Gilbert Baker Voting Record Documentation - Baker also sponsored the Bond Issue Bill

Gilbert Baker Voting Record Documentation can be found at this link. Some people questioned the voting records that Women Action sent out and posted at this link on this blog about Baker's voting record. The voting records for legislators from past years are hard to find because there is no way to link to them. It takes several steps to find them so Women Action Group has copied and pasted some of the major votes of the Senate that include Baker's votes on taxes and some controversial issues at the above link which is http://www.wpaag.org/Gilbert%20Baker%20-%20Voting%20Record%20Documentation.htm

In addition to Senator Gilbert Baker's votes that we highlighted in the article on this blog at the above link, Senator Gilbert Baker sponsored (and we presume wrote) SB 430 (Act 685) in 2005 providing for a statewide election on issuing tax revenue bonds (Referred Question NO. 1) This bill if approved by voters would have left "Arkansas in debt for decades to come," according to newspaper articles.

Citizens soon learned that because of veiled language in the bill, the Highway Commission would have had power to re-issue bonds for maintenance of highways up to the $575 million cap as many times as it wanted without further voter approval. This veiled language was a slick move to get around the wording of Amendment 20 to the Arkansas Constitution that guarantees the voters a right to vote on any state indebtedness. The amount of interest and bonding fees would have been $217 million or 37%.

Fortunately citizens were educated through the work of dedicated opponents and voted it down 68% to 32%, even though the bond issue was supported by the political establishment. Former Senator Holt fought this issue and issued a press release opposing it although he had originally voted for it. When he became aware of the veiled language in the bill, he began to openly fight against it.

A newspaper article summarized those supporting and opposing the bond issue this way: "Of the lieutenant governor hopefuls, Holt and political consultant Drew Pritt of Warren, a Democrat, oppose the measure. Rep. Doug Matayo, R-Springdale, former Republican U. S. Attorney Chuck Banks, state Sen. Tim Wooldridge, D-Paragould, and former state Rep. Mike Hathorn, D-Huntsville, support it."

Is this the candidate that you want to take Senator Blanche Lincoln's place? You may want to go back and study his other votes at the above links.