Arkansas Online

LR businessmen back Jones for prosecutor

They give $216,000 to his campaign

JOHN LYNCH

While Will Jones has eschewed outside spending in his race against Alicia “Lisa” Walton for the Little Rockbased Sixth Judicial District prosecuting attorney, a group of Little Rock businessmen, several of them Republican donors, have put up $216,000 to support his campaign.

Earlier this month the group established Safer Cities Arkansas as an independent expenditure committee to counter negative out-ofstate advertising in the race, said organizer Nate Steel, a lawyer and a former Democratic candidate for attorney general.

“The three things that I assure everybody associated with this group is, you know, it’s not dark money. Everything’s reported,” Steel, a former state representative, said Monday. “All ads are positive, and all of the funding comes from inside the state. So it’s considerably different from some of the other efforts from out of state.”

Voters in Pulaski and Perry counties will decide today on whom they want to replace the retiring Larry Jegley, the district’s elected prosecutor for 25 years who has never been opposed.

The race pits Jones, a career prosecutor and former assistant attorney general, against Walton, a public defender and former Marine.

Their contest is nonpartisan, but the race has attracted big money from political interests.

Walton has been endorsed by Democratic billionaire activist George Soros, who has spent $321,000 through the Arkansas Justice & Public Safety PAC to promote her.

Fair Courts America, a national group affiliated with Republican billionaire activist Richard Uihlein, has put up $100,000 to support Jones. The money was all contributed by chicken magnate Ron Cameron of Little Rock, a Republican supporter said to be one of the largest donors in the state.

Aside from supporting their selected candidates, both Fair Courts and Arkansas Justice also have attacked their chosen candidates’ opponents in some ads.

Safer Cities has funded one 30-second “positive” advertisement, running it on TV and radio, touting Jones’ accomplishments prosecuting crimes against children, Steel said.

According to state expenditure reports, Safer Cities raised $216,000 and has spent $205,725, most of it ($191,000) with Mentzer Media of Bel Air, Md., for the ads. Another $9,725 was spent with Strategy Works of Tulsa on advertising production, with $5,000 paid to the Gilmore Davis Strategy Group of Little Rock for consulting.

The report shows that billionaire banker Warren Stephens contributed $75,000, with real-estate investor John Bailey and pharmacy millionaire Stephen LaFrance each contributing $50,000.

Real estate investor John Flake contributed $25,000, with the Schueck Family Limited Trust, affiliated with the Little Rock-based Lexicon Inc. heavy construction conglomerate, putting up $10,000. Rounding out the donors are AB Insure Invest LLC with $5,000 and commercial developer Henry Kelley with $1,000.

Arkansas

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2022-05-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-05-24T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.arkansasonline.com/article/282175064733997

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