Hester Follows Sanders' Lead on Prison Controversy?
Some Republican Senators push back, demand transparency
As Governor Sarah Sanders' secret prison land purchase deal is becoming unraveled —thanks in part to our state’s strong FOIA, we might add — at least one leading Arkansas lawmaker continues to follow Sanders' lead.
Instead of responding to the pleas of Franklin County citizens and elected officials who were blindsided by how Sanders' administrative officials not only hid the reason for the purchase but also denigrated locals who object, incoming Republican Senate pro tem Bart Hester defends Sanders' purchase and says
The need for a new prison in Arkansas is undeniable. Look, anywhere we put a prison, there would be backlash. Look, I have empathy for the people that it's going to be near, but the number one responsibility of government is public safety ...
Members have jobs and families and things they got to wrap up, and that's what's going on right now. We've committed to give members a few weeks off before we start full-time.
No Knowledge or Consent
So, Hester puts lawmakers' holiday time off above Franklin County's quickly evolving problem of having a state prison imposed on their community without their knowledge or consent. But, with every day that passes the Governor’s project is marching on to completion.
After Governor Sanders made the surprise land purchase announcement in late October, Franklin County opponents formed a coalition and hired Ft. Smith attorney Joey McCutchen to fight against the purchase, which would put a 3000-bed state prison outside Charleston, Arkansas on a site that even the Director of the Division of Building Authority deemed as "not viable." McCutchen has revealed that financing authorities kept the reason for the land purchase a secret from the Arkansas Development Finance Authority (ADFA) Board, which has final approval authority.
Sanders’ Chief Legal Counsel Jake Bleed even wrote in an email that the land purchase was a not for a prison:
It’s not for a prison tho. It’s a land purchase in franklin county and we are purchasing it to pursue our own corporate purposes.
Republican Senators Push Back
Republican Senators Bryan King and Gary Stubblefield, representing Franklin County, are raising loud objections. Late this past fall, they asked that Hester schedule a Judiciary Committee meeting to address the situation — but Hester says it's "not an emergency" and can wait until the Legislature begins it session on January 13, throwing the issue into the mix with all the other legislation waiting for action in Little Rock.
Not an Emergency?
King, who also has serious concerns about the projected construction cost, said
So spending a billion dollars and lying and deception is not an emergency? After the 13th, when you have the whole session started, there's a lot of other things going on. Legislators get busy. This needs to be a singular focus ...
In the 2023 session, they said they were going to build a 3,000-bed prison for $470 million. By the FOIA documents that come out, and what other states have done, they are less than half of what the original, real-world estimate would be.
King plans a private meeting with Joe Profiri, the governor's criminal justice senior advisor, to continue uncovering what's going on with Governor Sanders' plan to foist this state project on the residents of Franklin County. Sanders named Profiri to that position after the Board of Corrections fired him as corrections secretary just a year ago — an action Sanders criticized as “a political stunt.” (Profiri, who accompanied Sanders as she returned to Arkansas after serving as President Trump’s press secretary, seems to also fit Sander’s habit of hiring previous associates, most of whom are non-Arkansas natives, who have demonstrated their loyalty to her interests.)
We heartily appreciate the efforts and representation of Republican Senators King and Stubblefield who demand transparency and accountability for their constituents. Arkansas REPUBLICANS must stand up for the concerns of the people who voted for them!
True to form, it’s also just more secretive shenanigans from the Governor's staff and Sanders herself, who continues to proclaim her support for the people and "America First."
UPDATED 1/3/2025: While the Governor’s non-transparency and not including affected citizenry in these critical decisions are non-partisan issues that should be important to all of us, Republican Senate Leader Hester, rather than responding to the problem, chose to dirty up Senator King instead:
Actions speak louder!
I repeat.... How did reading press releases qualify Sarah to be a governor?
My opinion, Sarah, like Asa, spent too much time "in the swamp" and does not 'know' Arkansanans.