Catholic legislators fewer, newer in 2013 session

Scott Baltz of Pocahontas and Steve Magie of Conway are newly elected to House

Published: February 1, 2013

By Dwain Hebda
Associate Editor

Dwain Hebda

Dwain Hebda

Catholics in Arkansas have fewer and on balance, newer legislators representing their interests as the 2013 Arkansas state legislative session opened Monday, Jan. 14. The 89th General Assembly includes four Catholics, three in the House and one in the Senate. Only one representative, Greg Leding of Fayetteville, has any experience in the House as the other two representatives are freshmen.

Greg Leding

Now in his second term in the House, Leding enters the session as minority leader. The 2012 elections brought in a Republican majority in both houses for the first time in 138 years. However, the margin in the House is razor thin — 51 to 48 with one Green Party delegate — so Leding expects a cooperative spirit among lawmakers.

Last session, Leding, a member of St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in Fayetteville, was one of the most prolific lawmakers, sponsoring or co-sponsoring more than 51 bills, the vast majority of which made it to the governor’s desk. He said while some of those bills merely carried his name he came into his freshman session determined to introduce legislation.

He points with particular pride to the Jason Flatt Act, a bill he co-sponsored last session, which requires two hours of suicide prevention and awareness training for every educator every five years. Arkansas is the sixth state to adopt such a law.

Leding’s voting record on pro-life issues has been less than stellar, but he has been an outspoken advocate for immigration reform and stiffening anti-human trafficking laws.

Scott Baltz

Rep. Scott Baltz of Pocahontas comes to the statehouse after 11 years as a fire chief and 31 years as a firefighter. The 53-year-old father of one operates a cattle ranch with Janie, his wife of 30 years. They are members of St. Paul Church in Pocahontas.

Baltz narrowly unseated incumbent Lori Benedict last fall, capturing 51 percent of the vote. This is his second elected office; the first, as justice of the peace for the Randolph County Quorum Court, is a position he has held for 10 years.

He said concern over jobs is a consistent theme among the electorate in District 61, in the northeast corner of the state. He sees his role as a facilitator to help small businesses expand and grow. He cited one recent example of helping attract 40 new jobs to Fulton County simply by working out an arrangement to house it in a long-vacant state-owned building.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot of jobs in some communities, but that’s huge in Salem, Ark.,” he said. “It takes someone willing to ask and ask in the right way, to get things done. I’m not afraid to do that, even though I know I’ll get told ‘no’ sometimes.”

Steve Magie

Representing District 72 in central Arkansas, new Rep. Steve Magie (pronounced “MaGEE”) is the only physician in the Arkansas legislature.

“There is now a doctor in the House,” joked the 59-year-old Morrilton native.

An ophthalmologist in Conway, Magie and his wife Becky are members of St. Joseph Church. They have four children, one of whom is deceased, and nine grandchildren.

His community service activities include having served on the Conway Civil Service Commission, membership in Knights of Columbus and Conway Chamber of Commerce. He currently serves on the Conway Airport Advisory Committee.

Given his profession, it’s not surprising that issues surrounding health care headline his legislative agenda. A supporter of the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act — though not to the point of funding abortion or contraceptive services — he said government-run health care provides the best framework for helping poor and marginalized citizens receive preventative care such as regular checkups.

“The whole issue is not just a financial issue,” he said. “The real issue here is making sure people have access to high-quality care in a timely manner.”

Jon Woods

Sen. Jon Woods, a member of St. Raphael Church in Springdale, is the lone Catholic in the Senate. He served the limit of three terms in the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2012.

He expressed great optimism over the coming session. He said daily drama in Washington has opened a lot of Arkansans’ eyes to the value of a conservative approach to government.

This session, he said, is a chance to drive the ideological stake in the ground concerning social and budgetary issues, in service to the electorate.

“Many of my constituents are very concerned about the national deficit, they are very concerned about government spending and the size of government,” he said. “Frankly, they’re disgusted by Washington and they are expecting much more of us at the state level.”

Woods said no better example exists than issues surrounding the state’s Medicaid program, acknowledged to be the over-riding issue for this session. Current health care law lays the cost of any expansion of the Medicaid program initially on the federal government, then the state will bear 10 percent of expansion costs by 2020. However, Woods said, a lot can happen in that time.

“The federal government has a reputation of doing what benefits the federal government,” he said. “If they decide in three to five years that the states’ burden should be 15 or 20 percent instead of the 10 they promised, that creates real budgetary problems down the road.”