Delta Digital News Service

Story by DDNS Reporters Gracie Lunsford and Kinley Rainwater

October 8th marked the second political debate at Arkansas State University. In the race for U.S. House District 1, candidates Dem. Terri Yarbrough Green and Lib. Steve Parsons attended, while Representative Rick Crawford declined. 

Jonathan Reaves moderated the event, with the same four panelists as last week’s debate: LaGanzie Kale, Samantha Mitchell, Allie Carson, and Levi Seward. Both candidates agreed to the debate terms: a 2-minute opening statement, 2 minutes for each panelist’s question, an additional minute for the initial candidate to respond, and a 3-minute closing statement.

Green opens by saying she is a “semi-retired pathologist,” not a politician. She describes herself as a wife, mother, grandmother, and daughter of a World War II veteran.

“I am more comfortable behind a microscope than a microphone, which I think is a good thing.”

Green says she has practiced pathology in northeast Arkansas since 1988, and as a doctor, they are taught to look for what isn’t working and find a way to fix it. 

Green says when she looks at America, and looks at Arkansas, she sees things that need fixing.

She says she sees farmers being “squeezed by forces beyond their control,” farm bankruptcies, families stretched by costs of housing, healthcare, groceries, fuel and childcare.

Green mentions struggling rural hospitals and how many are closing. She criticizes the incumbent for the worsening situation. 

“The incumbent has had 16 years to do something about these problems,” stated Green. “They have only gotten worse. And I hope tonight to draw a distinction between what the incumbent has and has not done. And what I would like to do for the people of the 1st district of Arkansas.”

Parsons begins his opening statement by explaining how being a third-party candidate has made it difficult to find platforms to voice his stances. Growing up in a small, family-owned business shaped his core politics. 

“We lived on 17 cents an hour,” stated Parsons. “All the money that we earned went back into building that business…My parents complained the taxes and regulations made it increasingly difficult to create many new jobs. They believed that both political parties had failed them.”

He went on to earn two fellowships that let him attend a writing school for a PhD in economics, then made a living helping companies around the globe make business decisions, doing corporate training, and teaching the economics of technology at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. 

Parsons’ campaign focuses on offering voters another choice aside from the typical two-party system that controls the U.S. government. 

“Voters deserve another choice besides the two parties that have a stranglehold on politics in this country…My campaign is about less government and more freedom.” 

The first panelist was LaGanzie Kale, founder of Jonesboro’s first minority-owned radio station KLEK. His first question concerns how the democratic party has struggled to connect with rural voters, and asked, “Is that because rural voters misunderstand democratic policies, or because the Democratic Party has fundamentally lost touch with the values and priorities? What is your party getting wrong?”

Green couldn’t answer for her party; she says she just knows what rural voters need.

“I’ve been visiting throughout the district and talking with people in rural areas so that I know everything,” stated Green. “And what I discovered that, uh, rural areas need is infrastructure, maybe clean water, sewer systems, roads that are passable, jobs, but they’re not going to get businesses to go back into rural areas, uh, to provide those jobs if you don’t have clean water.”

Since Parsons is a libertarian candidate, Kale clarified his question to, “What do you think the libertarian party can do that the other parties are not doing?” 

Parsons explained that two years ago, 97% of U.S. House incumbents won their races, making it a difficult jurisdiction to compete in. He says the issues most important to rural voters also matter to all Americans. For instance, stopping the surplus of money in corporate welfare. 

“Part of the reason that’s important in more rural areas is, there are not big corporations in rural America in general, and certainly not new corporations in the vast majority of rural areas in District 1,” said Parsons.

He went on to talk about reducing federal regulations because smaller local companies can’t fully understand them. 

“That’s because if you’re a large company, you can specialize in bringing someone who understands the regulations. Small companies can’t do that.” 

Green responded to say that she totally agrees with reducing the burden of regulations, especially in areas such as healthcare.

Kale’s second question regards raising the federal minimum wage. “Many small businesses in rural Arkansas operate on extremely thin margins. What should happen to a small business that genuinely cannot afford a federally mandated wage increase? Would you accept business closures or job losses as a necessary trade-off, or what else would you do to help alleviate that?”

Green made it clear first that she would not accept job losses or closures as a result of raising the minimum wage. She says she would like to see something gradual and with safeguards in place.

Green says part of the problem with wealth inequality and why people can’t afford things isn’t the living wage; it’s the expenses of other things. 

She stated there has to be a way to get back to the economy that allows for comfortable, one-income households. 

In Parsons’ response, he says many well-intentioned policies have unintended consequences and proposes other steps instead of a minimum wage. 

The next panelist was Samantha Mitchell, an Arkansas State alum and news director for KASU public radio. Her first question for Dr. Parsons focused on ensuring everyday voters have the same resources to make their voices heard as those with political influence. “How will you ensure that a single parent working two jobs, a senior living on a fixed income, or a resident of a small rural community has the same opportunity to influence your decisions as someone with political power?” 

Parsons describes the issue as “amazingly difficult,” and part of his solution is to recognize the varying circumstances that affect policymaking. 

“I will try to recognize the nature of the diversity and the geographic areas in which people live, and what their circumstances are, and propose good policies that correspond to dealing with circumstances.”

