PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Jeff Weaver, Melony Ritter
(501) 760.6410 office
press@np.edu
October 27, 2016
NPC, GC FARM BUREAU HOST STATE AND LOCAL CANDIDATE DEBATE
Hot Springs, Arkansas – The National Park College (NPC) Student Government Association and the Garland County Farm Bureau (GCFB) hosted a State and Local Candidate Debate Tuesday. All state and local candidates seeking public office were invited to participate.
Dick Antoine, host of the KZNG-AM 1340 morning show, “Talk of the Town” moderated the event. The debate panel included Dr. Charles Argo, Social Sciences Division Chair, Michelle Godwin, SGA President, Tommy Sorrells, GCFB President, and Corey Alderdice, Director of the Arkansas School for Math, Science, and the Arts.
The event began with a meet and greet where attendees could interact with the candidates
face to face. Student Government Association (SGA) President, Michelle Godwin welcomed
the crowd. She referenced the SGA motto, to serve, empower and engage. She said, “To
serve, empower and engage our students and community members means to make available
the resources that are necessary to make knowledgeable, educated and informed decisions.
Part of our mission as an SGA is to inform our students about citizenship issues,
and we believe this event is one way to accomplish this while offering a valuable
service to our community.” Three debates followed which included candidates for State
Representative District 25, United States Congress District 4 and United States Senate.
Democrat Jerry Rephan and Republican Les Warren debated first and addressed questions from the panel about retaining young farmers, poverty rates, pre-k education, and the proposed ballot initiatives. Congressman Westerman followed in a second debate. His opponent, Libertarian Kerry Hicks was unable to attend. Westerman fielded questions from the panel about farmer’s rights, student loan debt, retaining a qualified workforce, and the economy in the fourth district. The final debate included Libertarian Frank Gilbert and Democrat Connor Eldridge. Republican John Boozman did not attend. Gilbert and Eldridge debated about the next farm bill and the role of Arkansas agriculture in the national narrative. They discussed free community college, racial tensions, and how they would balance citizens’ Second Amendment rights with the need to curtail gun violence.
Photo: Left to right, debate panelists Corey Alderdice, Director of the Arkansas School for Math, Science, and the Arts, Dr. Charles Argo, Social Sciences Division Chair, Tommy Sorrells, GCFB President, and Michelle Godwin, SGA President during the State and Local Candidate Debate at National Park College Tuesday evening.
