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Beckwith is second state rep candidate |
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Wednesday, 19 December 2007 |
Democrat Mike Beckwith of Saline County, a small business owner, announced today that he will seek the Arkansas House of Representatives District 29 seat in 2008.
The seat is currently held by Rep. Janet Johnson, D-Bryant.
Johnson, 60, is serving her third term. She will leave the House because of the state’s term-limits law.
Beckwith, 47, is the second candidate to announce for the District 29 position. Republican J. Brett Hooton, 24, of Bryant announced his candidacy in early November.
Neither candidate has held elected office, although Beckwith ran unsuccessfully three times for Saline County justice of the peace in 2002, 2004 and 2006. Beckwith sought the District 6 position currently held by Sharon Riggan, R-Benton.
District 29 includes Bryant, part of the Salem community, and a portion of Saline County east of Benton and Haskell.
Beckwith, a 1978 graduate of Benton High School, said he will be a proactive legislator if elected.
“I will be actively listening to your opinions and concerns,” he said. “I will give you a voice in your state government.”
Beckwith is a native of Hot Springs. He owns Arkansas Online Marketing Services, a home-based business that specializes in marketing and online media. He has owned the business about two years.
He previously spent more than 25 years with Commercial Intertech/Parker Hannifin, a Saline County-based company. His responsibilities included manufacturing, customer service and sales.
Beckwith said his experience in manufacturing and small business management will help if he is elected. “I will be experienced in planning and implementing positive change,” he said.
Beckwith and his wife, Donna, have been married for 26 years. Their daughter, Lauren, is an elementary education major at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia.
Donna Beckwith is art director at Video Viewing Inc. in Little Rock.
Mike Beckwith’s parents and siblings are longtime residents of Saline County. His father, James Beckwith, is a retired Navy chief and worked for many years at the Benton Post Office. James and Joann Beckwith have been married for 50 years.
Hooton, who describes himself as a social and fiscal conservative, is employed with Acxiom Corp. His mother, Leigh Hooton, is a teacher at Springhill Elementary School in the Bryant School District.
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