Ark. lawmakers say ex-Globetrotter can join House | News

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas House of Representative has decided that a former Harlem Globetrotter meets residency requirements to represent the eastern Arkansas district where he was elected.

House members on Thursday voted to accept the state Claims Commission's recommendation that Democrat Fred Smith be seated in the legislative session that begins Monday.

A write-in candidate who lost to Smith in the Nov. 2 election has argued that Smith lives in Walls, Miss., not Arkansas.

Smith says he's been living with his stepfather in Crawfordsville, Ark., and occasionally travels to northern Mississippi to visit his son. He said he spent years traveling the world with the Globetrotters.

Smith has said he legitimately won the election with 3,517 votes, compared with 779 for write-in candidate Willie Gammon.

There was no Republican candidate.

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