Declarations

“I am honored to continue serving as Commissioner of Insurance and I am committed to protecting our consumers and keeping the dialogue going with insurance companies to let them know Louisiana is a great place to do business.”

—Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon who was sworn in Oct. 25 following his election on Sept. 30, 2006. Donelon served as the appointed commissioner from Feb. 16, 2006, until the September special election.

“We’re dealing with the problems of everyday Arkansans such as education and health care, I think the Arkansas experience is much more relevant and significant than experience somewhere else.”

—Arkansas Attorney General and Democratic candidate for governor, Mike Beebe, responding to the assertion of his Republican opponent, Asa Hutchinson, that Hutchinson can offer experience beyond the doors of the state Capitol. Beebe and Hutchinson are in the midst of the most expensive governor’s race in the state’s history, with Beebe and Asa Hutchinson raising nearly $8.8 million combined and spending more than $6.5 million. In 2002, Huckabee and Democratic challenger Jimmie Lou Fisher raised $4.3 million combined; 11 candidates spent $6.28 million in 1990, a race that featured Bill Clinton, Sheffield Nelson and Tommy Robinson. Huckabee, a Republican who is term-limited, leaves office in January.

Source: Associated Press

“I don’t give up easy. … Perseverance is something that has characterized my public service and my commitment to it. It’s a combination of believing that the public is entitled to having different voices in the campaign.”

—Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson, acknowledging that he lags behind his Democratic opponent, state Attorney General Mike Beebe. He added, ‘I think any Republican running in Arkansas starts out at a disadvantage,” but said he has reason to expect victory.

Source: Associated Press

“We are responding to an anti-immigrant attitude that is growing by leaps and bounds. We are not going to be silent.”

—Rev. Victor Orta, president of American Dream Coalition, a pro-immigrant group, at a press conference in Tulsa, Okla., at which the group announced its get-out-the-vote drive. The group believes both Republicans and Democrats are playing up the immigrant debate in their campaigns to negative effect. Orta worries that negative sentiment toward illegal immigrants will breed ill feelings toward all immigrants, he said. In addition to encouraging turnout in the Nov. 7 election, the wants to help register 5,000 young voters in the Tulsa area in time for the 2008 presidential election.

Source: Associated Press

“When people walk into a store in America, the service and the offerings should not be determined by the color of their skin. That is exactly the type of discrimination we are talking about here.”

—Kim Kendrick, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, announcing the agency has charged Erie Insurance Group and five independent insurance agencies with violating the Fair Housing Act. HUD alleges that they provided inferior insurance products to homeowners in African-American neighborhoods compared to those offered homeowners in white neighborhoods with comparable homes in New York State.