Missy Irvin
| Missy Thomas Irvin | |
 | |
Arkansas State Senator
for District 18 | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Jason Rapert |
|---|---|
Arkansas State Senator
for District 10 | |
| In office January 2011 – January 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Miller |
| Succeeded by | Larry Teague |
| Born | February 12, 1971 Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | John Dawson Irvin |
| Children | Allyn Hennelly Josie Ike Emery |
| Alma mater | Randolph College |
| Religion | United Methodist |
Missy Thomas Irvin (born February 12, 1971), is an employee of a medical clinic in Mountain View, in Stone County in north central Arkansas and a Republican state senator. Her District 18 includes all of Stone, Cleburne, and Searcy counties as well as southern Baxter and Marion counties, western Fulton and White counties, and eastern Van Buren County and northern Faulkner County.[1]
Background
A native of the capital city of Little Rock Irvin graduated in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance, Political Science, and Communications from the then Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia.[2]
Irvin has held numerous jobs over the years, many for short durations of time. She was for five years an adjunct professor of dance at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. She was a news editor for KATV-TV, the ABC affiliate in Little Rock. She was an advertising and marketing director for Stone County Ironworks and an independent graphic designer. She works with her husband in his medical clinic. She has long been affiliated with the Mountain View Youth Soccer Association and was a vice-president for the Arkansas State Soccer Association.[3]
Irvin and her husband, Dr. John Dawson Irvin, have four children, Allyn, Hennelly, Josie, and Ike Irvin. The Irvins are affiliated with the First United Methodist Church of Mountain View.[2]
Political life
Before her own campaigns, Irvin was heavily involved in the state Republican Party. In 1990, she worked in the Sheffield Nelson (born 1941) campaign for governor, but he was defeated by Bill Clinton. In 1994, Irvin again worked in the second Nelson campaign as the special events coordinator, but he was beaten by the Democrat Jim Guy Tucker.[2][3]
Irvin won election in 2010 to the District 10 seat in the Arkansas Senate vacated by the term-limited Democrat Paul Miller. She defeated the Democrat Curren Everett, 14,865 to 10,204 votes. In 2012, Irvin won election in District 18, revised after redistricting; the incumbent Republican Jason Rapert was moved to District 35. Irvin defeated the Democrat William White and the Independent Paul White, who had been her unsuccessful Republican primary opponent in 2010. Irvin polled 22,290 votes; William White, 15,442, and Paul White, 3,540. Her current term expires in 2020.[4] She is the Republican Assistant President Pro Tempore for the First District.[2]
Irvin serves on the Arkansas Legislative Council and chairs the Senate Committee on City, County, and Local Affairs. She is vice chair of the Energy Committee and serves as well on (1) Budget, (2) Efficiency, and (3) Public Health, Welfare and Labor.[2]
Irvin opposes abortion, having voted to ban the practice after twenty weeks of gestation or whenever fetal heartbeat is determined. She opposes allowing abortion to be covered in health-care plans.[5] In 2011, she opposed a bill to ban cell phones in school zones.[5]
In 2013, Irvin joined the Senate majority to amend state income tax rates. She voted with the majority to reduce the amount of weekly unemployment compensation benefits and to require the recipients to be screened for illegal use of narcotics. She voted successfully to override Democratic then Governor Mike Beebe's veto of a bill to require photo identification when one casts a ballot in Arkansas. She sponsored legislation to make the office of prosecuting attorney in Arkansas a nonpartisan position. She voted to allow handguns to be carried on church properties and to forbid the release of information on the holders of concealed carry permits. She voted to allow university staff to carry concealed weapons. She supported legislation to permit the sale of pasteurization whole milk within the state.[5]
Irvin was re-nominated to her state Senate seat in the Republican primary election held on May 20, 2014. She polled 64 percent of the vote against her lone intraparty challenger, Phil Grace.[6]
References
- ↑ Arkansas State Senate District 18 Map. whiteforarkansas.com. Retrieved on December 6, 2013; material no longer accessible on-line.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Missy Irvin's Biography. votesmart.org. Retrieved on November 27, 2020.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Biography of the Honorable Missy Thomas Irvin, Arkansas State Senator. arkleg.state. Retrieved on December 5, 2013; information no longer accessible on-line.
- ↑ Arkansas State Senate elections, 2012. ballotpedia.org. Retrieved on November 28, 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Missy Irvin's Voting Records. votesmart.org. Retrieved on November 28, 2020.
- ↑ Arkansas Primary Election Results, May 20, 2014. KATV. Retrieved on May 21, 2014; material no longer accessible on-line.
