From lumber to the legislature

NASHVILLE, TENN. — Like most of us, Alan Clark worries about the direction of legislation and politics. Like few of us, he got himself elected to the Arkansas state senate.

Clark, the VP and chief operating officer of two-unit Clark Lumber Co. in Hot Springs, Ark., is also the state’s senator for the 13th district. He was part of a wave of recent Republican party victories in Bill Clinton’s backyard. Clark’s legislative class has the first Republican majority in the Arkansas state legislature in 138 years.

In addition to sponsoring bills, such as the Public School Choice Act of 2013, and opposing the death tax, Clark expects to be in the thick of the affordable healthcare debate as it winds through Arkansas. (“Obamacare is not the answer,” reads his campaign website.)

He credits the quality staff back in Hot Springs for allowing him to take part in state government. “It’s a part-time job, but it’s really a full-time, part-time job,” Clark said.

During the 2013 ProDealer Industry Summit held here in October, Clark told HCN he didn’t have ambitions for higher office. “But then again, I didn’t have ambitions for this office, either,” he said.