El Dorado, Ark. – State Representative Matthew Shepherd (R-El Dorado) today announced his intention to seek re-election to the Arkansas House of Representatives from District 6, which includes parts of Columbia, Ouachita, and Union Counties, including portions of Camden and El Dorado.
“It has been my great honor and privilege to represent the people of District 6 in Little Rock,” Rep. Shepherd said. “Every day I have sought to provide the strong representation and decisive leadership that the people of South Arkansas deserve.”
Rep. Shepherd was elected in 2010 with almost 70 percent of the vote, re-elected in 2012 with more than 80 percent of the vote, and unopposed in 2014 and 2016.
Rep. Shepherd’s accomplishments during his time in the House include serving as lead sponsor of the Sales Tax Holiday legislation (House Bill 1369, Act 757 of 2011), which exempts certain items of clothing, school supplies, and numerous other articles from sales tax during the first weekend of August; serving as lead sponsor of legislation reinstating the Capital Gains Tax Cut (House Bill 1402, Act 1173 of 2015; and serving as lead sponsor of legislation establishing the office of prosecuting attorney as a non-partisan office (House Bill 1855, Act 1110 of 2013). Shepherd’s support of these bills, among others, has provided Arkansans with tens of millions of dollars in tax relief.
“While I believe that my first four legislative terms have been very productive, there is still much work to be done,” Rep. Shepherd said. “My focus remains unchanged: to work to create jobs and economic development, create greater efficiency in state government, upgrade infrastructure, improve the quality of public education, and always stand up for the people of South Arkansas.”
Rep. Shepherd serves as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, a member of the House Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee, a member of the Joint Budget Committee, Chairman of the Arkansas Code Revision Commission, and was appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson to the Governor’s Transformation Advisory Board.
A husband and father of three, Rep. Shepherd is a civic leader who will continue to aggressively fight for District 6, work to create jobs and economic development, create a more efficient state government, upgrade infrastructure, and improve the quality of education that will allow South Arkansas and the State of Arkansas to be competitive in the global marketplace.
The House seat is for a two-year term that will begin in January 2019. The Republican primary election will be held Tuesday, May 22, 2018. For more information, please contact [email protected] or call 870-814-2080.