Joyce Elliott part of candidates forum

All of the candidates at the Democratic forum on Friday night were well-informed and eager to answer questions.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln flew in from Washington, D.C. and was featured in the last 45 minutes of the forum. The first hour and 15 minutes belonged to the other candidate. Of those candidates the fiercest and most competent competitor was State Senator Joyce Elliott. Elliott is running for representative in the United States Congress from District two.
I am a fan of Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles mysteries. In the series of mysteries there is a character of the local police chief. She is often referred to as her nickname, "Smart Cookie." Now I have finally met someone as deserving of the moniker. Elliott is one "Smart Cookie."
All of the candidates were asked about the economy, education and health care.
Elliott was a public school teacher for 31 years before entering the life of politics. Her experience as an educator with contact with children from all walks of life deeply impacted her stance on education, healthcare and the economy. "Above everything, education has made me who I am and driven me to public service."
"I have dedicated my life to improving education for all of Arkansas’ young people, first as a public school teacher and later in the State Legislature where I chaired the house education committee. I was honored in 2009 when Governor Beebe appointed me to the Southern Regional Education Board. In my lifetime, we have made so many strides in education that it’s easy to forget that there’s hard work left to do. If you send me to Washington, I pledge to make Arkansas’ education system the envy of the nation."
Early childhood education is the key to Arkansas’ future according to Elliott. " Early education provides the foundation for a successful life. According to a report from the National Institute for Early Education Research, Arkansas is ranked second in the nation for pre-school education. Children who attend pre-k are more likely to earn better grades and graduate from high school on time. We must continue to responsibly increase funding for pre-k and ensure that all Arkansas children receive this important education."
Elliott is a proponent of making college affordable to all but more importantly seeing that everyone entering college goes on to graduate.
Her insight as a public school teacher gives her an enlightened view of No Child Left Behind. Elliott believes, "steps must be taken to address educating the ‘whole child,’ rather focusing on such narrow aspects of what should be a well-rounded curriculum. I am a staunch advocate for an across-the-board education, including arts and physical education. Essential to delivering a world-class curriculum is the hiring and maintaining of world-class leaders and classroom teachers. While teachers of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are in high demand, I will be a constant advocate of making sure great teachers are in every classroom and that they are compensated as professionals.
On the healthcare front Elliott plans to , " ensure all Arkansans have access to quality, affordable health care. This has been one of my top priorities since I first ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives a decade ago. In 2009, I sponsored legislation that increased eligibility for ARKids First, a program which provides coverage options for more than 70,000 Arkansas children who otherwise might have gone without it. Cancer prevention has also been an important issue to me; in 2005, I sponsored the Arkansas Colorectal Cancer Act, which mandated that insurance companies offer colorectal cancer screenings as recommended by the American Cancer Society. I also directed $1 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences for cancer screenings and a demonstration project that are a model for the nation. As your Congresswoman, I pledge to continue working for common sense health care measures that will improve access, lower cost and increase quality of life."
Elliott also addressed economic matters as pertains to Arkansas, "Arkansans are hurting. We have just endured the worst economic crisis in recent memory. Unemployment hovers around 8% and while this rate is significantly below than the national average, statistics bring no comfort to Arkansas families struggling to put food on the table. However, there are positive signs of improvement. In April, the United States added 290,000 jobs, a rate last seen before the recession. Nearly all of these gains came from private-sector hiring, not temporary government hiring for the 2010 census. There is difficult work ahead to regain the nearly 8 million jobs that have been wiped out since the crisis came. As your Congresswoman, I will work hard every day to promote policies that will attract industry and create permanent, sustainable, high-paying jobs for Arkansas."
Although it may sound like I am campaigning for the "Smart Cookie," I don’t live in the second district. But for those of you that do, Elliott deserves a closer look. Such intelligence would be an asset to Congress regardless of which area of the state it comes from.