The Truth In Arkansas Politics

The Arkansas Times is reporting that Sharon Dobbins (candidate for LD39) has quit her job as a federal employee. What is more surprising than her quitting is what the Democratic Party spokesperson Bart Haynie said "We had no indication that there could possibly be a violation at that time." You have got to be kidding!!...in the papers Dobbins filed with the Democratic Party she stated that she was an employee of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (MEANING FEDERAL EMPLOYEE!). This is unbelievable, so, we have a candidate file for state office with the Democratic Party and they don’t even go as far to check her eligibility? This is a clear violation of the Hatch Act and you would think that the Democrats are smart enough to check the facts but evidently we have found otherwise. If I was a Democrat in this state I would be pretty embarrassed with my party.

Haynie also said that the matter was discussed with the party’s lawyers at the time. You mean to tell me that the Democratic Party “legal” counsel could not pick up on this? (UPDATE: Blake Rutherford Legal Counsel)

This is just more evidence that the Arkansas Democrat party, under Jason Willett and Gabe Holstrom’s leadership is falling apart. Another interesting point, her husband, Dwayne, the guy convicted of molesting a 17-year-old girl, is listed as her campaign manager. A child molester for a campaign manager? What Has The Arkansas Democratic Party Become?

Click Here For Dobbins Filing Info

Dobbins Info Page 2

Dobbins Info Page 3

ARKANSAS TIMES

The Times of North Little Rock today exclusively reported that Sharon Dobbins quit her federal job as a research nurse in order to accept the Democratic nomination she won last Tuesday to contend for her husband's former state House seat.(The article is not on the Times' website, but they graciously provided the text to us, which we are excerpting below.)Amid allegations that making a bid for the District 39 seat in the state House of Representatives while holding a federal job violated the Hatch Act - which bars federal employees from entering partisan elections - Democratic nominee Sharon Dobbins said Tuesday that she has stepped down from her job."All I have to say is that I have resigned from the VA," she said, and will continue her run for the House seat.As a research nurse for the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System in Little Rock, an arm of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, she was classified as a federal employee.Dobbins won the Democratic primary runoff last Tuesday, edging out North Little Rock School Board member Teresa Burl 374-275. She will square off with Republican Charles Barnes in the Dec. 13 special general election.Dobbins is the wife of former state Rep. Roosevelt Dwayne Dobbins, who stepped down from the District 39 seat in September as part of a plea bargain stemming from allegations that he fondled a then-17-year-old girl at his home.[. . .]Bart Haynie, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Arkansas, said the matter was discussed with the party's lawyers when Dobbins began her run for office and no violation was seen."We had no indication that there could possibly be a violation at that time," he said.[. . .]Burl said Tuesday that she was waiting to see how the investigation panned out before making her next move."I'm just looking at my options at this point," she said, adding that going to court was not being ruled out as a possibility.