Colt Shelby on Local Control, Prison Policy & Arkansas' Governor's Race
Colt Shelby has worked in the oil field for 24 years. He never planned to run for office, until a proposed 3,000-bed prison landed four miles from his home in Cecil, Arkansas. Now he's the Libertarian candidate for governor.
Episode notes
Colt Shelby has worked in the oil field for 24 years. He never planned to run for office, until a proposed 3,000-bed prison landed four miles from his home in Cecil, Arkansas. Now he's the Libertarian candidate for governor. In this episode, host Andy McNeill talks with Colt about what a Libertarian actually believes, how the prison fight turned him into an activist, and why he's running on local control and government transparency. They also dig into Arkansas' prison and parole system, the LEARNS Act and school vouchers, data centers, nuclear energy, and citizen-led ballot initiatives, before closing with a rapid-fire round on taxes, spending, and state policy. If you want to hear from a candidate outside the two major parties, this conversation lets him lay out his case in his own words. In this conversation:
- What the Libertarian Party stands for
- How a prison proposal launched a campaign
- Colt's views on prisons, parole, and public safety
- The LEARNS Act, EFAs, and school choice
- Data centers, energy, and economic development