By JOHN HOFHEIMER
Leader senior staff writer
Former state Rep. Will Bond, 39, a Jacksonville native, could decide by Tuesday whether or not he’ll run for the House of Representatives for the seat currently occupied by Cong. Vic Snyder, D-Little Rock.
Snyder announced last week that had decided not to seek reelection for a ninth term, but would instead stay in Little Rock to devote more time and attention to his family, including young triplets and their slightly older brother.
Bond, now a Little Rock resident, represented Jacksonville for three terms in the General Assembly, but couldn’t run again because of term limits.
So far, state Senator Joyce Elliott of Little Rock, former House Speaker Robbie Wills of Conway, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter and Paul Suskie, chairman of the state Public Service Commission are said to be interested in the Democratic nomination.
Tim Griffin, a Republican associated with Karl Rove, has announced he is seeking the Republican nomination.
“I’ve been talking to my family members and putting pencils to the finances,” Bond said Thursday evening.
“I think I’ll make a final decision by Tuesday,” he said.
He said he thought it would take about $300,000 to run in the May primary.
“I don’t know anybody who wasn’t caught off guard,” Bond said of Snyder’s decision to not seek reelection.
Bond was named managing partner of the McMath law firm in Little Rock about a year ago, and said he would need the blessing of the partners before making a run.
“I was in Denver on work,” he said, when he heard Snyder’s announcement.
“It needs to be something I really want to do,” he said. “It’s a 24-hour-a-day job.”
Bond said between now and Tuesday, he would be talking to potential supporters.
He said the two big questions are whether or not he could win and raise enough money to mount a successful campaign.
While in the state Legislature, Bond was architect of the legislation that may soon lead to unitary status for the three Pulaski County school districts, and eventually to an independent Jacksonville School District.
Bond is a 1988 graduate of Jacksonville High School, a 1992 political science graduate from Vanderbilt University and a 1995 graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Law School.
Bond and his wife have 4-year-old twin girls and a boy, 9.
