story by Roby Brock, a TCW content partner and owner of Talk Business & Politics
roby@talkbusiness.net
If you’re tired of Republicans and Democrats, there may be an alternative for you in the November election.
In the Governor’s race, the focus has been on major party candidates Democrat Mike Ross and Republican Asa Hutchinson.
Two other candidates who have qualified for the ballot are Libertarian candidate Frank Gilbert and Green Party nominee Josh Drake. Both men appeared on this week’s edition of Talk Business & Politics for an extended political roundtable conversation.
A constable in the Dekalb Township of Grant County, Gilbert is a former mayor of Tull and has served as coroner for Grant County. He’s also a former president of the Bauxite Education Association. Gilbert graduated from Van Buren High School, attended Ouachita Baptist University, and is a U.S. Navy veteran. He has had a career in private security and serves as a minister of Universal Life Church.
Drake, a Hot Springs attorney, was born in Germany. He graduated college from Rhodes in Memphis and received his juris doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law. Active in several civic organizations in Garland County, Drake has run for office before. He’s been a Green party candidate for U.S. Congress in the Fourth District in 2008, 2010 and 2012.
As statewide candidates this year, both Gilbert and Drake hope to pull at least 3% of the general election vote in order to help their political parties meet a threshold for recognition as a political party in future elections.
On key issues, Gilbert and Drake have major differences with each other and the major party candidates; take taxes for instance.
Drake likes Mike Ross’ income tax bracket reform proposal, which would retroactively index Arkansas income tax brackets taking a 1997 state law and applying it to the 1971 realignment of the tax code. However, Drake thinks there needs to be a higher income tax percentage on larger incomes.
“I think we should be raising them [taxes] to some extent,” Drake said. “The family making $50,000 a year in Arkansas pays the same percentage of taxes as the family making $5 million and I don’t think that’s fair. ... The people that are making the money, that are doing the best, they can more afford to pay a higher percentage of their taxes because this economy, this economic environment we have, is obviously good for them.”
Drake also advocates for an eventual elimination of the sales tax, which he says disproportionately hurts lower income families.
“It hurts the hard-working people that are working 40 or 50 or 60 hours a week and spending every dime they make on groceries and fuel and rent and education for their kids and clothes and so forth. They put it back in the economy,” he said.
Gilbert wants to eliminate the personal income tax completely. As income taxes account for nearly half of state tax revenues, Gilbert said it couldn’t be done all at once without wreaking havoc on state services. But he says it could be done over a multi-year period.
“If there was a switch, I’d throw it,” Gilbert said, acknowledging that the state Legislature would likely buck such an effort. “Corporate welfare in Arkansas is $200 million a year. We can cut that back. The average Arkie is not going to feel it, the fat cats that are getting it aren’t going to feel it that much either and they don’t’ deserve it anyway.”
“I would go as far as selling the Governor’s mansion,” he added as a symbolic gesture to cutting what he perceives as unnecessary government expenses.