Ann Clemmer

Ann Veasman Clemmer (born August 10, 1958) is an American political scientist and politician from the U.S. state of Arkansas. A Republican, Clemmer is a former member of the Arkansas House of Representatives, having represented District 23 from 2013 to 2015. She was sworn in for her first term in 2009 in House District 29. Clemmer is also credited as being the first women ever to preside over the Arkansas House in the state's history, during the 2014 special session held in the Old State House; it was the first time the state legislature convened in the building in more than a century.^[1]

Background[]

Clemmer is a native of Mississippi County in east Arkansas, where she graduated from Rivercrest High School in Wilson, Arkansas. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.^[2] A resident of Benton in Saline County, Clemmer teaches political science at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.^[1]

Clemmer is a member and former president of the Arkansas Political Science Association. She is affiliated with the Chamber of Commerce in both Benton and Bryant, Arkansas.^[3]

State House career[]

In 2008, Clemmer won her first term in the state House in District 29, when she defeated the Democrat Scott Smith, 9,505 (63.3 percent) to 5,518 (36.7 percent).^[4] She was unopposed in 2010 and in 2012, when she was transferred to District 23 for her third and final term in the state House.

Clemmer is a member of the Arkansas Legislative Council and vice chairman of the House Education Committee. She also sits on the House committees on (1) Rules and (2) State Agencies and Governmental Affairs. She is a member of the subcommittees on Early Childhood, Higher Education, and House Elections.^[3]

Representative Clemmer in 2013 co-sponsored bills to amend state income tax rates and to establish a spending cap on state spending, but the second measure failed by two House votes. She voted to override Democratic Governor Mike Beebe's vetoes of bills to prohibit abortion after twenty weeks of gestation and to require photo identification as a condition for voting in Arkansas. She co-sponsored both of those measures. Clemmer voted for other pro-life measures, including a ban on abortion once fetal heartbeat is detected, the prohibition of abortion coverage in state employees health insurance plans, and the classification of the death of an unborn child as a felony in certain situations. She co-sponsored the measure to allow the staff of religious institutions to engage in concealed carry of firearms for church safety. She voted for a similar measure to empower university officials to be armed with concealed weapons. Clemmer supported legislation to prohibit the governor from regulating firearms during an emergency. She supported the bill, signed by Beebe, to permit the sale of five hundred gallons of milk per month directly from the farm to consumers. She voted for the tiered system for lottery scholarships. She did not vote on the bill to make the office of prosecuting attorney nonpartisan.^[5]

In 2011, Clemmer successfully co-sponsored the Capital Gains Reduction Act and the reduction of taxes on manufacturers' utilities. She did not vote on the proposal for school dress codes but opposed the prohibition of cell phone usage in school zones; both measures were approved by the House. Clemmer supported curriculum standards for Bible instruction in public schools and voted to require that driver's license tests be administered only in the English language. She voted against the 2011 U.S. congressional redistricting bill.^[5]

In 2009, Representative Clemmer did not vote on the issue of expanding eligibility for children's health insurance. She opposed a plan to sidestep the electoral college by providing for a popular-vote system of choosing the U.S. President. Under the plan, each state in agreement would support the winner of the national popular vote in the electoral college regardless of the decision by state voters. The state House voted for the proposal, fifty-six to forty-three.^[5]

On May 20, 2014, Clemmer finished second in a three-way primary with only 22% of the vote in the Republican primary for Arkansas's 2nd congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives. The position was vacated by U.S. Representative Tim Griffin, who was subsequently elected lieutenant governor.^[6] Her congressional race was severely hurt by a scandal involving Clemmer's treasurer, Alex Reed, allegedly embezzling a large amount from her congressional campaign account and was forced to resign.^[7][8]

References[]

External links[]

• Profile at Vote Smart