Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Conrnelius Gives Views On Representative's Job

Tim Cornelius has been knocking on doors after work and visiting rural areas on the weekends.

He's doing this because he is running for the spot as Representative in District 28 as a Republican, opposing Sandra Rodgers, who seeks the office as a Democrat.

In addition, Cornelius has a group of young people, ages 13-15, who help him make his rounds throughout Nevada and Hempstead County, something he did about 30 years ago himself.

"It's important to have young people involved in politics," he said. "I call it my brass tacks campaign, because this is politics at the grass root level. The kids seem to like it."

If elected, Cornelius plans to work on attracting industry to Prescott and Nevada County, primarily non-seasonal jobs.

He said Prescott is working to improve its infrastructure with the new water and sewer project, along with the recent annexation. In addition, he said the city has a good council and an excellent geographic location with I-30 nearby.

Cornelius calls himself a conservative who wants to work at getting the sales tax on used cars eliminated, or changing the law in some manner.

He said if the tax can't be eliminated, then the ceiling needs to be raised from the current $2,000 limit. "The floor is unreasonably low," he said.

"I think this would help people. This is a rural area, and most people working are in the low to middle income bracket."

Cornelius also favors equitable funding for schools. He said if a child is worth $1 in the Little Rock School District, then a child in the Prescott District is also worth $1.

While Amendment 1 would be a help, he said, it won't cure all the problems with school funding. "My idea is to make funding as equal as possible," he said, "and keep the courts out."

He also favors reducing the size of government, and lauds Gov. Mike Huckabee's efforts and proposals for cutting out all duplicated offices and programs.

"You can't run the state like a business," he said, "but you can run it businesslike to be effective and efficient. You take care of the money you have coming in and going out, accentuating what you have. We need to get the best services possible for the price we pay.

"We need to take a critical look and make sure we're spending our money the right way."

He opposes unfunded mandates to cities and counties, saying it's not right for the state to send laws down to the local and county level without also sending down the money to pay for them.

Cornelius said Southwest Arkansas should benefit greatly with Huckabee as governor, because of his ties to the area. "He knows the area and his roots are here," he said.

The candidate also favors the death penalty in certain cases, such as premeditated murder, and wants to see the number of appeals possible limited, and, if possible, frivolous suits eliminated.

However, he said, if a criminal can be rehabilitated into a productive citizen, then this would be the way to go.

On the immigration issue, Cornelius said anyone wanting to come to America should be willing to abide by our laws. However, he is opposed to illegal aliens crossing the nation's borders and taking resources needed for American people.

"They're coming here because America is the greatest country on earth," he said, "but we need (immigration) limits. Those entering this country should do so legally."

Cornelius said during this campaign, he has accepted no political action committee (PAC) money, and has, instead, raised the capital for his run on his own.

"I'm just a regular guy," he said. "I want to be able to do something, give something back."

Cornelius, 40, is married to the former Patsy Burtch. They have two children, Eric and Lee Ann Arrington.

He is a graduate of Hope High School, the former East Texas State University (now Texas A&M University at Texarkana), and Texas A&M, where he earned his MBA, before returning to school at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to earn his law degree.