House candidate faces ethics violation

The Republican candidate in the race for the Arkansas District 54 House seat has had a setback, but says he still believes he is the right man for the job.

Leachville City Councilman David Ray Wallace recently reported that he accepted a $5,000 campaign contribution from a single company, which exceeds the legal limit of $2,000 per candidate per election cycle and caused the state's Democratic party to file an ethics complaint against him.

Candidates are allowed to accept $2,000 for the primary election and $2,000 for the general election. According to a press release from Wallace, he has returned the $1,000 excess to the donor and will file an amended campaign finance report. He told the CN that his acceptance of the additional money was an honest mistake.

"I just misread the regulations," he said. "The federal rules allow more but in the state, as I now know, it's $2,000 per election cycle."

Wallace is challenging incumbent Democrat Wes Wagner for the seat, which serves a portion of Blytheville.

Wagner said he is "only worried about running [his] campaign to the highest ethical standard and not really worried about anybody else's."

As for why Blytheville and other District 54 voters should choose him, Wallace said he believes his values better line up with the constituency's than his opponent's.

"I'm a conservative, and I believe that the people of our district are conservative," Wallace said. "I'm pro-life and pro-second amendment. I believe if you're going to vote in our elections, you need to have an ID to do that, those are the things I stand for."

"It troubled me when [Wes Wagner] had issues last election as to his residency," Wallace continued. "I know that a Democratic judge ruled that was all right, but that troubled me. I've lived in or near Leachville all my life, and spent all my life as an Army officer, business owner or leader in the business community. To lead you've got to be assertive, you have to be out walking among your folks and talk with them every day. You can't live in another area and only hear from a few of your people of your fellow lawmakers in Little Rock."

Wagner, meanwhile, is championing his experience in the seat.

"I think we've accomplished a lot of great things this legislative session with education, economic development, and would like to continue to work on some projects that will benefit District 54," said Wagner. "I work on a good relationship with all my community leaders, and with their encouraging support, I want to get back down there and work for them again."

sharris@blythevillecourier.com