Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Steve Harrelson
 |
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates. |
Steve Harrelson (b. March 3, 1974) is a former Democratic member of the Arkansas State Senate, representing District 21 from 2011 to 2013.
Harrelson served in the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing District 1 from 2005 to 2011.
Biography
Harrelson's professional experience includes working as an Attorney/Partner with the Harrelson Law Firm.
He is involved with a number of organizations, including being Chair of the Board of Directors of Court Appointed Special Advocates, Chair of the Domestic Relations Division for the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association of the Board of Governors New Lawyers Division for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and member of the American Bar Association.[1]
Committee assignments
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Harrelson served on these committees:
- Subcommittee on Peer Review
- City, County and Local Affairs Committee, Arkansas State Senate
- Senate Efficiency Committee, Arkansas State Senate, Vice Chair
- Judiciary Committee, Arkansas State Senate
- Legislative Joint Auditing Committee, Arkansas Assembly
- Joint Performance Review Committee, Arkansas Assembly, Vice Chair
Issues
Harrelson's answers to the Arkansas State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test are available. The test informs voters how a candidate would vote on the issues if elected. When asked his legislative priorities he responded:
"My top legislative priority of the 87th General Assembly is to repeal the other half of the sales tax on food and food ingredients (excepting the 1/8 cent conservation tax that was adopted by Arkansas voters as Amendment 75). Current revenue reports as of today (4/27/08) show that this proposal is possible without increasing taxes or fees. In the event a surplus still exists after this action, I am in support of phasing out the sales tax on energy consumption."[2]
Sponsored legislation
Harrelson's sponsored legislation includes:
- HB 1030 - "AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE CLOSING OF UNLICENSED TRANSITIONAL HOUSING FOR CRIMINAL OFFENDERS; AND TO ALLOW CIVIL PENALTIES FOR OPERATION OF UNLICENSED TRANSITIONAL HOUSING."
- HB 1402 - "AN ACT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS CIGARETTE FIRE SAFETY STANDARD ACT; AND TO CREATE THE CIGARETTE FIRE SAFETY STANDARD FUND."
- HB 1611 - "AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR AN INTERNET BROADCAST OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF COMMITTEES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES."
For a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.
Elections
2012
- See also: Arkansas State Senate elections, 2012
Harrelson ran for re-election in the 2012 election for Arkansas Senate, District 11. Harrelson defeated Larry Cowling in the May 22 Democratic primary and was defeated by Jimmy Hickey, Jr. (R) in the general election on November 6, 2012.[3][4][5]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Steve Harrelson |
54.7% | 3,613 |
| Larry Cowling | 45.3% | 2,996 |
| Total Votes | 6,609 | |
2010
Harrelson was ineligible to run for re-election in 2010 due to the term limits of the Arkansas House of Representatives. He instead won election to the District 21 seat of the Arkansas State Senate. He defeated Ken Cowling in the May 18 primary election and ran unopposed in the general election.[6][7]
| Arkansas State Senate, District 21 Democratic Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Steve Harrelson (D)
|
6,396 | |||
| Ken Cowling (D) | 5,592 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Harrelson won re-election to the 1st District Seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives, running unopposed in the general election.[8]
Harrelson raised $18,991 for his campaign.[9]
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
Scorecards
Arkansas’s Freedom Scorecard
The Advance Arkansas Institute, an Arkansas-based nonprofit research and educational organization, released Arkansas's Freedom Scorecard in 2012 and 2013. The scorecard graded legislators based on how they voted on the principles the group sought to promote. The group identified the following six categories as interest areas tracked by this scorecard: "economic freedom, education reform, good government, personal liberty, small government, and tax/budget policy." Scores range from 100 percent (the highest score) to 0 percent (the lowest score). A higher score indicates that the legislator voted more in favor of the values supported by this group.[10] Harrelson received a score of 54% in the 2012 scorecard, ranking 28th out of 34 members of the Arkansas State Senate that were evaluated for the study.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Steve + Harrelson + Arkansas + Senate"
See also
- Arkansas State Legislature
- Arkansas State Senate
- Arkansas Senate Committees
- Arkansas state legislative districts
External links
- Official Website
- Senate website
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004
- Steve Harrelson on Facebook
- Steve Harrelson on Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed December 4, 2014
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Issue Positions," accessed December 4, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Election Results 2012," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "2012 Election candidates," March 8, 2012
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Arkansas State Primary Election, May 22, 2012," accessed July 11, 2012
- ↑ VoteNaturally.org, "Primary results," accessed May 12, 2014
- ↑ Vote Naturally, "General election results," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ VoteNaturally.org, "2008 general election results, Arkansas," November 4, 2008
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Arkansas House spending, 2008," November 4, 2008
- ↑ Advance Arkansas Institute, "Arkansas’s Freedom Scorecard 2012," accessed January 14, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Barbara Horn |
Arkansas State Senate District 21 2011–2013 |
Succeeded by Paul Bookout (D) |
| Preceded by ' |
Arkansas House District 1 2005–2011 |
Succeeded by Mary P. Hickerson |
