Amber Sullivan stood behind a lectern in the Old Supreme Court Chamber at the State Capitol and talked about her late father, Sen. Gary Stubblefield, and about her desire that someone else occupy his seat soon.
Stubblefield, the longtime District 26 state senator from Branch, died Sept. 2 at age 74. His passing leaves without a senator parts of Johnson, Logan and Sebastian counties, along with the southern half of Franklin County.
The latter is where Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders seeks to build a 3,000-bed prison near Charleston to address the state’s very real overcrowding issues. The prison is expected to cost $825 million and maybe much more.
Stubblefield was a dairy farmer with an independent streak. The rural Republican generally aligned with Sanders but did not support the prison being located there. His was one of the most outspoken “no” votes, of which there were enough to temporarily block most of the prison’s funding in this year’s legislative session.
Under the Constitution, the governor must set a special election date to fill Stubblefield’s vacant seat. State law says the election should happen “as soon as possible” and in no more than 150 days. However, it allows the governor to wait later if that 150-day mark is “impracticable or unduly burdensome.”
Sanders initially set the date for the next election to coincide with the next general election on Nov. 3, 2026. Her reasoning, as stated in a later press release, was “to save taxpayer money, streamline the process for election officials, and allow for as much voter participation as possible.”
Later that day, she changed the date to June 9, 2026. In that press release, she explained the change was due to community feedback.
The first date would have meant the district would not have had a senator for 436 days. The second date is 279 days after Stubblefield’s passing.
That’s according to a lawsuit filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court Oct. 6 by Colt Shelby, a Franklin County resident who wants the election to be as soon as this Dec. 9. Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Patricia James will hear the case Oct. 15.
The sooner the election, the better. Lawmakers hold committee meetings during the months when the Legislature isn’t in session.
More importantly, the Legislature will meet in its even-numbered-year fiscal session starting April 8 and ending in May. Fiscal sessions are designed to focus on how the government will spend taxpayer money on – well, on things like prisons. Because of the June election date, the Arkansans most affected by this contentious issue won’t have a senator in office during the fiscal session.
The election delay further means there would be one fewer “no” vote in the 35-member Senate, presuming the new senator would oppose the prison.
Actually, we can’t know that’s the case for certain. We do know there’s been a public outcry in Franklin County, and that other elected officials oppose it. Those include Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, who represents the county’s sparsely populated northern half. County Judge Rickey Bowman has been a vocal opponent. Sheriff Johnny Crocker likewise strongly opposes the prison site and posted a widely circulated video about the subject last Sunday.
Will having one fewer “no” vote be enough to get the Senate to approve funding for the prison? We’ll see.
Is that the reason for the governor’s delay? I don’t know. Without direct evidence, it’s best to avoid assuming the worst regarding people’s motivations, which can be complicated and nuanced. I often don’t even know exactly why I do the things I do.
But the effects of decisions are fair game, and the effect of the long election delay is taxation without representation.
In her three-minute comments shared by the Substack site Gravel & Grit, Stubblefield’s daughter noted that her family was still grieving the loss of her dad. She said he had continued to represent his constituents even though he had not been healthy the last months of his life. Now that he’s gone, somebody should take his place.
“This isn’t just about the prison,” she said. “This is about his seat. This is about every issue that he will miss out that our district will miss out on a vote for – whether it be health insurance, education, everything. And we deserve a voice, and I think he deserves the respect. And that’s all that we ask is for this election not to be continued to be pushed back.”
Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 21 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.
