The Truth In Arkansas Politics

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Senators Living On Tulsa Time JOHN BRUMMETT
“Some of the senators overnighting with Drilling in Tulsa were among those honored last week by this newspaper in its compilation of the 10 best legislators of the recent session. And they've long been among my personal favorites, I confess. Which just goes to show you how bad the Legislature really is if these are the best and the favorites.Drilling, knowing disclosure was inevitable, gave up these names of those who lived on Tulsa time with him last week: Sens. Mike Beebe of Searcy, Morril Harriman of Van Buren, Tom Kennedy of Russellville, Bill Gwatney of Jacksonville, Allen Gordon of Morrilton, Jon Fitch of Hinds-ville and John Riggs of Little Rock, and Bill Lancaster, the chief of the Senate staff.Beebe, Harriman and Kennedy were rated among the 10 best. Gwatney should have been. Gordon and Fitch could have been.Drilling told me he was bearing the expenses of all except Beebe, the gubernatorial wannabe who insisted on paying his own way and tells me he wrote two checks, one for lodging and general accommodations and the other for greens fees.Beebe wouldn't tell me the amounts because he said it was none of my business and that he didn't want me citing that figure in a negative way against the others. Drilling said it was a couple hundred dollars.I accused Beebe of the protectiveness of the good ole system, and he said, "I can't deal with that."I said that by his very payment he commented negatively on the ethics of the others. He said not to accuse him of any such thing. Everyone makes their own judgments, and he is accountable only for his, he said.I told him that while it was good that he paid, it was bad that he cavorted recreationally out of the state with a corporate lobbyist, considering his obligations of objectivity, and the appearance thereof, to regular constituents and others who might dare to enter the local telephone business.Beebe said I was being inconsistent, having previously called on legislators to pay their own way for such things. He likes to play golf and he likes all those fellows, he said. He said he was disappointed in me. I said we seemed to have ourselves a mutual disappointment society.Beebe's best pal, Harriman, told me he intended to wait until Drilling provided an accounting of the costs, then send him a check. I accused Harriman of thinking of that on the spot. He said absolutely not; that weeks earlier, he'd asked Lancaster, the chief of staff, about a breakdown of costs.I asked Beebe how he managed to pay ahead of time. He said he demanded an estimate and paid the "full amount," whatever the full amount was. But he said I could rely on Harriman's word about his all-along intentions.Harriman said there's nothing wrong with buddying up with a corporate lobbyist so long as there is no evidence of bad policy being made in service to that corporate lobbyist. I cited telephone deregulation. He professed not to believe that was bad policy.Otherwise, we are left to believe that Eddie Drilling is the most splendid and pristine gentleman since Gandhi and that these senators happen to be such dear friends and admirers of his that they choose to be in his company even at the risk of being ridiculed by mean old columnists from the daily press.Kennedy, Fitch, Gordon: They all tell me in essence that Eddie's just swell and that the great thing about him is that you can take his money without any hint of obligation.Kennedy said he paid for pretty much the same group to play golf over the weekend in Danville and found places for folks to spend the night.Gordon said the thing about Drilling is that he doesn't talk business at these events. I told him that Drilling had told me he provided a briefing on telecommunications issues. And Gordon said, "Oh, yeah. He did give a short speech. That's not like Eddie."I haven't yet been able to speak with Gwatney and Riggs for their explanations or to see if they planned all along to pay Drilling back. I know both could afford it.”
Copyright 1999 Little Rock Newspapers, Inc. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock, AR) May 13, 1999, Thursday

Well, let us continue our look into the cozy relationships with special interest groups that he regulates…..

During his campaign for Attorney General – the public’s defense attorney for gas, utility, and telecommunications rate increase – Mike Beebe, again, did not shy from being paid by those he represents the consumer against.

Let’s take a look:

From January 2002 to October 2002, Mike Beebe accepted the following:

Oil and Gas Industry: $10,750
Other Electric Utilities: $1,250
Entergy: $2,165
Alltel: $4,000
Other Telecommunications: $600

Total: $19,765

It looks as if these entities wanted to be sure and get their retainer in early for Mr. Beebe.

Do the people of Arkansas know that the lawyer that their tax dollars are being used to pay, is also being paid by the industries he supposedly regulates?

