About Alex Holladay

I’m running for State Representative for one simple reason: We Need More Honesty at the State Capitol.

Honesty is a principle deeply ingrained, not just by personal conviction, but by the lessons of family and history. My dad, a lifelong admirer of Mark Twain would always quote his famous quip, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything," emphasizing the lightness that comes with living an honest life.

When I talk to families and young students about how UAMS can change their lives — honesty  is the most important selling point. My job isn’t to sell them by all means necessary. My job is to make sure they are confident that UAMS will provide them the pathway to become the professional they always imagined.

All you have to do is read the headlines to know that honesty is getting harder to find in the halls of our State Capitol.

As your State Representative, I will always serve you and your family with honesty.

Our officials are spending our tax dollars to fund lavish trips aboard, personal tailgates, and even a lectern that hasn’t even been used. Then, when we started asking questions about how our money was spent— lawmakers changed the law about what documents the public could even see. 

They tried to gut Arkansas’s Sunshine Records law, which has been a national model since Republican Governor Rockefeller passed it in 1967. When Republicans and Democrats took to the committee rooms, we were able to stop the worst bills that would have completely stripped our right to see public records.

My three young daughters run my life — and I enjoy every single minute. Six o'clock sharp, sunlight streams through the window, and then I am woken up by the three women who I cannot wait to get ready for the day with. I wouldn't trade this alarm clock for the world. My mornings are theirs, making them lunch and getting them ready for school.

My wife Christina is the person that I trust the most and the love of my life. She is the hardest worker I know and someone with endless energy and passion. She makes me not only a better person but a better father to our three girls. I cannot imagine life without her advice, her encouragement, or her love.

It’s always been about public service for me.

Before I started my career at UAMS, I worked with Military personnel land National Guard members to chart their higher education. Together, we navigated the complexities (and far too often) the government red tape of the education benefits for our National Guard heroes. They had families to support, futures to build, and a GI Bill in their pocket.

My job was to help guide through the labyrinth of programs and options so they could achieve that promise of education, which our government promised them when they enlisted. The work  wasn’t just about paperwork and regulations — it was about public service.

Our National Guard Members needed a partner willing to build a human connection, someone who understood the sacrifices they made and the dreams they were wanting to build. I went to work every day wanting to empower our soldiers to transition successfully, not just as Veterans, but students, entrepreneurs, leaders in our Central Arkansas communities.

I've spent my life listening to our communities, understanding their struggles, and helping students and National Guard members dream of the new possibilities for their families. 

That's why I'm running for office. I want to fight for the people who fight for us, to ensure every Arkansan has the resources and opportunities to reach their full potential.

Central Arkansas is at a crossroads. Times are still tough for too many of our families. 

I can't help but look around and see the struggles facing our families, our businesses, our communities. We need change, not complacency.

My opponent, Carlton Wing, represents more of the same. He's been in office nearly a decade, and while there might have been good intentions at the start, somewhere along the way, he lost sight of who he truly serves. He's become beholden to party politics and the special interests that fund his campaign.

Who listens to our concerns, understands our needs, and fights for our future?

The truth is, we deserve better than a rubber stamp for an administration imported from Washington DC. North Little Rock and Sherwood deserve better than someone who checks boxes instead of challenging the status quo. He no longer takes the time to determine if something is a good or bad idea. He thinks of it as a “Republican” or “Democrat” idea.
Here are the positions Carlton Wing took that I know are out of touch:

  1. voting to strip our public schools of funds and strip teachers of workplace protections

  2. standing idly by as thousands of families (including newborns) lost healthcare coverage because of government red tape

  3. voting to shield public records from the public 

I think Carlton is a fine man, but he isn’t up to the job anymore. He isn’t willing to take on the tough challenges or to stand tall against special interests. It’s as simple as that.