District 30 State Senate challenger Joe White (D-Conway) has again called attention to what he called "the appearance of impropriety" surrounding Republican incumbent Sen. Gilbert Baker's ties to the University of Central Arkansas.
The attack came in the form of a bright yellow 11-by-6 inch mailer that was delivered to an as yet unknown number of homes in Faulkner County on Thursday morning.
According to Baker, the mailer represents "a Washington-styled attack ad" and is "no way to do politics" in Faulkner County.
"There's two good men running for this position, and there's no place for this type of campaigning," he said, adding his campaign had no plans to respond with negative advertisements and would distance itself from that any individual that did.
White, who approved the mailer, said its message reflects questions of the alleged impropriety that he said have not been answered to his satisfaction or that of the voters.
On one side, the mailer states that Baker directed $558,000 to UCA while sending no money for other county institutions or services. Below this, augmented by an oversized question mark, are the words "Did personal favors have anything to do with this transaction?"
On the reverse side are allegations that Baker's son got preferential treatment at UCA, that Baker was late in paying for the rental of public property (a large outdoor tent) belonging to UCA and that Baker has been the beneficiary of unnamed gifts and favors from former UCA President Lu Hardin.
Baker addressed these allegations categorically during a hastily assembled press conference Thursday afternoon at county Republican headquarters, covering much the same ground as he did in August when the claims came to light through a Joe White for Senate Campaign press release and calling for a stop to including his children in negative ads.
The $558,000 mentioned in the mailer represents a single allotment of discretionary funds to be used as Baker sees fit, he explained. Since being elected, he said, he has used his discretionary funds to benefit "higher education in general and UCA in particular."
"It's important to realize that UCA is a major Faulkner County player representing hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars spent in the county by not only 10,000-plus students in addition to hundreds of staff, faculty and contractors," a statement prepared by Baker reads. "Directing the same funds to numerous smaller projects could not possibly have the same county-wide impact."
Baker also said through his positions on Senate committees, he has directed over $20 million in state funds for other county schools, organizations and services.
The only gift from Hardin, Baker said, was a floral arrangement upon the death of his father-in-law.
As for his son and daughter-in-law's UCA-owned home, Baker said both have earned full scholarships and applied for married housing following the same procedure as any other students. As for the tent, Baker referred to a recent Arkansas Ethics Commission opinion that the rental of the tent does not represent a breach of ethics if the tent is available for rent to the general public as well.
But as UCA officials say no one has ever asked to rent the tent, White said, it remains unclear whether it would have been made available for the general public.
"We called upon him to address these issues to the voters of this district," White said. "If he had responded at the time, we would have had no reason to send the mailer.
"If you're a public figure, you have to avoid any appearance of impropriety."
Baker also took issue with the lack of anything on the mailer letting its recipients know who had paid for it or that it was a paid political advertisement.
"I've always understood that you have to say how it's paid for," Baker said.
Natasha Naragon, public affairs coordinator for Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels, said that political advertisements appearing in print media, television or radio must all include the phrase "paid political advertisement," but mailers like the one paid for by White's campaign do not, nor do they have to include information as to who paid for them. A spokesperson for the Arkansas Ethics Commission concurred.
White said the absence of language stating where they mailer came from was an oversight, and pointed out that his campaign's P.O. box number was included, though neither his name nor any mention of his campaign appears on the mailer.
Neither White nor campaign manager Alex Bissell could answer Thursday as to how many mailers were sent out or how much the campaign had spent on them.
(Staff writer Joe Lamb can be reached by e-mail at joe.lamb@thecabin.net or by phone at 505-1238.)