It will be interesting to see how these figures grow with the next gubernatorial campaign finance report. More of The Truth and The Evidence will be surfacing soon….

One of the duties of the Attorney General is to represent the consumers of the State of Arkansas in natural gas, electric, and telecommunication rate cases. Now, if John Doe is the consumer, Mike Beebe should be defending John Doe in a court of law. In a traditional judicial setting, your defense attorney should not be cozy with those on the other side.

Here is a copy of the actual Arkansas statute regarding the role of the Attorney General in regards to consumer utility rates:

23-4-303. Office created
There is created within the Office of the Attorney General a Consumer Utilities Rate Advocacy Division.

23-4-305. Functions; powers and duties
The Consumer Utilities Rate Advocacy Division shall represent the state, its subdivisions, and all classes of Arkansas utility rate payers and shall have the following functions, powers, and duties:
(1) To provide effective and aggressive representation for the people of Arkansas in hearings before the Arkansas Public Service Commission and other state and federal courts or agencies concerning utility-related matters;
(2) To disseminate information to all classes of rate payers concerning pertinent energy-related concepts; and
(3) To advocate the holding of utility rates to the lowest reasonable level.




Consider this for a moment-- Currently, there are at least 4 pending rate cases (1 electric and 3 natural gas) before the Attorney General. Those entities asking for rate increases are Entergy, Arkla-Centerpoint, Arkansas Western Gas, and Arkansas Oklahoma Gas. Bear in mind, the Attorney General is to defend John Doe, the consumer not represent the entities asking for rate increases.

Environmental Circumstances to consider:
Natural gas prices are increasing exponentially due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. This will be passed on to the consumer unless the states hired Defense Attorney stops these entities. Arkla-Centerpoint alone has more than 430,000 Arkansas customers and has asked for a $34 million increase! This is almost an $80 increase per customer. Defense Attorney, please help!

Entergy has also asked for a rate increase equivalent to $5.35 per month to the average ratepayer, or an increase from $87 to $95 per month.




Mike Beebe’s Response:
Attorney General puts utilities on notice about rate hikes, high gas bills (By Wesley Brown, Arkansas News Bureau Tuesday, Sep 20, 2005).
"My office is dedicated to protecting the rights of Arkansas consumers and ratepayers and will be vigilant in assuring that increases are kept to a minimum," Beebe said.

Now The Evidence:

Campaign Contribution to Mike Beebe for Governor-- the consumer’s defense attorney:

Arkansas Oklahoma Gas: $3,000.00
Other Oil and Gas Distributors: $11,700.00

Entergy: $3,000.00 including Mike Mauldin, Director of Governmental Affairs

Natural Gas and Utility Legal Fund:
Total Money Contributed to Mike Beebe to hinder his defense for the consumer: $17,700

Mike Beebe is also to defend the consumer in rate cases for telecommunications entities: If Mike Beebe were to defend the consumers of this state against, let’s say, Alltel.
Alltel: $18,150.00



Consumers would have to contribute $18,150 to match what Alltel Executives have given to the Mike Beebe for Governor Campaign. Alltel must have a rate increase in the works.

Mike Beebe is also to defend the consumer in rate increases of rural telephone service providers. The consumers would have to pay $7,600 to match what rural telephone service providers (i.e., North Arkansas Telephone Company) have contributed to the Mike Beebe for Governor Campaign.
Rural Telephone Service Providers: $7,600

How would the people of Arkansas feel if they knew their paid defense attorney – the guy who is to argue their case before judge and jury against the entities he regulates—has accepted $43,450 in a 3 month period? Huh? I guess we are learning The Truth about Mike Beebe!

In trying to determine The Truth about Mike Beebe's ties to special interest groups, we were interested in how General Mike Beebe views his job as Attorney General. We visited his website. Here is what we found on his home page....

Welcome to the Arkansas Attorney General's Web site. As the chief law-enforcement officer of the State, I work hard to safeguard the public's interests and to act as the lawyer for our citizens.

All members of our staff have pledged to use their knowledge and skill to protect consumers, safeguard the environment, defend society through the criminal-justice system, and solve problems ranging from youth violence to Medicaid fraud.

Please familiarize yourselves with the many services offered by my office, and feel free to contact us whenever we can be of help.

Please stay tuned for The Evidence and The Truth about Mike Beebe....

