Former state Rep. Dwayne Dobbins of North Little Rock begins an uphill battle Friday to regain the House seat he vacated three years ago as part of a plea agreement that reduced a felony sexual assault charge involving a teenage girl to misdemeanor harassment.

At a hearing in Pulaski County Circuit Court, Dobbins will argue the Democratic Party of Arkansas violated his constitutional due process rights by refusing to certify him as a Democratic candidate for the November general election even though he was the only candidate to file for the District 39 House seat that his wife held after he resigned.

The party passed a rule this summer saying it would not certify any one as a party candidate who had resigned public office to avoid felony prosecution.

If Dobbins wins that argument, he still would have to make the Nov. 4 election ballot logistically. Pulaski County ballots have already been printed and absentee ballots mail, and early voting begins Monday. Only a Green Party candidate’s name is on the ballot for District 39. Two write-in candidates are all contending for the seat.

Beyond that, the state House has passed a rule similar to the Democratic Party rule that would bar anyone in Dobbins’ position from taking the oath of office or being seated in the chamber.

Dobbins says friends convinced him to mount a belated effort to run for his old seat. As far as the odds against him, the former lawmaker says he’ll just have to face one giant at a time.

Tags: Democratic Party of Arkansas, Dwayne Dobbins

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 at 3:44 pm and is filed under General, State. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.