Greg Leding

Last updated
Emily Ironside
​
(m. 2013)​
Greg Leding
Greg Leding, Springdale Rally 003.jpg
Minority Leader of the Arkansas Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Children1
Education University of Arkansas (BS)
Website Official website

Greg Leding (born April 10, 1978) is a Democratic politician who has represented the Fayetteville area in the Arkansas General Assembly since 2011. He served as minority leader in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2012 to 2014 and currently serves as minority leader in the Arkansas Senate.

Contents

A lifelong resident of Arkansas, Leding graduated from Springdale High School and holds a bachelor's degree from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. [1]

Arkansas General Assembly

The 91st General Assembly convened on Monday, January 9, 2017. Leding filed a number of bills, including:

Committee assignments

Co-Chair

Member

Legislative work

During his first term, Leding passed The Jason Flatt Act, a measure to reduce youth suicide in Arkansas. [17] In his second term, during which he served as the House Minority Leader, Leding worked with Republicans and Democrats to pass a bipartisan package of bills to prevent human trafficking in Arkansas. [18] Other bipartisan legislative achievements in 2013 include The Landowner Notification Act, a measure to protect landowners living in the Fayetteville Shale, co-sponsored by Senator Jason Rapert (R-Conway), [19] as well as bipartisan legislation to better protect the Buffalo National River, co-sponsored by Representative Kelley Linck (R-Flippin). [20] In 2015, bills passed by Leding included the Student Online Personal Information and Protection Act [21] and a bipartisan bill to help the families of firefighters who die of job-related cancers. [22] Other legislative efforts have included a 2015 bipartisan measure to end juvenile life without parole, co-sponsored by Senator Missy Irvin (R-Mountain View); efforts in 2015 to address privacy issues, [23] establish the Arkansas New Jobs Training Program, [24] and add the words "sexual orientation, gender identity" to the Arkansas Civil Rights Act of 1993; [25] efforts in 2013, 2015, 2017 to establish paid family leave [26] and to address Arkansas's landlord-tenant laws (including its lack of any warranty of habitability [27] and its criminal eviction statutes); and efforts in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017 to address wage theft. [28] [29] Leding is also working with Arkansas veterans to secure hyperbaric oxygen therapy as means of treatment for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury. [30]

In August 2015, Leding launched two interim studies, one concerned with student debt in Arkansas [31] and one examining sexual assault on the state's college and university campuses. [32] Final reports for each are due in July 2017.

Caucuses

Leding is a member of the Arkansas Legislative Hunger Caucus, the Arkansas Veterans Caucus, the Arkansas Education Caucus, the Arkansas Sportsmen's Caucus, and the Arkansas Aerospace Caucus. [33]

National Conference of State Legislatures

From August 2012 until August 2014, Leding served as a vice chair of the Natural Resources and Infrastructure Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). [34] He was elected to the NCSL Executive Committee in August 2014. [35] In May 2015, he was named to the NCSL Legislative Task Force on Military and Veterans Affairs. [36] In May 2016, he was named to the NCSL Task Force on International Relations. [37] In January 2017, Leding was named to the NCSL Foundation Board.

National Institute for Civil Discourse

In 2015, Leding became involved with the National Institute for Civil Discourse, a nonpartisan center for advocacy, research, and policy, and its Next Generation program for state legislators.

Elections

State House

Leding first ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2010, defeating J. W. "Bill" Ramsey in the Democratic Primary by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent. [38] He won re-election in 2012, defeating Republican Brian Scott by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent. [39] Leding ran unopposed in 2014 [40] and 2016.

State Senate

Senator Leding's seat in the Senate Chamber Seated in the Arkansas Senate.jpg
Senator Leding's seat in the Senate Chamber

On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, Leding announced his candidacy for Arkansas Senate District 4. [41] The incumbent, Senator Uvalde Lindsey (D-Fayetteville), had previously announced his retirement. The election was Tuesday, November 6, 2018, and Leding was the winner.

Awards and recognition

Among the awards Leding has received during his time in office are the Citizens First Congress "Champion Legislator" award (2011), the Arkansas Support Network "Community Distinction Award" (2011), the Arkansas Kids Count Coalition "Rising Star" award (2011), the Northwest Arkansas Workers' Justice Center "Prophetic Leader" award (2013), the National Association of Social Workers (Arkansas Chapter) "Elected Public Official of the Year" award (2013), the Northwest Arkansas Tobacco-Free Coalition "Smoke-Free Advocate of the Year" award (2013), the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association "Champion of Advanced Energy" award (2013), the Public Policy Panel "Champion Legislator" award (2013), the Arkansas Municipal League "Distinguished Legislator" award (2013), the AARP "Distinguished Legislator" award (2013), the first Washington County Democrats "John Logan Burrow Democratic Leadership" award (2014), the Kids Count "Legislative Leadership Award for Juvenile Justice" (2015), the Kids Count "Legislative Leadership Award for Family Economic Security" (2015), the Arkansas State Firefighters Association "Legislative Chair Award" (2015), the Arkansas State Employees Association "Outstanding Legislator" award (2015), the Community Clinic of Northwest Arkansas "Community Health Center Champion" award (2015), the Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education (AGATE) "Presidential Award" (2016), and the Graduate Student Congress of the University of Arkansas "Civic Ally of the Year" award (2016). [42]

In January 2013, Talk Business Arkansas listed Leding among the "Top 10 Legislators to Watch". [43] In May 2013, Talk Business Arkansas listed Leding among the "Talk Business Arkansas' Top 10 State Legislators". [44]

In January 2017, Leding was again named to Talk Business Arkansas' list of legislators to watch for the 2017 regular session. [45]

Boards

Leding joined the Hope Cancer Resources Foundation Board of Directors in February 2015 and the Fayetteville Adult Education Center Advisory Board in June 2016. [46]

Personal life

The oldest of three children, Leding and his wife, Emily Ironside, have one daughter. They live in Fayetteville.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fayetteville, Arkansas</span> City in Arkansas, United States

Fayetteville is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city had a population of 93,949 as of the 2020 census, which was estimated to have increased to 101,680 by 2023. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, within the Ozarks. It was named after Fayetteville, Tennessee, from which many settlers had come, and was incorporated on November 3, 1836. Fayetteville is included in the three-county Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers metropolitan statistical area, with 576,403 residents in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Boozman</span> American politician and optometrist (born 1950)

John Nichols Boozman is an American politician and former optometrist serving as the senior United States senator from Arkansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district from 2001 to 2011. He is the dean of Arkansas's congressional delegation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Ross (politician)</span> American businessman and politician (born 1961)

Michael Avery Ross is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 4th congressional district from 2001 to 2013 and was his party's nominee for governor of Arkansas in 2014. He is currently the last Democrat to have represented Arkansas in the House of Representatives. He was also a member of the Arkansas Senate from 1991 to 2001, a member of the Nevada County Quorum Court from 1983 to 1985, and a small business owner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathy Webb</span> American politician

Kathy Webb is an American restaurateur and politician from Little Rock, Arkansas. A Democrat, she was re-elected and currently serves as Vice Mayor of Ward 3 of Little Rock, and previously served as Vice Mayor of Little Rock from 2015 to 2017. She formerly served in the Arkansas House of Representatives, representing the state's 37th district from January 8, 2007, to January 13, 2013. She was re-elected as Vice Mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas in January 2023 and replacing Ward 5 City Director Lanes Hines.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials' association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Kilmer</span> American politician (born 1974)

Derek Christian Kilmer is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for Washington's 6th congressional district from 2013 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 2005 to 2007 and the Washington State Senate from 2007 to 2012.

The National Black Caucus of State Legislators(NBCSL) is an American political organization composed of African Americans elected to state legislatures in the United States and its territories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Womack</span> American politician (born 1957)

Stephen Allen Womack is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 3rd congressional district since 2011. The district, which was once represented by former Senator J. William Fulbright, covers much of northwestern Arkansas, including Fort Smith, Fayetteville, Springdale, and Womack's hometown of Rogers. A member of the Republican Party, Womack was mayor of Rogers before his election to Congress.

Sue Rezin is a Republican member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 38th district since her appointment in December 2010. The 38th district includes Bureau, Putnam, LaSalle, Grundy, and Kendall counties in north central Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Arkansas</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Arkansas face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity in Arkansas was decriminalized in 2001 and legally codified in 2005. Same-sex marriage became briefly legal through a court ruling on May 9, 2014, subject to court stays and appeals. In June 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that laws banning same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, legalizing same-sex marriage in the United States nationwide including in Arkansas. Nonetheless, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity was not banned in Arkansas until the Supreme Court banned it nationwide in Bostock v. Clayton County in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Cornell du Houx</span> American politician

Alexander Cornell du Houx is an American politician from Maine and officer in the U.S. Navy. He Joined the U.S. Marines out of high school and was deployed to Iraq. He was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 2008 and 2012, worked for the Truman National Security Project on energy security, received a direct commission in the Navy reserves and deployed to the Middle East.

