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 Alice Lightle |
With three children there's not much spare time in a woman's life to participate in activities which don't reap the benefit of an income, but Alice Lightle continues to give back to the community in ways that may both go unpaid and unnoticed. Alice is currently the campaign manager for Kathy Webb for State Representative, District 37. She's active in the Stonewall Democratic Club where she serves as Vice President for Political Action; the Arkansas Bar Association where she serves as Chair of the Lawyers Assistance Committee; a board member of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and she is now starting her own practice in law and mediation with a focus on LGBT issues. “My children are the best thing that ever happened in my life. All three are great kids, great people, and great students,” she said. The other thing that gets Alice talking is her alcoholism recovery. “It's the best decision that I ever made, she said. “Entering recovery saved my life. It's the most important part of my life and the part of my life that I'm most passionate about. I will never be ‘recovered' but I hope that I am always in recovery.” Born in Searcy, Ark., she graduated from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., with a BA in English and History. In 1981 she began law school at the University of Arkansas, School of Law and received her Juris Doctorate in 1984. Her first job after law school was as a law clerk in the Pulaski County Chancery Court Later she served as the Chancery and Probate Clerk of Pulaski County. She said she has been fortunate to have many rewarding and interesting jobs: Chief Legal Counsel for Governor Jim Guy Tucker; a Commissioner of the Arkansas Workers' Compensation Commission; as a lobbyist for the Arkansas Bar Association, for the Arkansas Affiliate of the ACLU, and for the Arkansas Citizens First Congress; campaign manager for Congressman Vic Snyder; and Assistant Attorney General in the office of Attorney General Mike Beebe. Politics is in her blood. Her father was an attorney and a state senator back in the 1960's. She has worked in politics since junior high and in the 70s she worked for Jimmy Carter's campaign while living in Atlanta. She has enjoyed her work with the Arkansas Legislature, particularly last session. “House Bill 2751 was the most rewarding bill that I have ever worked on,” she said. “We (Kathy Webb and I) got Rep. Lindsley Smith, D-Fayetteville to sponsor the bill [to amend the Civil Rights Statute to include gay men and lesbians],” Alice explained. “It came up before the House Judiciary Committee for a hearing. We knew going in that we didn't have the votes to move it out but also knew that just having the hearing would be an educational process for both the public and the legislators. It was. “Our witnesses were wonderful: Bishop Maze of the Episcopal diocese; Ret. Methodist minister Ed Matthews; Bob Sells, former executive with SBC; Attorney Paul Dodds and we even had a letter from Charles Morgan of Acxiom. My responsibility was lining up the testimony and preparing the witnesses. I really didn't lobby the committee too much but left that to our sponsor. “Although the testimony was excellent it was clear that the bill had no chance of passing. (The Arkansas Legislature is not near ready to support any measure which gives gays any ‘new' rights. This is because of the overwhelming vote in support of the Marriage Amendment.) “We had the room filled with supporters who all had on buttons which supported the bill. It completely shocked the committee. They never expected to see such open support of a ‘gay rights' bill. The sponsor and one member of the committee who was on our side, David Johnson, agreed to pull the bill down rather than force a vote. “This was a strategic move because to force a vote was only going to make the committee mad. This way we didn't piss them off and could always remind them later that we didn't make them vote on it. “We will probably go ahead and file the bill again this next session. We will have another hearing and do it all over again. This is the only way any progress can be made; through education.” Presently Alice is helping Kathy Webb with her bid to become the first openly gay candidate elected to the Arkansas Legislature. “Kathy's campaign is the first race that the Victory Fund has endorsed for 2006, which speaks well of what our campaign has done so far,” Alice said. “I am hopeful that the SDC will be able to contribute financially through its PAC to the campaigns of several candidates who have been helpful to the LGBT community in Arkansas,” she said. “We will be sending out candidate surveys and having a candidate forum for those Democratic candidates who want an SDC endorsement. This is a chance for our community to come together and to show that we can be a force in politics in Arkansas. SDC needs to grow its membership and its political acumen. We are taking baby steps now but that are necessary before we can begin to walk. This is an exciting time for the LGBT community.” Profiles in Pride questions: What is your favorite food? Chocolate What food will you not eat? Bananas What is the best job you've ever had? Workers Compensation Commissioner What is your dream job? Landscape Architect If you didn't have to work, what would you do with all of your time? Garden |
