Senator Keith Ingram: A Career of Community & Public Service

By Ralph Hardin

Evening Times Editor

Before serving as Mayor of West Memphis from 1987 through 1995, Keith Ingram made his mark on the community as a businessman who for years was vice-president of Razorback Concrete, a major employer in 16 Arkansas cities.

Before and during his time in politics, Ingram maintained a commitment to the community he calls home. 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.

After his tenure as mayor ended, Ingram re-entered politics at the state level, serving in the state legislature from 2009 to 2023.

His first tenure at the Capitol wasbegan when he was sworn in to the House of Representatives after winning the 2008 election uncontested, where he represented parts of Crittenden County, primarily West Memphis.

Ingram served in the House for three terms until he was elected to the State Senate just before the 2013 session.

As a State Senator, Ingram represented District 24, which included Crittenden County and parts of Cross, Lee, Phillips and St. Francis counties. Senator Ingram’s legislative priorities included stronger ethics and campaign finance laws, to protect the integrity of elections and policy making. He sponsored legislation to clean up the signature-gathering 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.

Ingram’s time in the legislature was marked by a consistent support for highway programs and economic development in all its facets, from enacting tax incentives to expanding job training and vocational education.

Senator Ingram served as the the Senate Minority Leader and vice chair of the Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Systems.

He served as 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 then through 1990.

File photos/Photos courtesy of KMI