By Lewis Delavan
Arkansas News Bureau

BENTON — Two Saline County elected officials, a Democrat and a member of the Green Party, announced their switch to the Republican Party today.

Sheriff Bruce Pennington, a Democrat serving his second term, and first-term County Collector Joy Ballard, who ran on the Green Party ticket in 2010, announced their decision jointly in what the state Republican chief said could be a sign of things to come for the 2012 elections.

“Neither party is perfect, but you look for one that best reflects your views,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Little Rock, the first-term 2nd District congressman who introduced the pair during a news conference at Saline County GOP headquarters.

Pennington said his office is not about politics, but added, “By that ‘D’ behind my name, I was aligning myself with political positions I don’t believe in. My conscience told me ‘this is not right.’”

The sheriff, first elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2010 as a Democrat, did not say what Democratic positions he opposed but said he is pro-life, supports gun rights and believes current federal spending is unsustainable.

Ballard, elected in 2010, said she had worked to get Republicans elected and had “worked with them and for them,” including 10 years as administrative assistant to Saline County Judge Lanny Fite, a Republican.

She said when the former office holder, Chris Villines, resigned to take another job it was too late to file as a Democrat or Republican, but that the Green Party candidate selection process was still open to her.

State GOP Chairman Doyle Webb said today’s announcements continued what he said has been a political realignment in Arkansas that began with the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008.

In 2010, Republicans captured a U.S. Senate seat, three congressional seats, three statewide offices and their biggest share of legislative seats ever in the state.

“Now you see evidence of this moving down to the county level as well. I would anticipate that we will se other people switching as they continue to reflect on what’s going on nationally,” Webb said. “I hear rumblings in many of the counties. I see Republican activity in counties where we’ve never seen so much before. I think we will see an unprecedented number of Republicans on the ballot at all levels.”

State Democratic Party spokeswoman Candace Martin said Gov. Mike Beebe winning every county in the state in his 2010 re-election bid last year was “a testament to the strength of our party.”

“We can’t forget that the last time the federal government’s budget was balanced it was by an Arkansas Democrat,” Bill Clinton, she added.

“We’ll continue to see the strength of our candidates, from the local level to all of our elected offices,” Martin said.