By David J. Sanders
Rex Nelson’s particular passions comprise those essential elements that help breathe life into exceptional Southern living: good food, college football, politics, along with an enduring appreciation for the region’s history and literature.
Nearly four years ago, he left a high-profile post, which kept him at then-Gov. Mike Huckabee’s side for the better part of a decade. Nelson’s friends claimed at the time that his appointment to the federal government’s Delta Regional Authority was the perfect pairing – like chopped pork, slathered with BBQ sauce and served up on a warm bun.
A political appointee, Nelson exited the DRA on his own terms. Last week, he took a position with The Communications Group, Little Rock-based advertising and public relations firm. He has a long title — senior vice president for government relations and public outreach – and an office in a downtown high-rise.
It’ll be a change of scenery for Nelson. Since 2005, he has put over 100,000 miles on his SUV, driving back roads and highways, visiting many of the region’s 252 counties, most of which are rural.
So what did he learn? Is there hope for the Delta or are demographic trends, which have shown a mass exodus out of the country’s poorest region, too much to overcome?
“There’s hope,” Nelson said adding that his standard civic club speech became his tool to help shift focus away from the region’s long-held belief that “bigger is better” to a mentality that “better is better.” For Nelson, the quality of a community, as opposed to its size, is what matters most.
Why the shift? It was obvious to him.
The problem was the old model of economic development. “You’ve seen it,” he added, rattling off a familiar scenario, “‘Boy, if we could just get us some government grants. We’ll buy a field out here on the edge of town; we’ll run some water and sewer lines in there and we’ll build a nice asphalt road, and then put up a nice brick sign that says ‘County Industrial Park’ and all of the sudden a company is going to show up with 500 jobs and save the town.’ That just doesn’t work.”
He defines “better” as a better quality of life – better schools, hospitals. But how does a community with a dwindling population, high unemployment and a shrinking tax base improve? Answering that question led down a more controversial path.
Preserving the Delta, he confesses, essentially comes down to questions of resource allocation for state and federal governments, which, he admitted, will require a radical departure from the business-as-usual approach.
Nelson argued that it doesn’t make sense for governments to perpetuate numerous small communities from a bygone era that were once home to hundreds of share croppers and boasted thriving commerce, but that are nearly empty today and are lucky to have a convenience store.
“To be quite honest, there isn’t much reason for those communities to exist any more,” he said, adding that by propping up these tiny communities, “the government is sustaining misery” while wasting millions of dollars in public resources that could be directed elsewhere.
While at the DRA, Nelson helped complete a study that identified several “critical-mass communities.” He defined them simply as communities “worth saving,” which are important to the region. He said these communities are currently home to hospitals and two-year or four-year colleges. Communities like Helena-West Helena, Forrest City, and Pine Bluff are where Nelson believes governments must focus resources. And not just for services like health care, police protection, fire, sewer and water, but for K-12 education as well, where he said more consolidation is needed.
Even though he left the DRA, his passion for the region hasn’t waned. As part of his new gig, he’ll launch a blog in July, where he’ll opine occasionally about the region’s future, and about all those other things he loves – politics, sports and food.
The name of his blog — “Southern Fried.”
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David J. Sanders writes twice weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau in Little Rock and is the host of Arkansas Education Television Network’s “Unconventional Wisdom.” His e-mail address is DavidJSanders@aol.com.