He continued by discussing inflation control and how to “neuter the Federal Reserve” as part of his policies. 

“(The Federal Reserve) is the one that has the greatest long-term influence on inflation, because they have control over the money supply,” said Parsons. “There have been massive increases in the money supply over the last six years or so, and that is at its heart one of the basic causes of inflation.”

Green believes the government exists to level the playing field and ensure corporations don’t have a louder voice than working people. 

Green mentioned reversing the Citizens United decision as a possible way to help, along with getting the money out of politics, including stock trading in Congress. 

Green mentions that ensuring rounds around the district are done is important for a representative, especially during breaks. She says this helps elevate individuals’ voices over corporations. 

Mitchell’s next question raised concerns about Flock cameras and government surveillance. “At what point does a public safety tool become an infringement on individual freedom, and who should have the authority to make that determination?” 

Parsons argued that although the cameras are technically legal, those legal interpretations do not match his views. He continued, saying that any jurisdiction with data from these surveillance tools should be held to a higher standard to ensure the data is not abused. 

“Perhaps there needs to be a law passed to make it easier for people to sue when (infringement of privacy) happens,” stated Parsons.

Green argued that the individual right to privacy should be “paramount,” although she understands the need for security and public safety. 

With the creation and implementation of AI and facial recognition, Green says the amount of data the government has on us is frightening.

“I do not trust that the people that have that information are going to use it wisely,” stated Green. “I think we need much more regulation in place, and to protect the individuals working for us.”

In his rebuttal, Parsons states, “I want government to be at the lowest geographical level possible.” 

He follows by explaining that the federal government is “bureaucratic” and that he hopes laws, like those concerning flock cameras, are championed at the local level. 

Allie Carson, editor of A-State newspaper The Herald, was the third panelist. Her first question went to Green and addressed the growing university population and rural communities. Carson asks, “How would you balance the needs of those two populations when making federal policy?” 

Green says that, although difficult, balance is key. 

Policy can help residents by building infrastructure, and Green says the university can help with that. 

“I think it’s better when you don’t separate those needs, that these needs are different than those needs, but to look at the system as a whole, and how they interact, and different parts of the system benefit from another,” stated Green. 

Parsons began by saying he believes this is another example where the federal government should have little role. He says that at the local level, rules should be established early so they don’t change people’s incentives. 

As Arkansas State University is one of the largest economic drivers in northeast Arkansas, Carson’s second question to Green was “What role do you believe the government should play in supporting the university?”

Green says that when she was in school, student loans were interest-free until you had a job and could pay them back, when they began to accrue interest.

Now she says students are being asked to take out loans that, by the time they retire, they still owe as much as they did originally. 

Green says the government has a responsibility to educate citizens and provide low-interest or no-interest loans. 

Parsons responded that the American public has been sold a “bill of goods” to entice them into earning a four-year degree in college, but he claims that this belief is incorrect. He encourages universities to have “more skin in the game.” 

“If you have a student who graduates from your university, in whatever program it is, if they can’t make the loan…(the university) would have to repay part of that loan…it incentivizes them pushing students to more productive degrees you can earn a living in,” stated Parsons. 

The federal government provides grants for basic research. Green says the current administration is slashing many of these, and without the ability to advance knowledge, other countries are recruiting American scientists. 

Levi Seward, president of A-State’s pre-law club and an aspiring law school student asked his first question for Parsons, discussing the statement found on Parsons’ 2024 campaign website claiming that Social Security is “the worst social program ever created,” and that “Congress has an ethical responsibility to avoid cutting benefits.” 

As the national libertarian party moves toward phasing out the program, Seward asks Parsons, “Do you support phasing out Social Security?” 

Parsons replied that Social Security is “one of the hardest nuts to crack” because of its complexity and said action should’ve been taken long ago to avoid “not be in the circumstance we’re in.” This concern grows as the Social Security fund approaches running out by 2032.

Green says we may be in a bad situation with Social Security but that we’re stuck with it, so we need to fix it. 

Although she admits there are many proposed ways to do so, Green says she will not advocate for or go into detail on any of them. 

Parsons says he might have been exaggerating when he called Social Security the worst program, but believes the program “should’ve been recognized as a failed pyramid scheme.”

In 2024, Representative Crawford was involved in a class-action lawsuit over congressional pay. Seward’s second question for Parsons is, “Should members of Congress get a pay raise, why or why not?” 

Parsons described this question as exceptionally easy to answer, with a strong no. He notes that Crawford also sued for an increase in back pay, which Parsons finds “repugnant”. 

Green said “no” to Congress receiving a pay raise. 

“I don’t think that congressional pay should be increased until tax dollars are going to the people and we have an economy that is working for the working people,” according to Green.

Parsons did not disagree with Green and pointed out that the national debt is now three times what it was when Rep. Crawford first ran for office. He proposes that Congress’ pay should depend on whether it ends up with a deficit. 

“I would love to see it where if you end up with a deficit, you get no pay,” stated Parsons. 

The national midterm election is on November 3rd, including the vote for the House of Representatives. For voters in Craighead County, ballots can be cast at the Election Annex, 315 W. Jefferson Avenue in Jonesboro, from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm.