Sanders Orders Flags to Half-Staff to Mourn Senator Gary Stubblefield

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME - GREETINGS:

WHEREAS: Gary Stubblefield, born February 28, 1951, served as the Arkansas Senator for Arkansas' 26th Senate District from 2013 to 2025 and the Arkansas Representative for Arkansas' 67th House District from 2011 to 2013. Stubblefield passed away on September 2, 2025, loved by his family, friends, and colleagues, and remembered as a true public servant for the State of Arkansas;

WHEREAS: Stubblefield grew up in Branch, Arkansas, and graduated from County Line High School. Despite his high school not offering a football program, Stubblefield became a Razorback, joining the University of Arkansas football team as a walk-on and enjoyed a successful career there before returning home to Branch to raise dairy cows;

WHEREAS: Stubblefield's political career began when he served as a member of the Franklin County Quorum Court from 1976 to 1977. He then spent six years on the County Line School District Board. In 2010, Stubblefield was elected to represent Arkansas' 67th House District in the Arkansas House of Representatives;

WHEREAS: After serving as an Arkansas representative for two years, Stubblefield was elected to the Arkansas Senate in 2012, where he served as chair of the Senate City, County and Local Affairs Committee, and as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Joint Energy Committee, the Senate Efficiency Committee, the Joint Budget Committee, and the Legislative Council;

WHEREAS: During his time in the Arkansas Senate, Stubblefield faithfully advocated for and served the people and state of Arkansas. He was a staunch protector of the unborn, a fierce supporter of Arkansas' farmers, and a steadfast proponent of decreased taxes and regulations;

WHEREAS: Stubblefield loved the Natural State and was committed to bettering the lives of Arkansans through public service. It is fitting and right for Arkansas to honor him and his years of service to her people.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, in tribute to the memory of Gary Stubblefield, and as an expression of public sorrow, do hereby direct that the United States flag and the state flag of Arkansas be flown at half-staff from sunrise September 3, 2025, to sunset on the day of Stubblefield's interment.

IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 2nd day of September, in the year of our Lord 2025.

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