Jester vs. Olson for land commissioner

The Arkansas land commissioner is so low profile that most voters probably don’t know who the current officeholder is or what he does.

The officeholder should be easy: Tommy Land is the current land commissioner. He’s term-limited. 

Running in the Republican primary to replace him are Secretary of State Cole Jester and Christian Olson. No Democrats filed.

Created in 1868, the land commissioner’s traditional main role is collecting delinquent property taxes. The office takes over that responsibility when a county collector is unsuccessful. If necessary, the land commissioner auctions off the land, with excess proceeds above the delinquent taxes returning to the landowner.

Another role is leasing and permitting minerals on state-owned land. The office also houses the state’s original land records. 

Arkansas is one of five states that elects the position.

Jester was appointed secretary of state in December 2024 by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to fill a vacancy, so he’s ineligible to run for that office this year. 

The secretary of state is responsible for elections. During Jester’s first year in office, Arkansas rose in the conservative Heritage Foundation’s election integrity rankings from eighth to tied  for first with Tennessee. Jester said he worked with the Legislature to pass laws and worked with the federal government to verify that registered voters are U.S. citizens.

He said he cut business filing times, another office responsibility, more than 90% by moving other employee slots into that department. He also created employee efficiency incentives and gave raises to deserving employees.

“When you add that up, you realize that's a team of over 200 people,” he said of the office. “It’s a big ship to move, and I've been able to move it effectively. And that's the kind of experience you could expect me to take into the land commissioner's office.”

Jester said his top priority would be expanding the leasing of natural resources on state lands, which the land commissioner ultimately approves. He said he would build strong partnerships with agencies. For lithium leases, for example, his office could handle the initial negotiations and provide state agencies a prepackaged agreement. 

As for the office’s traditional role collecting delinquent property taxes, he said his property law experience would help him collect taxes and protect landowners’ rights.

Jester previously served as Sanders’ deputy chief legal counsel. He wrote much of the law that banned China and other hostile foreign powers from owning state agricultural land. He also drafted an executive order banning biological males from playing women’s sports.

“I think when you're looking at someone who you should vote [for], you should think, what are their values like?” said the married father of a one-year-old daughter. “And for me, public service is just really an opportunity to express my faith and service that I think we're called to, which is in the model of Jesus. And I know my opponent is a faithful believer as well.”

That opponent, Olson, was an analyst in the land commissioner’s office in 2012-13. He also worked on Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s staff and in his administration. His last job was deputy commissioner of the Arkansas Securities Department, which regulates investment advisors and broker dealers. 

Olson said working for Hutchinson taught him the importance of bringing people together to solve problems. As deputy securities commissioner, he hired staff, relocated the office, and helped restructure the department. 

“That's one of the things I think that I'm really good at is being able to sit down and understand the workflow and people's strengths and weaknesses, and kind of reconstitute things in a way that plays to everybody's strength,” he said.

He currently is a residential real estate investor. He also chairs Beautiful America PAC, which seeks to engage independent voters to support conservative candidates. 

The married father of two sons said he’s the best candidate because he has worked in the land commissioner’s office and understands its relationship to the counties. Counties depend on that money for schools and roads. County collectors have told him during the campaign that they want a shorter holding period between when the land commissioner collects the money and when counties receive the proceeds. 

When he worked in the office, delinquent taxpayers would arrive unhappy that they could lose their property. Often, the problem came from a communication breakdown. Land might have passed through multiple generations until someone didn’t realize they owed. The problem often could be fixed during that visit. 

Olson said the land commissioner must balance the need to collect unpaid taxes with the gravity of seizing someone’s land.

“I do like to say that the primary purpose of government is to protect life, liberty, and property, and any time the government is involved in taking any of those, they really need to be careful and thorough, right?” he said. “And so, in this case, we're talking about taking people's property, literally. I want to make sure that in that case, every ‘i’ is dotted, every ’t' is crossed, and the property is only sold as a last resort.”

Those are your candidates for land commissioner. Early voting starts Feb. 16.