Developing.....

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recently reported that Gus Wingfield (AR State Treasurer) has attended conferences in countries around the world. When asked how much he paid for the trip he replied "that is personal." If Gus was on a vacation trip (as he claims) why was he listed as the treasurer of Arkansas? The treasurer of the sate of Arkansas needs to be held accountable. Let's have The Truth Gus...



SESSIONS ABROAD DRAW CHIEFS OF RETIREE FUNDS
Officials of Arkansas’ two largest public retirement systems, which have substantial overseas investments, have attended professional conferences in Brazil, Germany, Russia and many other countries during the past decade. The systems often have paid the conference fee, while the cost of travel has often been subsidized by various firms that are competing to manage millions of dollars in assets of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System and the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System.
Cozy?
Not in any bad way, say officials for the systems, their consultants and the sponsors of the conferences.
They say it’s routine for money managers to underwrite these educational conferences.
"No one comes away from one of these meetings that isn’t better informed about where they are investing," said Paul Troup, executive vice president of Callan Associates Inc. of Atlanta, the investment consultant for the public employees’ retirement system.
"Smart trustees are better equipped trustees," he said.
But state Sen. Steve Faris, D-Central, said officials for the systems should be more forthcoming with details, such as who is actually paying for them to attend these conferences and the purpose of their trips.
Faris, vice chairman of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Programs, said he doesn’t understand why system officials and money managers "want to keep such a shroud of secrecy over the situation."
The officials who benefit from the conference sponsors’ covering some of their costs must report those benefits if the amounts exceed a certain levels, the legal counsel for the state Ethics Commission said.
Some officials have done so, while others haven’t.
The two retirement systems collectively have more than $2.5 billion invested overseas. About $878 million of the public employees system’s $4.643 billion assets were in foreign stock markets and some $1.61 billion of the teacher retirement system’s $8.774 billion were in foreign stocks as of June 30, according to officials for the systems.
The public employees system had $94 million invested in foreign bonds as of June 30, but the teachers’ system doesn’t have similar investments, said officials for the systems.
Most of the time, the systems paid fees of $500 to $1,000 for each official attending a meeting, according to system records.
The records show that the sponsors of the conferences often pay the officials’ airfare, hotel and some meals.
The World Pension Forum has organized most of the conferences. It’s a private Marin County, Calif.-based firm founded in 1992 and previously known as Pensions 2000.
Gail Stone, executive director of the public employees system, said money managers indirectly subsidize the conferences though they are barred from marketing themselves to system officials at the meetings.
If the system paid the full cost, system trustees and officials wouldn’t attend, Stone said.
"You would be writing I am spending X dollars of taxpayers’ money," she explained to a reporter...The most recent overseas conference attended by officials for Arkansas retirement systems was held May 21-28 in Prague, Czech Republic, and St. Petersburg, Russia.
The World Pension Forum’s conference was dubbed, "Overcoming Obstacles — Is Potential Becoming Reality?"
According to an agenda for the conference, its 14 sponsors included Lazard Asset Management, which is a money manager for the public employees system; The Bank of New York, which is the system’s custodian bank and has a subsidiary that is a money manager for the system; and Capital Group Cos., which is the parent company of a money manager for the teacher retirement system.
Chuck Freadhoff, a spokesman for Capital Group Cos., said a subsidiary, Capital Guardian Trust Co., paid $50,000 to World Pension Forum as a sponsor for the event.
"We meet potential clients, and we meet people who can further our knowledge of emerging markets," he said, explaining why the company would provide such support for such meetings.
Spokesmen for The Bank of New York and Lazard Asset Management declined to say how much they paid to sponsor the conference.
Those who said they attended include state Treasurer Gus Wingfield of Delight, who serves on the both the public employees and teachers systems’ boards; teachers system trustee Linda Parsons of Conway; public employees trustee Larry Fratesi of Pine Bluff; and Stone of Little Rock.
Philip Schaefer, the forum’s president, said the conference’s tuition fee was $1,000.
Some scholarships were given to public pension fund officials who attended to help pay for airline tickets, hotel and ground transportation costs, he said. Forum officials try to comply with the rules governing trustees in each state, he said.

