Bart Franklin Hester (born December 9, 1977) is a Republican member of the Arkansas State Senate for District 1 in Benton County.
Senator Hester has drawn criticism in the past for supporting a GIF grant of $50,000 to support Eagle Ministries which focuses on marriage-counseling retreats. The $50,000 grant went to a member of his church. Hester said his only problem was that he wished he could have added another zero to the amount.
Video Bart Hester
Background
Hester graduated with a Bachelor of Science in business management from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was a member of the Arkansas Razorbacks baseball team. He is currently a real estate businessman. Hester and his wife, the former Ashley Brooke Dorsey (born 1978), have three children, Brooklyn, Addey Jo, and Nik. They reside in Cave Springs. Hester is a deacon of the First Baptist Church of Bentonville. He is a member of the National Rifle Association and the Arkansas Realtors Association.
Maps Bart Hester
Political life
Hester was elected to the Senate from the revised District 1 in 2012, when he defeated former Democrat and moderate Republican Tim Summers, 4,506 to 3,869 in the primary election. He was unopposed in the general election. Hester's first senate term expired at the end of 2016. Hester received support for his campaign from Americans for Prosperity, headed by Teresa Crossland Oelke. Americans for Prosperity is a Tea Party political advocacy group backed by David H. Koch and Charles Koch (often collectively referred to as The Koch Brothers). Teresa Crossland-Oelke's family owns and operates Crossland Construction. The Crossland family received much of their business from Hunt Ventures, which is operated by Johnelle Hunt and Tim Graham, which is Hester's previous employer. Among other things, Crossland Construction received Obama Stimulus Project contracts even as Teresa Crossland Oelke heaped abuse on the Obama stimulus program.
Contributions from the Crossland"s individually or companies in which the family has an interest, according to secretary of state filings and web sources that reveal family ties: Contractors Equipment of Joplin, $2,000; Crossland Construction of Joplin, $1,000; Crossland Heavy Contractors of Columbus, Kan., $2,000; Crossland Holding Companies of Columbus, $2,000; Oelke Construction of Rogers, $2,000; Rogers Warehouse Development, $2,000; Crossland Construction of Rogers, $2,000; Benny Crossland of Joplin, $1,000; Christopher Crossland of Rogers, $2,000; Patrick Crossland of Columbus, $2,000; Crossmar Investments Investments, $1,000; ICJ real estate holdings of Rogers, $2,000; 8th Street Warehouse of Rogers, $2,000; Parkway Real Estate Holdings of Rogers, $2,000; Rescue Heroes LLC of Columbus, $2,000; Ivan Crossland of Columbus, $2,000; Macy Crossland, $2,000; Crossmar DC III, $2,000; Crossmac Investments of Rogers, $2,000; Tim Oelke of Rogers, $2,000.
Oelke-Crossland connection provided $37,000 of Hester's $88,000, equal to 42%.
Arkansas State Senate, 2012-present
Hester served on the Arkansas Legislative Council and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Oversight Committee. He is assigned to these Senate committees: (1) Budget, (2) Children and Youth (vice chair), (3) City, County, and Local Affairs, (4) Revenue and Tax, (5) Rules, Resolutions and Memorials.
Hester opposes abortion, having voted to ban the practice after twenty weeks of gestation or whenever fetal heartbeat is determined.
In 2013, Hester joined the Senate majority to amend state income tax rates and to reduce the amount of weekly unemployment compensation benefits. He co-sponsored legislation to test the recipients of unemployment compensation for illegal use of narcotics. He voted successfully to override Governor Mike Beebe's veto of a bill to require photo identification when one casts a ballot in Arkansas. He voted against legislation to make the office of prosecuting attorney in Arkansas nonpartisan. He co-sponsored legislation to permit handguns to be carried on church properties and to forbid the release of information on the holders of concealed carry permits. He voted to allow university staff to carry concealed weapons. Hester supported legislation to permit the sale of unpasteurized whole milk within his state.
Hester endorsed former U.S. Representative Asa Hutchinson in the 2014 gubernatorial election. Hutchinson was handily defeated by Beebe in the 2006 election, but won the governorship in 2014 in a second run for the office.
Controversies
2015
In early 2015, Hester sponsored the Intrastate Commerce Improvement Act, intended to supersede local gay rights laws, and it became law. Several cities and towns have passed LGBT anti-discrimination ordinances in spite of the act, however. His "gay-hating" legislation earned Hester a nomination for "Worst Person in the World" .
In March 2015, Hester called for Springdale Police Chief Kathy O'Kelley to be fired following the release of a 2006 police report containing accusations that Josh Duggar (of the levision series]] 19 Kids and Counting) molested five underage girls, including his siblings. Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse made a statement that the public disclosure was required under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. On June 30, 2015, Hester publicly stated that "It's a good day when you can pick up 1,000 rounds at @Walmart Bentonville" on Twitter, and posted a photo of the box containing the 1000-round purchase he made.
2016
Senator Hester endorsed Marco Rubio over Donald Trump in the presidential primary. Hester was very critical of Trump but has since endorsed him.
Opposition to "Arkansas Works"
During the fiscal session, Governor Asa Hutchinson proposed "Arkansas Works", an expansion of the private option using federal Medicaid money to assist over 267,000 low-income Arkansans to obtain private health insurance and to reduce costs at hospitals across the state. The measure also transfers funding to the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) necessary for AHTD to meet matching requirements to receive Arkansas's full allocation of federal highway funds. Hester became a vocal, leading opponent of Arkansas Works and led a "rump" group of state senators to block funding for the initiative. Although the measure gained the required simple majorities to pass (70-30 in the House and 25-10 in the Senate, with Hester opposed), rules to acquire funding for the measure require a three-fourths majority.
A vote on April 14 resulted in the measure failing to achieve the required three-fourths majority, passing 95-0 in the House but failing 25-10 in the Senate with Hester and nine other Republicans opposing the measure. Hester has said the $2.6 billion of state revenues allocated to AHTD is "adequate". Hester offered cuts to the public television Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN), War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, and business incentives to fund some state programs, to which Hutchinson has said, "I don't think those are realistic proposals". Hester said a competing proposal will be forthcoming from the Arkansas Works opponents.
2017
On December, 2017, the Democrat Gazette reported that Senator Hester "ignored both the state Constitution and the U.S. Constitution establishment clause in shipping $50,000 to a religious ministry run by people he goes to church with. Hester was quoted as saying "My only regret is I could not add an additional zero to that grant."
2018
On Feb. 5, 2018, Bart Hester drew sharp criticism after he tweeted, "Why higher ed does NOT need increase funding. They lease a sign to encourage computer science degrees or math teachers? No they push for dance majors. Lots of hardworking Arkansans subsidizing this! Not ok @UALR". The billboard along Interstate 30 shows a dancer to the words "dance major" and features the statement: "Unlimited pathways. Close to home." Miss America 2017 Savvy Shields, who is studying art at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, took issue with Hester's comments in a reply.
"I disagree with this on so many levels," she said. "As an artist and a dancer, I have seen the arts influence, inspire, challenge and transform society."
Shields added that art education is "crucial in the advancement of Arkansas."
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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