When I heard that my cousin, Colt Shelby, was running for Governor of Arkansas on the Libertarian ticket against Sarah Huckabee Sanders, my first reaction wasn’t surprise.
It was pride, because this race isn’t just political; it’s personal.
And if there’s one thing this administration underestimated, it’s the people who call Mill Creek Mountain home.
Government Overreach Has a Name
Let’s call this what it is.
The proposed prison at Mill Creek Mountain was never about listening to citizens. It was about pushing through a decision and daring the community to stop it.
Residents were dismissed.
Concerns were minimized.
Local voices were treated like obstacles instead of stakeholders.
That’s not leadership.
That’s executive overreach.
And when government starts behaving like it owns the people instead of serving them, someone has to push back.
Colt did.
This Land Isn’t Disposable
In the early days of this fight, I wrote to the Governor and legislators explaining that my family’s ties to Mill Creek Mountain go back to the early 1800s.
These aren’t abstract talking points.
They are our people.
Colt’s great-grandfather, Ralph Barton, and my grandmother, Helen Ruth Barton Wesson, were siblings. We come from the Bartons, the Volentines, the Gages, the Sharps, the Harrisons, the Taylors — families who built lives on that mountain long before any state board decided it was convenient real estate.
Mill Creek Mountain is not an empty patch on a map.
It is heritage.
It is memory.
It is legacy.
And it does not belong to a Governor’s political agenda.
Representation Is Not Optional
Let’s also talk about something that should concern every Arkansan — regardless of party.
When District 26 was left without representation in time for the legislative session, that wasn’t just a scheduling issue.
That was a constitutional problem.
Colt didn’t complain on social media.
He didn’t issue a press release and move on.
And he won.
He forced the state to recognize what should never have been in question: citizens have the right to representation. Government doesn’t get to sidestep that because it’s politically inconvenient.
That matters.
We Don’t Agree on Everything — And That’s the Point
Colt and I don’t align on every political issue. Anyone who knows me knows that.
But this isn’t about party loyalty.
It’s about principle.
When a Governor attempts to bully a community into accepting a project they do not want…
When executive authority begins to eclipse citizen input…
When representation is treated as negotiable…
That’s bigger than party.
That’s about the soul of our state.
Arkansas Deserves a Governor Who Listens
Arkansas does not belong to one administration.
It does not belong to one party.
And it certainly does not belong to political insiders who think rural communities are expendable.
It belongs to the people who live here, who work here, who have buried their grandparents here!
Arkansas belongs to those who intend to leave something better for their children.
Colt understands that.
He understands that citizenship is not passive. It is participatory. If you want change, you step up — even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.
Running for Governor isn’t comfortable.
It’s not safe.
And it’s not convenient.
It’s a declaration.
And I respect that.
This November
I will be voting for Colt Shelby because I believe Arkansas deserves a Governor who respects its citizens instead of overruling them, because Mill Creek Mountain deserved better, and because representation is a constitutional right—not a favor granted by those in power.
They picked the wrong mountain.
COLT SHELBY for Governor.
See you at the polls.