Wingfield said he paid a fee out of his own pocket to the forum for the conference.
"Whatever World Pension Forum sent to us in forms, I paid their price," he said in an interview.
Asked how much he paid, Wingfield replied, "That is personal.
I was on a week’s vacation."
Schaefer declined to disclose how much his firm charged Wingfield or whether Wingfield received a scholarship from the forum.
"We are a private company. That’s for him to tell you," Schaefer said.
Wingfield said he doesn’t know whether he received a discount on what he was charged by the forum.
He is listed as Arkansas’ treasurer on the list of those who attended the conference.
"I guess I was there as a state treasurer, but I didn’t feel like the treasurer’s office should pay for a trip there. ... I got a lot of information, good information that I think will help me with investing in this emerging European market," he said.
"I will be the treasurer until January of 2007 and where I go I am still the treasurer, but I am not there in official treasurer capacity. I took a week’s vacation from this office and paid my own way," said Wingfield, who hasn’t announced whether he’ll seek re-election.
He said money managers didn’t pay for him to attend the conference.
Through his chief deputy, Dan Honey, Wingfield later declined to answer other questions from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette...Wingfield said he attended a forum conference in China last year. He also declined to say how much he paid to attend it.
"I paid whatever they said their price would be... out of my personal checking account. I never billed anyone for it," he said.
The teacher system paid $750 each in conference fees for Parsons and Wingfield to attend the Pensions 2000 conference in Beijing and Tokyo in April 2001, according to system records.
Pensions 2000 was to reimburse each participant’s airfare, lodging and meals, then-system Executive Director Bill Shirron wrote in a letter to the state’s Office of Accounting in 2001.
According to a copy of his registration form, Wingfield’s wife would accompany him at the conference. The conference charged a $750 fee for a spouse or guest, according to the form.
Wingfield’s registration form refers to the teacher system and two scholarships that include airfare, hotels and meals.
Wingfield didn’t list the conference on his Statement of Financial Interest for 2001.
A copy for a Statement of Financial Interest for Parsons in 2001 isn’t on file with the secretary of state’s office, according to that office.
Parsons said she was never told whether it cost Pensions 2000 more than the conference fees paid by the system.
"I thought they were getting excellent rates," she said.
Fratesi said he also attended forum conferences in Budapest, Hungary, and Vienna, Austria, in 2000; Berlin, Germany, and Moscow, Russia, in 2002; and Hong Kong and Shanghai, China, in 2004. The system paid a fee for him to attend each time, he said.
"I view it as part of the educational process and trying to be a better trustee," he said.
Fratesi didn’t report the 2000, 2002 or 2004 conferences on his Statements of Financial Interest.
He said he doesn’t know whether he received scholarships for the events.
Stone said she’s also attended conferences in Paris and Marrakech, Morocco, in 1996; Stockholm, Sweden, and St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1998; Rome and Istanbul, Turkey, in 1999; and Madrid, Spain, and Paris in 2000.
She reported that Pensions 2000 paid for airfare, hotel and meals for the 1998, 1999 and 2000 conferences, while the Institute for Fiduciary Education reimbursed her travel expenses for the 1996 conference.
To illustrate the benefit of attending the conferences, she said the system had invested less than $1 million in Russia stocks through one money manager who was fired in 1998.
Stone said her trip to St. Petersburg to 1998 confirmed her confidence in the system’s decision to fire the manager. She said that people attending that conference needed bodyguards and the buildings weren’t maintained and storefronts were barren.
"The overall tone of the city was one of disarray," she said.
But Stone said the improvement in the economic well-being of St. Petersburg was obvious during her trip there this spring.
"Stores were well stocked; people weren’t sullen; capitalism seems to have taken root. I’m very comfortable with investing there now," she said.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 9/26/05)

Earlier this year, Attorney General Beebe’s office was FOI’d by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette for emails pertaining to “official” activity. The Attorney General’s office declined to release to the public exclaiming “working papers exemption” and “executive privilege.” I wonder if Mike Beebe remembers his initial position on this issue in an Arkansas Democrat Gazette article?: (“Beebe: FOI Exclusion for Working Papers Applied Too Liberally,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/26/02)


Flashback:


