Ex-Beebe aide joins road panel

Governor cites commission appointee’s youth, intellect

Gov. Mike Beebe on Thursday tapped a former top aide turned banking executive to fill a vacancy on the Arkansas Highway Commission, one of the state’s most sought-aftergubernatorial appointments.

Frank Scott Jr. of Little Rock is the second black person to be appointed to the commission, and also - at 29 - one of the commission’s youngest appointees.

Beebe said former Gov. DaleBumpers took much the same chance on youth in 1974 when he appointed Beebe, then a young lawyer, to the Arkansas State University board of trustees.

“As a young person exposed to significant responsibility, appointed by the governor, it hadan obvious influence and impact on my life that really set up a lot of things for me thereafter, ultimately culminating in being here,” the governor said at a news conference Wednesday morning at the state Capitol.

Beebe acknowledged that the appointments to the “extraordinarily prestigious and important” commission typically go to people who are “seasoned” and who have made “big impacts in the business world,” but he thinks Scott’s youth and intellect will serve him well.

“This is a young man who served on my policy team and who I came away with an enormous respect for because, No. 1, how utterly smart he is, and how he works so hard and how he deals well with people, absorbs information and goes and gets it done. So I said it sort of reminds me of someone giving me a chance when I was a young person.”

Scott was Beebe’s intergovernmental affairs director beginning in 2007. In January 2012, soon after leaving the governor’s staff, he joined First Security Bank, a privately held institution based in Searcy, as abusiness development officer.

In brief remarks, the Little Rock native cited his roots in southwest Little Rock as well as the Pulaski County community of Higgins Switch, and thanked the governor for seeing enough in him to give him the opportunity to serve on the commission.

“I thank Gov. Beebe because I see so many things that he’s done that I only hope I canfollow in his footsteps,” Scott said. “I stand here today on the shoulders of many giants. I don’t deserve to be here, but I’m sure going to earn it.”

He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Memphis and a master’s of business with an emphasis in strategic management from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Scott already sits on the boards of directors for the Little Rock Port Authority and Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Central Arkansas.

Rodney Slater of Marianna was the first black to be appointed to the five-member commission. Former Gov. Bill Clinton appointed Slater in March 1987. He resigned from the commission in June 1993 to work for Clinton after the latter was elected president in November 1992.

Clinton eventually appointed Slater as the U.S. transportation secretary.

Scott is the same age as Patsy Thomasson of Rison when she was appointed, according to the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, which said Thomasson served from January 1977 until January 1987. She was appointed by then-Gov. David Pryor.

Scott is also Beebe’s third appointment to the same seat. He will serve the remaining time left on the 10-year term, until January 2017.

Beebe initially appointed his former state Senate colleague, Cliff Hoofman of North Little Rock, to a full 10-year term. The governor then appointed John Burkhalter of Little Rock in January 2011 to fill the remainder of Hoofman’s term when the latter resigned to accept an appointment to the Arkansas Court of Appeals.

Burkhalter resigned Oct. 4 to devote more time to his campaign for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Scott’s “accomplished background in business, finance, and state policy will serve him well on the Commission,” Burkhalter said in a statement.

Before he even attended his first commission meeting, Scott broke ranks Thursday with the other four commission members, who have supported efforts to have the Highway Department share in the state general revenue, which traditionally goes to education, prisons and social services. With fuel receipts flat, road construction advocates have argued that theagency should receive a portion of state sales taxes earned from the sale of road user items, such as cars and trucks.

He noted that voters have been “very generous” in supporting initiatives to renew an interstate repair program using bonds and a half-percent state sales tax devoted to widening and extending major highways.

“I don’t think there’s any need to take dedicated money,” Scott said. “But I still have a lot to learn.”

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 10/18/2013

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