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Our Community, Our Dollars Ends Efforts in Faulkner, Craighead Counties

4 min read

Our Community, Our Dollars says it will turn all its efforts for the legalization of retail alcohol sales to Saline County, and end its efforts in Faulkner and Craighead counties.

“We just received word from the County Clerk’s office in Saline County that we have turned in a significant amount of signatures — enough to put the wet/dry issue on the ballot in that county,” Jay Allen, president of the group, said in a statement. “Assuming the issue ultimately makes the ballot, we will now focus our attention on encouraging Saline County residents to get out and vote in support of turning Saline from dry to wet.”

At the same time, the group will end its efforts in Faulkner and Craighead counties.

“Given the strong support we have received from voters in both [Faulkner and Craighead] counties during the last several months of gathering signatures, we greatly regret that they will not have the opportunity to decide this issue through the democratic process,” Allen said. “It has been decades since voters in these counties have had such an opportunity.”

The group began petition drives in the three counties in May in an attempt to get the issue before the voters in the November election. In each county, signatures from 38 percent of the registered voters were needed to have the initiatives make their way to the November ballot. That came to 25,000 signatures in Saline County, 24,800 in Faulkner County, and 20,000 in Craighead County.

Our Community, Our Dollars submitted signatures in Saline and Craighead counties July 7, and said it hoped to turn in signatures in Faulkner County by the final Aug. 5 deadline. The group turned in 25,917 signatures in Saline County and 20,956 in Craighead County. The week before the July 7 deadline, Natalie Ghidotti, a spokesperson for the group, told Arkansas Business that more than 75 percent of the signatures had been gathered in Faulkner County.

Our Community, Our Dollars is heavily funded by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville and Kum & Go of West Des Moines, Iowa. Through June 30, the group had received more than $1 million from the two retailers with just under $1 million from Wal-Mart and $50,000 from Kum & Go. It also hired the National Ballot Access to gather signatures.

Through two months of reports on its funding, Our Community, Our Dollars has spent $716,291.06, including $167,592.58 going to NBA, and another $161,452 on advertising. The group has also spent $104,000 on consultation.

Opposition in Faulkner, Craighead Counties

While efforts in Saline County were able to move along without an organized opposition group, the same could not be said for Faulkner and Craighead counties. 

The opposition in those two counties came from liquor stores in neighboring, wet counties.

In Faulkner County, the CCLBA Action Fund committee, funded by the Conway County Legal Beverage Association, and They Win, You Lose, which is led by Camille Boggess, who was listed as a lobbyist for CCLBA in 2012, led the opposition. Through June 30, the two groups had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in an effort to stifle the attempts to legalize retail alcohol sales in Faulkner County.

More: Reports Shed Light on Backers of Wet, Dry Groups in Arkansas

In Craighead County, Our Community, Our Dollars faced opposition from three groups — Local Citizens for Safety and Prosperity, Greene County Beer Association and Craighead Pride. Combined, the three groups had spent tens of thousands of dollars to oppose the legalization of retail alcohol sales with all backing coming from liquor stores.

A study released July 2 — conducted by the University of Arkansas Center for Business and Economic Research and commissioned by Our Community, Our Dollars — found that a wet Faulkner County would have seen $28.2 million in alcohol sales in 2013, and a wet Craighead County would have seen $24.8 million. 

In city and county sales tax revenues, Faulkner County would have seen $141,372 and $282,744 in 2013, and Craighead County would have seen $247,650 and $260,033.

Statewide Alcohol Amendment

Even though local efforts have stopped in Faulkner and Craighead counties, the two could still end up as wet counties if a proposed amendment makes its way to the November ballot and is approved by voters.

Let Arkansas Decide submitted 84,969 signatures July 7 to the Arkansas Secretary of State. The initiative needed 78,133 signatures. Through the verification process, it was determined the proposed amendment needs another 17,133 signatures to meet the minimum it needs to make the ballot. It was given an additional 30 days to gather the signatures.

If the amendment is on the November ballot and is approved, alcohol sales would be legalized in all counties in Arkansas.

A group opposed to expanded alcohol sales filed a complaint with state election officials in an attempt to keep the measure from the ballot. According to the letter, the group says petitions should have been submitted four months before the general election, or July 4, rather than July 7. State offices were closed July 4 for the state and federal holiday.

Attorney Elizabeth Robben Murray told The Associated Press that it would likely challenge the amendment before the Supreme Court if it gathers enough signatures to reach the November ballot.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

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