Bill Kopsky on Direct Democracy, the LEARNS Act & Building Power in Rural Arkansas
It started with a request for a dumpster. Residents of Gould, Arkansas asked their city for help with a neighborhood cleanup, got turned down, and eventually helped elect a new city council and mayor.
Episode notes
It started with a request for a dumpster. Residents of Gould, Arkansas asked their city for help with a neighborhood cleanup, got turned down, and eventually helped elect a new city council and mayor. That’s the kind of story Bill Kopsky has been part of for more than 30 years as executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel. In this episode, host Andy McNeill talks with Bill about what community organizing really looks like, how the Panel and the Arkansas Citizens First Congress work with communities and at the state legislature, and why Bill believes the citizen ballot initiative process is worth protecting. They also dig into education policy, including the LEARNS Act and school vouchers, with Andy bringing his own questions and perspective. If you’ve ever wondered how ordinary people actually change policy in Arkansas, this conversation walks through it. In this conversation:
- How a dumpster request turned into a city council change
- How citizen-led ballot measures work, and why they’re being debated
- Bill’s take on the LEARNS Act and school choice
- What the research says about improving Arkansas schools
- What he’s watching in the 2027 legislative session