Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in her speech Wednesday at Horner Hall at the opening session of the 56th annual meeting of the Association of Arkansas Counties that the county level is “the defining moment in government in every sense of the word.”
“We hear a lot in the news about election integrity, but who actually secures our elections? It’s our county officials,” she said, noting that county government has a greater influence over Arkansas residents.
“We all want to live in safe neighborhoods, and who patrols our streets? It’s our county sheriffs. We all want good roads, fair taxes, and balanced local spending. Who actually provides that? It’s our county judges, our treasurers, our assessors, and our tax collectors.”
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Sanders began her speech by thanking Dallas County Sheriff Mike Knoedl, who took out the gunman at the Mad Butcher in Fordyce earlier this year. Knoedl was presented with the Diamond Award by AAC Executive Director Chris Villines on June 21 for his actions.
“His quick actions and personal heroism literally made the difference between life and death for so many people in Fordyce earlier this summer,” she said.
“This tragedy was one of our state’s worst days and certainly one of my worst as governor. I cannot begin to imagine the grief that you and the entire Fordyce community still endure on a daily basis, but each of us in our state and as Arkansas residents can find refuge in the words you spoke shortly after the shooting: ‘This will not define us, and it will certainly not divide us.’ That is true not just for Fordyce, but for all of Arkansas.”
The governor said she was speaking at the event because she wanted to “help make your job easier, not harder.”
“Law and order was my top priority when I became governor and took office, and we have taken great steps to reduce the backlog in our local jails, but we are not done yet,” she said.
“It’s not fair for local government to shoulder the burden of long-term incarceration, and frankly it’s not safe to hold violent criminals in our county jails. And it’s not fair to release repeat offenders simply because of a lack of beds, and we will continue not to do that.”
Sanders also spoke about her efforts to lower state income taxes while increasing jobs.
“Of the Southern states that have an income tax, Arkansas now has the lowest,” she said. “At the same time, I know you need stability in property taxes, and we’ve kept those rates steady while providing relief to homeowners through an expanded Homestead Tax Credit.”
“Industries from around the world are discovering what Arkansas’ small towns have to offer. Aerospace and defense in Camden, steel in Mississippi County, tourism in the Ozarks, and lithium throughout southern Arkansas. Arkansas has more jobs today than at any time in our state’s history.”
The meeting opened with a welcoming address by District Judge Darryl Mahoney.
“This is Garland County,” he said. “This is my home and I want to welcome you here. If you haven’t been here in a while, there’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of changes happening.”
Mahoney recalled previous nicknames for the state and city, saying that while they are no longer used, they are still valid.
“I’m going to say goodbye here, but I remember when Arkansas license plates had ‘Land of Opportunity’ embossed on them,” he said. “We’re still the land of opportunity. The opportunities here are endless.”
“And the Natural State, we’re still the Natural State. In Garland County and Hot Springs here, the old saying was, ‘We bathe the world.’ You know what? We still bathe the world. That’s changed to ‘Hot Springs has all the fun,’ and we still have all the fun.”
County Judge Darryl Mahoney greets county officials during the opening session of the Association of Arkansas Counties’ 56th annual convention at Horner Hall on Wednesday. (The Sentinel-Record/James Leigh) 