to keep critical race theory and sexually explicit books out of our schools," Maxwell said. Both Duke and Oliphant are on the board and neither took what he considers to be sufficient action on the matter, he said. "They're taking zero action, and Jay went to far as to say I was providing a solution without a problem," Maxwell said. He brought those complaints to school board members before deciding to run for the Legislature, he said.
Also on education, Maxwell said that education spending should follow students. "The money should follow the child, and we should have options like educational savings accounts," he said. "Whether it's public, private, charter schools or home schooling the parents should be allowed to decide what is best for their child. Hope and Jay are on a school board and are part of the education system" that does not full allow such options, he said.
Oliphant cited his business experience including nine years in the accounting department of Walmart Stores Inc., including years as senior director in the company's real estate and international finance departments "where I oversaw a $7 billion budget," he said. The latest state budget is $6 billion, state figures show.
The state expects a $1 billion surplus when the fiscal year end June 30, according to state Department of Finance and Administration estimates. Lowering state taxes would be a priority, Oliphant said. Another priority would be eliminating irrelevant laws and regulations. In particular, state regulations on getting various licenses to practice in fields from construction work to medical professions are too restrictive, he said. Education improvements would be another, he said.
Opponents have criticized votes of his on the school board, including his lone dissenting vote in April of last year against lifting a district mask mandate. "There are tough questions with answers that can't be turned into sound bites," he said.
District voters are traditional conservatives who want good education in their communities while keeping taxes low, Oliphant said.
Jason Maxwell, R, - House District 12 ? northwest Benton County.
Jay Oliphant, R, - House District 12 ? northwest Benton County.
Hope Duke , R, - House District 12 ? northwest Benton CountState House, District 12
Hope Hendren Duke (R)
Age: 51
Residency: Gravette, lifelong resident
Occupation: Real estate agent
Education: bachelor’s degree in education, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Political experience: Gravette School Board since 2016
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Jason Maxwell (R)
Age: 44
Residency: Gravette, for 12 years
Occupation: Realtor
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business administration, University of Texas at Dallas
Political experience: none
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Jay Oliphant (R)
Age: 63
Residency: Gravette, for 20 years
Occupation: Senior director for Affirma, a technical services company
Education: Master’s degrees in accounting and in business and public administration, plus a bachelor’s degree in economics, all from Rice University, Houston
Political experience: president of the Gravette School Board. First elected in 2012