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Former 188th commander to run for Arkansas House seat

Submitted by The City Wire staff on Thu, 10/22/2009 - 2:11pm.

J.R. Dallas, a retired Colonel with the Arkansas Air National Guard and former commander of the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith, has announced he will seek the District 63 Arkansas House seat.

The position is now held by Rep. Frank Glidewell, R-Fort Smith, who is term limited. State Sen. Denny Altes, R-Fort Smith, is considering a run for the District 63 post. Altes is term limited in his senate seat.

Dallas, who will run as a Republican, plans a formal announcement at 4 p.m., Monday (Oct. 6) in the community room of the Miller Branch Library at 8701 S. 28th St. The Elect Dallas Committee is chaired by former Sebastian County Judge Bud Harper of Fort Smith. 

Dallas, 53, was born and raised in Little Rock, is a 28-year veteran of the United States Air Force and Arkansas Air National Guard. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and received his pilot wings in 1980.  Dallas joined the Arkansas Air National Guard in August of 1989, ultimately rising to command the 188th Fighter Wing between December 2001 and May 2006. Dallas flew 25 combat missions in the skies of Iraq in 2005. He retired from the military in May 2007. 

“My entire life has been one of service. Service to not only my country as a military officer, but service to the members and the unit of which I was part, and service to the community that supported that unit. My desire to continue to serve has made my decision to run for the State General Assembly an easy one,” Dallas said in a statement.

According to Dallas’ statement, he seeks to engage others in the political scene in Little Rock and help “put Fort Smith and the River Valley into the political mix on the state level where it rightly belongs.”

Dallas is married to the former Daren Dozier of Little Rock, and is the father of two girls. He is a pilot for American Airlines and flies his schedule from the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. He pilots Boeing 767 aircraft on international routes and has been with American Airlines since 1989.

Dallas and his wife served as the recent event chairs of the 2009 Celebrity Classic.

“We all should be rightly concerned about the type of individuals we elect to represent us, and voting decisions at the ballot box must not be made carelessly,” Dallas noted in the statement. “I was once a citizen-soldier. I succeeded in that phase of my life. Now I want to be a citizen-politician; a citizen first and a politician second. I think our founders envisioned exactly that — people willing to serve for the common good and not their special interests or agenda. The only agenda that should be acceptable is that of doing what is right.  If you agree, then I am your man.”

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Colonel,Captain,Politician= Good citizenship.

Submitted by RAZORBACK HOUND on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 8:43am.

Mr.Dallas,
Thank you for your service, sir. Navigating the political skies would be wilder and bluer than what you have done professionally thus far. Hopefully you will "break the sound barrier of deaf ears" and inject fresh air into the current political skies. Although I am not a Republican, I vote on individual issues and candidates,I guess I am an indepedent pragmatist. Perhaps you are likewise,but have no choice but to choose one party or the other as a third alternative is not powerful enough right now. Best of Luck and please do "the right thing".

His Tea Party comments: "domestic enemies"

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 10:18am.

I don't find him to be the pragmatic leader I'm looking for. However, I wouldn't bet against him as it appears he's a good fit for the typical Fort Smith representative to Little Rock.

From TCW's extensive Tea Party coverage:

Dallas, who introduced himself accurately as the only non-politician to speak at the Fort Smith event, said when he was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Air Force, he swore to protect the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

“Now we see why the Founding Fathers put that (domestic) in the Constitution,” Dallas told the crowd.

Candidate Dallas needs to identify the enemies of his concern

Submitted by RAZORBACK HOUND on Fri, 10/23/2009 - 12:47pm.

Thanks for the heads-up. If Mr.Dallas does indeed gravitate towards the tea parties and that group supports the policies of the Bush-Cheney years, then this dog starts sniffen'. Remember, Bush blindly cut $93M from the $94million for I-49 during his first few months in office.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/print/76144492.html

If Mr. Dallas truly wants to do what is right he will garner votes from whoever he can to win, then do what is "right" in spite of those voters. Quite a sacrifice to expect from mere mortals.

Furthermore, his military service record cuts both ways,just look at the heroic Duke Cunningham from California. I hope whoever represents us deals with the real world not the politically philosophical.

http://www.thecitywire.com/?q=node/3643