David James Sanders is a former member of the Arkansas State Senate for District 15, which encompasses Conway County and parts of Faulkner, Perry, Pulaski, and Van Buren counties. From 2011 to 2013, he served a term in the Arkansas House of Representatives for Pulaski County.

Duncan Baird is the Budget Director for Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas. He was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2008, a position which he held until he was term limited in 2015. As a legislator, Baird served as the House chairman of the Joint Budget Committee, the first Republican in that position since Reconstruction, and at the age of thirty-four was the highest ranking House member based on seniority. He was previously employed as a securities trader for Arvest Bank in Lowell in Benton County in Northwest Arkansas.

Nate Steel is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. During the 89th General Assembly session from 2013 to 2015, Steel served on the Judiciary committee.

Stephanie Anne Flowers is an American attorney and Democratic politician, serving in public office since 2004. Flowers started in politics when she was elected in 2004 to the District 17 seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives. In 2011, she was elected to the Arkansas State Senate where she remains presently.

Larry R. Teague is a former American politician and was a Democratic member of the Arkansas Senate representing District 10, which includes Howard, Montgomery, Pike, and Polk counties and parts of Clark, Hempstead, Nevada, and Sevier counties. He also served as Senate Minority Whip. He was ineligible to seek re-election in 2022 due to term limits. Teague served consecutively in the Arkansas General Assembly from January 2009 until January 2013 in the Senate District 20 seat and from January 1997 through January 2002 in the Arkansas House of Representatives District 19 seat.

Micajah Pickett "Micah" Caskey IV is an American politician. He currently serves in the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing the 89th district. Caskey was first elected in 2016 and continues to serve the constituents of District 89. Prior to working in the South Carolina legislature, Caskey worked as the Assistant Solicitor for the 11th Circuit (2014–2016), and also served in the United States Marine Corps (2003–2013), earning the rank of captain.

Bill Sample was a state legislator in Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Penix</span> American politician

Kevin Penix was an American politician who served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 2003 until 2004. He lived in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was a Republican. He represented Sebastian County. He was a Southern Baptist. He was born in Crossett, Arkansas.

References

  1. ↑ "Nicole Clowney - Arkansas House of Representatives".
  2. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  3. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  4. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  5. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  6. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  7. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  8. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  9. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  10. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  11. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  12. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  13. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  14. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  15. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-03-31.
  16. ↑ "Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  17. ↑ "Bill Information".
  18. ↑ "Bill Information".
  19. ↑ "Bill Information".
  20. ↑ "Bill Information".
  21. ↑ "Bill Information".
  22. ↑ "Bill Information".
  23. ↑ "Bill Information".
  24. ↑ "Bill Information".
  25. ↑ "Bill Information".
  26. ↑ "Bill Information".
  27. ↑ "Bill Information".
  28. ↑ "Bill Information".
  29. ↑ "Bill Information".
  30. ↑ "Veteran Requests State Funding for Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment". 28 May 2016.
  31. ↑ http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/Interim%20Study%20Proposal%20and%20Resolution/ISP-2015-139.PDF [ bare URL PDF ]
  32. ↑ http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/Interim%20Study%20Proposal%20and%20Resolution/ISP-2015-146.PDF [ bare URL PDF ]
  33. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/gregleding/info/?tab=page_info&edited=screenname [ user-generated source ]
  34. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2013-11-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  35. ↑ "National Conference of State Legislatures > AboutUs > Executive Committee > Members".
  36. ↑ "Task Force on Military and Veterans Affairs".
  37. ↑ "National Conference of State Legislatures > NCSL IN D.C. > Task Forces > Task Force on International Relations". Archived from the original on 2016-06-08. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  38. ↑ "Leding Defeats Ramsey". 19 May 2010.
  39. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-04-12. Retrieved 2013-11-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  40. ↑ "Fayetteville's Leding Running for Re-Election". November 2013.
  41. ↑ "Leding to run for Senate District 4 seat". NWADG.com. Retrieved 2017-06-18.
  42. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/gregleding/info/?tab=page_info&edited=screenname [ user-generated source ]
  43. ↑ "Top 10 Legislators to Watch". 13 January 2013.
  44. ↑ "Talk Business Arkansas' Top 10 State Legislators". 14 May 2013.
  45. ↑ "'Ones To Watch' in the 2017 legislative session - Talk Business & Politics". Talk Business & Politics. 2017-01-11. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  46. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregleding?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile [ self-published source ]
Arkansas House of Representatives
Preceded by Minority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives
2013–2015		Succeeded by
Arkansas Senate
Preceded by Minority Leader of the Arkansas Senate
2023–present		Incumbent
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.