Attorney General-apparent Mike Beebe said Friday he doesn't share the governor's view that a "working papers exemption" in the state Freedom of Information Act exempts all documents in the governor's office from disclosure….Also responding to a question, Beebe said he'd consider proposing legislation to narrow the exemption, but he made no commitment at this time beyond "considering" such a possibility.
He said his general philosophy is that it's usually not good policy to change state law simply because of the aberrant actions of one particular administration. The senator was meeting with the Arkansas Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the FOI Coalition in Little Rock to discuss his views on the public's right to know the doings of the government and on his coming legislative package.
Beebe said his general attitude about the Freedom of Information Act is supportive because "open government is essential to the operation of a democracy, and this is best obtained through watchful guardians." He also said a "less salutary reason" for supporting that law is that he's "scared of the press," but that it's "healthy that they'll expose you if you do something real bad." He said he has not developed the legislative package he'll offer as attorney general but has been learning more about the operation of the attorney general's office in cooperation with Attorney General Mark Pryor and members of Pryor's staff. So far, he has "not set foot in the office" but has worked by telephone and conversations outside of that office, Beebe said..
(“Beebe: FOI Exclusion for Working Papers Applied Too Liberally,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 10/26/02)

Mike Beebe, do you still believe that open government is essential to the operation of democracy? If so, why do you not give the public access to what is going on in the Attorney General’s office? Are you scared that the press will expose you of doing something real bad?

Mike Beebe, you cannot have it both ways! What are you hiding?

In an article published Wednesday, 9/21, Mac Campbell stated "Republicans are more interested in money than religious conviction, saying that Republicans want to lure voters to the 'revival tent' so they can sneak back to town and take their money. 'They’re not interested in salvation. They’re interested in the money,' said Campbell, who describes himself as a Christian." At The Truth we think that Mac needs to get in touch with the Arkansas people and stop playing the role of Howard Dean and Jason Willett by attacking the faith of Arkansans. Mac also said that he thinks "Republicans like it when the nation goes into debt because many of them, as investors, benefit from the interest payments." Republicans like it when the nation goes into debt? Ok...that is news to me. That sounds like a conspiracy theory dreamed up by Michael Moore and MoveOn.org. Mac, Arkansans don't want another Howard Dean, they have that in Jason Willett.

Candidate Calls Attention to Office
BY LAURA KELLAMSPosted on Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Email this story Printer-friendly version
SPRINGDALE — Voters should pay more attention to the state treasurer’s office, taking time to learn about how and where state money is invested, a Democratic candidate for the office said Tuesday. Mac Campbell of Harrison said the 2006 race for state treasurer probably won’t get much attention from voters or the news media. "Ask the questions, because the treasurer’s seat is more important than you know," he said during a speech to the Northwest Arkansas Senior Democrats. "Most folks that walk in to vote for state treasurer won’t know my name.... They’ll probably vote for the first name on the ballot." Campbell is an attorney and former tax policy adviser to U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark. State Treasurer Gus Wingfield of Delight, also a Democrat, hasn’t said if he’s running, although he’s raising money for the race. Another Democrat, former state Rep. Don House of Walnut Ridge, has also said he’s running. Campbell said people should pay more attention because the treasurer watches over billions of dollars in tax money and decides where some of that money is invested. He said it should be invested not "with a specific buddy" but where it yields the most benefit for Arkansas. In an interview later, Campbell said he wasn’t trying to imply that Wingfield invests for his friends’ benefit. "I’m not in a position to say bad things are going on, but I have questions, and I think the public should ask questions," he said. "And I think the question would be: Is our state money being managed for the public trust or is it being managed for personal gain in ways to benefit political cronies?" Wingfield was out of town Tuesday and didn’t return a telephone message left for him at his office. Wingfield has been the subject of criticism for hiring his daughters to work in his office. Campbell was asked by a Senior Democrats member whether he’d do something similar. "Well, I’ve not been fortunate enough to find the woman of my dreams, so I do not have any children to hire," Campbell said to the group’s laughter. Campbell described himself as a populist who’s from a long line of Democrats and a seventh-generation Arkansan. He said Democrats should generally do a better job asking questions about who benefits from public policy and public spending. For example, he said he thinks Republicans like it when the nation goes into debt because many of them, as investors, benefit from the interest payments. He joked at one point that Republicans are more interested in money than religious conviction, saying that Republicans want to lure voters to the "revival tent" so they can sneak back to town and take their money. "They’re not interested in salvation. They’re interested in the money," said Campbell, who describes himself as a Christian. Clint Reed of Greenbrier, executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas, said the comments sounded like typical Democrats’ attacks. "It is repulsive that Mr. Campbell would question the religious convictions and beliefs of thousands of Christians across this state, especially as a punch line to a political stump speech," Reed said.

