Arkansas Democratic headquarters renamed for Gwatney
Posted: July 16, 2010 at 5:26 p.m.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe applauds as he walks from a speakers' platform at the William A. Gwatney Democratic Headquarters in Little Rock on Friday. The building was named in honor of Gwatney, who in 2008 was shot and killed while serving as state party chairman in the building.
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe on Friday said it's fitting that the state's Democratic Party renamed its headquarters for Bill Gwatney, the chairman who was shot dead at the downtown Little Rock building nearly two years ago.
"The world was a better place for him having been here, and we're worse off for him not being here," Beebe said at a ceremony unveiling the William A. Gwatney Democratic Headquarters.
Gwatney was shot and killed in his office in August 2008. His killer, Timothy Dale Johnson, was shot to death by police after a 30-mile car chase.
Police have not explained why Johnson killed Gwatney. The investigation is closed.
The governor, who served in the state Senate with Gwatney and was close friends with him, said one of Gwatney's major accomplishments as chairman came when the party bought the building for its headquarters.
"He was born rich, but cared about everybody and mostly about those that weren't (rich)," Beebe said of Gwatney. "His legacy was it doesn't matter how high you climb or how high you start in life, we all have an obligation to take care of each other."
Party officials say they have ramped up security at the building since Gwatney's shooting, adding surveillance cameras and controlling access.
Gwatney's widow, Rebecca Gwatney, said her late husband spent two to three days a week at the downtown headquarters. She said it took her at least a year after the shooting to return to the building.
"I still miss him and I still think about it every day," she said after Friday's ceremony. "But you learn with those things, and I try to do things that I know will make him proud of me."
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