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| Fri, Nov. 21, 2008 |  |
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BREAKING NEWS: Senate vote allows Crumbly to retain seat Thursday, Jun 12, 2008 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The Senate voted 19-12 Thursday to allow Sen. Jack Crumbly, D-Widener, to keep his seat. The vote upheld the decision of a Senate panel, which voted 4-3 in April for Crumbly to keep his seat despite "flagrant voter fraud and irregularities," in a 2006 Democratic primary runoff against former Rep. Arnell Willis of Helena-West Helena. Willis was not present at Thursday's Senate meeting, which marked only the second time in 34 years that the full Senate has assembled to decide the political fate of a fellow member. Crumbly attended the meeting but abstained from voting. Senators gave impassioned speeches, including Sen. Dave Bisbee, R-Rogers, who noted that U.S. soldiers are currently fighting in Iraq to keep elections fair and open, while the runoff under consideration was marred. Sen. Bobby Glover, D-Carlisle, a committee member of the committee that heard three days of testimony, said that Crumbly should have been ousted. After the meeting, he described the vote as a "sad day for the state Senate in Arkansas." Sen. Tracy Steele, D-North Little Rock, who defended Crumbly, told fellow senators there was no evidence that the East Arkansas senator did anything wrong. Voter irregularities existed in the runoff, but Crumbly didn't have anything to do with them, Steele said. Sen. Steve Faris, D-Malvern, said after the hearing that the U.S. attorney's office has been sent a copy of the committee's report and is looking into election violations and a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate allegations of election fraud. |
