State Rep. Jim Medley, R-Fort Smith, announced today he will run for the state Senate seat now held by the term-limited Denny Altes, who is running for the state House.

Medley has served three two-year terms in the House. He is the CEO of the nonprofit Area Agency on Aging and a former member of the Fort Smith Board of Education and the Board of Directors of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce.

“Rep. Jim Medley’s extensive knowledge of governmental processes, service to the citizens of Fort Smith, and passionate concern for the future of the state of Arkansas is the foundation Jim is prepared to bring to Arkansas state Senate District 13,” a news release from Medley’s campaign states.

Former Republican state Rep. Jake Files and Rep. Frank Glidewell, R-Fort Smith, have also said they will run for the District 13 Senate seat.

Sen. Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith, tried to run a bill today that would have prohibited drivers from renewing their licenses until all their outstanding warrants were paid.

Mike Munn, assistant commissioner for revenue with the state Department of Finance and Administration, expressed concern about the measure, saying that frequently mistakes are made because people have similar names and ages. As an example, he said his wife was once stopped for a traffic violation but was taken into custody because the officer thought she was wanted for writing hot checks.

Turned out Munn’s wife and the actual suspect had similarly spelled names — one woman had an “s” at the end of her last name and an “e” in her first name that the other did not — and were born in the same year, so the officer assumed they were the same person.

Munn also told the Senate Committee on Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs that officials with the Arkansas Crime Information Computer, ACIC, have problems with the bill.

He then introduced ACIC’s operations administrator, Bill Clinton, to address the panel.

“Bill Clinton?” Altes asked.

“That’s another example of the names (problem),” Munn said.

Altes later pulled Senate Bill 564 and said he might bring it up at another meeting.

Clinton said later that he has worked for ACIC for more than 25 years and his name is often a topic of conversation, whether he likes it or not.