Mike Beebe wants to be our next Governor, yet he doesn't even know how to spell "candidate." How can we be sure that he and his staff will pay attention to detail when they don't even know how to use spell check?

We think Mike Beebe needs to get it together. You claim to pay attention to detail and "thoroughly and properly research" issues. How can we believe that when you can't even spell?

We don't need to be a laughing stock with a Governor who can't spell.



Courtesy of the Marshall Mountain Wave, Sept. 15, 2005

We do not believe that the methodology of the poll numbers we were given was accurate thus we will not be reporting the statewide Republican vs. Democrat numbers as the poll was 55% to 45% heavy for the Democrats. Sample Size: 500 Democrats to 415 Republicans.

But based on popluar request we will report the rest of the poll numbers that were sent to us with the caveate that we do not believe that they are accurate. But as always, we leave it up to the readers to decide:

Republican Lt. Governor:

Jim Holt: 33%
Rick Calhoun: 15%
Chuck Banks: 12%
Doug Matayo: 10%
Undecided: 30%

Democrat Attorney General:

Dustin McDaniel: 38%
Paul Suskie: 21%
Robert Herzfeld: 13%
Undecided: 38%

Democrat State Treasurer:

Gus Wingfield: 34%
Mac Campbell: 21%
Martha Shofner: 20%
Don House: 13%

Republican Secretary of State:

Stephen Bright: 40%
Jim Lagrone: 28%

Mike Beebe said that Asa Hutchinson shouldn't tout his leadership experience. Hutchinson spokesman, Chris Battle said that the Hutchinson campaign looks forward to a review of the two candidates' records of leadership.

So we here at the Truth Blog have decided to look at some of the differences in the two candidates for Arkansas' top executive office:

First, Mike Beebe said "that convicted users of meth needed to be incarcerated to wean them off their addictions. Beebe?s reasoning seemed to be that with long prison sentences convicts/addicts would be separated from the substance that landed them there in the first place."

Well one of those convicted users said "that prisoners use and abuse meth while serving time in prison and in some cases prisoners ingest meth-soaked letters that are mailed to them from the outside."

This article, from the Baltimore Sun, shows that getting drugs in prison is a lot easier than you may think. It is often times a better place for drug contacts.

Well if that doesn't work, instead of going after the criminals who supply the drug (as Asa has done his entire career), he can stop companies from selling cold medicine. Now that is leadership.

Mike Beebe said his opinion on eminent domain was "thoroughly and properly researched." So how did he lead?

Mike Beebe said that "the Arkansas Constitution remains stronger for property rights than any other state in the United States."

He went on to say that "he did not think the current state law required an immediate change because the state's condemnation procedures historically have been heavily in favor of the original property owners."

Well, just because you say it, Mike, doesn't make it true! And again, we don't think it is sufficient to settle for being better than most. How about absolute property rights?

Just the other day, we saw that the Lions World Services for the Blind is attempting to use eminent domain to take the property of Johnnie Gupton to build a new Headquarters downtown.

"According to a copy of the letter provided by Gupton, Moore states that the city has been in contact with Lions World Services about creating a community redevelopment district and that the organization hasn’t bought Gupton’s property."

"Assuming that the redevelopment district is created, the City would be prepared to use its power of eminent domain to purchase your property," the letter reads. "The valuation of property for eminent domain purposes is essentially the fair market value at the time of condemnation."

Now that is leadership Mike!

We received a poll from one of our informants in regards to the Democratic Lt. Governor's Race. This informant works for one of the candidates in the race. Here are the results of an internal poll:

Wooldridge: 27%
Hathorn: 21%
Pritt: 17%
Martin: 5%
Undecided: 30%

Question: If the May 2006 Democratic primaryfor Lieutenant Governor were heldtoday, whom would you support if the candidates are: State Sen. Tim Wooldridge of Paragould, State Rep. Mike Hathornof Huntsville, pol. consultant Drew Prittof Warren, or State Rep. Jay Martin of North Little Rock.

How do you think the race is shaping up?