| Senator Keith Ingram of West Memphis has served in the state
legislature since 2009, when he was sworn in to the House of
Representatives. He was elected to the state Senate just before the
2013 session. He represents District 24, which includes Crittenden
County and parts of Cross, Lee, Phillips and St. Francis Counties.
Previously, he had been mayor of West Memphis from 1987 through
1995.
Senator Ingram is a businessman who for years was vice president of
Razorback Concrete, a major employer in 16 Arkansas cities. He is one
of the founders of the Arkansas Delta Council, one of the more
effective economic development agencies in eastern Arkansas.
He graduated from the University of Mississippi, but is known as a
strong supporter of the University of Arkansas. He's a past member of
the Dean's Circle for the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of
Architecture.
Besides being active in the Chamber of Commerce, he also served on a
Blue Ribbon Panel on the Regional Medical Center in Memphis.
Senator Ingram's legislative priorities include stronger ethics and
campaign finance laws, to protect the integrity of elections and policy
making. He has sponsored legislation to clean up the signaturegathering process, used by organizations that want to place issues on
the ballot.
Senator Ingram served on the task force that developed a package of
income tax reductions and bills to make the Arkansas tax system more
competitive and more fair.
He is a consistent supporter of highway programs and economic
development in all its facets, from enacting tax incentives to expanding
job training and vocational education.
Senator Ingram is the Senate Minority Leader and vice chair of the
Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Systems. He
is a member of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee, the City,
County and Local Affairs Committee, the Joint Budget Committee, the
Legislative Council and the Legislative Joint Auditing Committee.
He has secured numerous grants for communities in District 24, and led
the successful effort to prevent the closure of the Interstate 55 bridge
across the Mississippi River into Memphis.
The Arkansas Hospital Association honored Senator Ingram with its
Statesmanship Award in recognition of his efforts to secure additional
funding for hospitals. In some cases, that funding made the difference
in some rural hospitals keeping their doors open. Also, he was a cosponsor of legislation to create a statewide trauma system.
In 2013 he was elected chairman of the Southern Legislative
Conference by elected officials from 15 Southern states.
Senator Ingram's father, W.K. "Bill" Ingram served in the Senate from
1963 until 1981, when he was replaced by his brother, Kent Ingram,
who served from through 1990. Senator Ingram is a member of the Methodist church. |