Politicians from the Natural State remember former governor David Pryor

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Current and former politicians react to the passing of former Governor, Senator, and Congressman David Pryor Saturday at the Pulaski County Democratic Convention.

“I first saw it on social media just before I had eaten breakfast or anything, and I read it twice,” Former State Senator Joyce Elliott said.

David Pryor has been impacting the lives of many in politics for over a century now, and many of his fellow politicians spoke out Saturday about his impact on their lives.

Growing up in Camden, Elliott says people used to forget about Southwest Arkansas until Pryor came along and made people proud of it.

“There was not a time that I called him or encountered him that he didn’t act as if I was the person in the world of that time; he was that kind of person,” Elliott said.

Current and former Arkansas politicians, colleagues respond to the death of David Pryor

Elliott said people were proud of Southwest Arkansas because of how Pryor made constituents feel and the heart he poured into the community.

“I always remember he was just the most thoughtful person about things that affected people’s lives who were different from him, but he didn’t miss it simply because you know he was somebody who was different from some of the people he was representing,” Elliott said.

One of those lives he affected was Ashley Hudson’s.

“I was getting a masters in the political science department, and he was frequently there giving his time and his experience to all of us students; he was always available to us and always very kind to us, answering all of our questions,” Hudson, State Representative District 75 said.

Hudson said she and other graduate students at the University of Arkansas were awe-struck by what she said is a “political giant.”

“Senator Pryor was always referred to as one of our most beloved politicians here in Arkansas, and there was a reason for that,” Hudson said. “He was kind, he was smart, he cared about the state, he loved Arkansas, and he loves the people in it.”

David Pryor, former Arkansas governor, U.S. congressman and senator, dies at 89

Hudson said that Pryor was the reason she ran for office, which is why today is so hard for her and many others.

Hudson shared one last message, a message to the Pryor family.

“We know that they have wonderful, incredible memories to hold onto even though they have lost the Senator Pryor, but we are so grateful as a state for all that he gave to us and all that his memory will give to us, too, and I hope that his memory will be a blessing to them,” Hudson said.

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