Arkansas Senate District 16 covers a large swath of Saline and western Pulaski counties.
Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright is running as a Republican in the race. Wright did not respond to multiple requests for an interview with Little Rock Public Radio, though an invitation still stands.
Little Rock Public Radio’s Daniel Breen spoke with the Democratic candidate in the race, Joshua Irby. You can hear their conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, in the link above.
Joshua Irby: I've spent the last going on over 16 years in corporate security and the last six of those in the corporate security intelligence environment. And really what drew me to politics was the 2024 election and just seeing how divisive our politics had gotten and just thinking to myself, not only could we do better, but we absolutely needed to do better. And so I decided to run because I wanted to bring about centrist, pragmatic solutions that could get past the partisan divide so that we could actually build bridges and break down barriers and actually get good things done for the state of Arkansas.
JI: I grew up in Little Rock and Ferndale and my wife and I, we moved to Saline County, which is where she's originally from, in 2022. And when we moved there, I just fell in love with the community. And that also was a really big driving factor in what made me want to serve and run the race that I'm running. Saline County is just, it's booming right now. People are moving there... more and more businesses are starting to move there, small businesses, and that comes with its own issues. And that's, once again, one of those reasons that I want to run is because you want to be able to manage growth responsibly and really focus on how to best address those challenges as they come.
Daniel Breen: What do you see as the biggest issue in your district right now?
JI: Oh, there's quite a bit. But one of them that's going to be on the election ballot is the Saline County Library. And it gets to the heart of education and how we're addressing that, especially with the vouchers and everything.
JI: But there's an opportunity that the tax in Saline County will be reduced. And obviously, that is not something that I, as a state senator, would necessarily have a focus on per se. But it is something that's a near and dear issue as a resident and as someone who, in high school, one of my first jobs was at my local library. So that definitely kind of hits a nerve.
JI: But I think one of the biggest issues in Saline County is, once again, that growth and how that correlates to everything that comes with that growth as far as public safety, strains on infrastructure, your roads, and just the congestion that faces. I think the biggest issue is just smart development and planning for that growth and making sure that however the state can best serve the community, the state isn't micromanaging the problem. They're working with those local governmental structures to make sure that the solutions that work best for them are what the state is implementing so that we're allowing the people who are closest to the issue to handle it while making sure that the state sets the foundation, but your local government gets to set the ceiling. I think that's probably one of the biggest issues that we're seeing right now in the state government is just not allowing local communities to have an actual say in how they run things.
DB: Your district leans more Republican. The legislature certainly has a Republican supermajority. Why are you running as a Democrat?
JI: Because I want to be able to give people an option and a choice and for them not to feel like this election is already just predetermined and the result is already concluded. I think that people deserve to have representation and the best way to have representation is to truly have choice when it comes to deciding that.
JI: For me, I feel like the Democratic Party has been the best avenue and approach for me to provide that. That's not to say that I agree with all things in the Democratic Party platform. And I actually have pieces of draft legislation on my website. And I've actually gone through the process of getting input from friends of mine, my wife included, family members who are more conservative-minded. I want to get their perspective on these things so that at the end of the day... you can have the best idea in the world, but if you can't get buy in, that's all you got is a great idea.
DB: Could you tell us a little bit about those draft pieces of legislation?
JI: The Civic Education Act, that would effectively make civic education from K through 12 a required part of Arkansas school curriculum. And that would include any school that's receiving state funding, any sort of public funding as well. Because the next generation, whether they like it or not, they're going to own self-government. They are going to be the ones in charge. That will fall on their shoulders, and I want to make sure that the next generation and the generation after that is best prepared to take on that responsibility.
DB: In Arkansas, obviously a very deep red state, I feel like no Democrat who is a candidate or an officeholder is in lockstep with everything with the national Democratic Party's priorities. Where do you break with the Democratic Party?
JI: If I had to narrow it down to two issues that I would say are maybe outside of the mainstream, I would say that me being pro-life would be one. And I believe that, because I truly do believe that life begins at conception. And for me, that is the basis of inherent dignity, worth and value. And that doesn't mean that I don't believe that there aren't certain exceptions when we're talking about medically, ethically necessary [exceptions].
JI: But I would say that that definitely probably puts me outside of the mainstream. That and the fact that I am avidly pro-Second Amendment. I was in the military, and I'd say when it comes to the Second Amendment, it is first and foremost, it's a constitutional right. But with any right that you have, it has to be handled responsibly because any right that's handled irresponsibly, you're basically asking for it to be taken away. And that is something I don't ever want to see. So I'm always going to advocate for responsible gun ownership and making sure that we're maintaining and defending that right.
DB: You have a corporate security background. Your opponent is the sheriff of Saline County. What would be your approach to policing, law enforcement, attacking crime? Certainly the issue of prison beds is very big in the legislature right now.
JI: So I think when it comes to public safety, we have to develop trust. And I think that's one of the things that we're experiencing with just government overall is this lack of trust. And I don't think that law enforcement necessarily is lacking in trying to establish that trust, but we have to look and see like, okay, what are the root causes where this trust isn't there and let's mend that.
JI: I know plenty of guys who are in law enforcement. They're doing the job because they care about their community and they want to protect their community. And I think we need to do a better job of making sure that that's understood, that law enforcement isn't the enemy. They are there to serve and protect... and making sure that when there are issues with law enforcement, they're held accountable and that we're not creating this barrier to trust by not allowing that accountability to happen.
JI: I think when it comes to the need for prison beds, we need to work on rehabilitation and recidivism. Our recidivism rate is not great, and that is a factor in what's causing the need for more beds. So I think we need to address that to make sure that we're not constantly needing more beds because at this point, a 3,000-bed prison is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. And that will only go so far until we're going to need another 3,000-bed prison if we're not addressing what's causing our higher incarceration rates.
