Two candidates for lieutenant governor and another gubernatorial candidate Thursday called for Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Darr to resign from office - two days after Darr balked at Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe’s suggestion that he step down.
Lieutenant governor candidates Andy Mayberry, an East End Republican, and John Burkhalter, a Little Rock Democrat, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Debra Hobbs of Rogers said Thursday that Darr should tender his resignation.
On Monday, Darr agreed to pay an $11,000 fine for 11 violations of state ethics laws and regulations, including the personal use of more than $31,000 in campaign funds. He also was sanctioned for personal use of more than $3, 500 in expenses charged to a state-issued credit card and receiving more than $3,500 in improper travel reimbursements.
Darr has said he didn’t intentionally take money that he was not entitled to, and blamed inadequate record-keeping and campaign finance reports for the violations.
On Tuesday, the state’s six-member congressional delegation - five Republicans and a Democrat - and gubernatorial candidates Curtis Coleman, a Republican, and Mike Ross, a Democrat, called for Darr’s resignation.
Darr is taking a few days to weigh his options, according to Senate President Pro Tempore Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, who said he spoke on the phone Thursday morning with the lieutenant governor.
“He’s basically going to take some time to digest the situation and what he should do and let us know what that is,” said Lamoureux.
“Hopefully, it will resolve itself.”
Darr’s Chief of Staff Bruce Campbell, who formerly worked for the state Senate, declined to confirm or deny that that conversation took place. Darr could not be reached for comment on his cellphone Thursday.
If Darr decides not to resign as lieutenant governor, Lamoureux said, he has heard reports that some House members may try to impeach Darr.
He said he wanted to remain neutral on Darr’s resignation in case the Senate has to hold a trial on Darr’s possible impeachment.
House Democratic leader Greg Leding of Fayetteville said there have been a few informal conversations in the House Democratic Caucus about the steps required to impeach Darr under Article 15 to the Arkansas Constitution, but “we would hope Darr would resign.”
All constitutional officers, judges and prosecuting attorneys are subject to impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors and gross misconduct in office” under Article 15, Section 1 and 2.
In impeachment proceedings, the process begins in the House.
Fifty-one votes would be required to impeach Darr in the House and send the matter to the Senate for a trial, where a two-thirds vote would be required for conviction, said House Chief of Staff Gabe Holmstrom.
House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, he wouldn’t take action to start impeachment proceedings unless “at least51 members have indicated a willingness to move forward,” and not a single representative has urged Carter to start the process, Holmstrom said.
The House consists of 51 Democrats and 48 Republicans with one Green Party member. The Senate is made up of 21 Republicans and 13 Democrats with a vacant seat, formerly held by Jonesboro Democrat Paul Bookout. The vacancy is to be filled in a Jan. 14 special election.
Because this is an election year and the House is closely divided, somebody is likely to push for Darr’s impeachment and get “some [television] camera time,” if Darr doesn’t resign first, said state Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena. He said he’s never felt it is appropriate for an elected official to call for another elected official’s resignation.
Earlier this week, Bell posted the section of the Arkansas Constitution dealing with impeachment on Facebook and said he was studying it so he’d be prepared.
House Republican leader Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs, who is running for his party’s nomination in the 4th Congressional District, said he won’t comment about whether Darr should resign because he “may have to potentially cast a vote on this issue,” adding that Darr “should make a decision that puts the best interests of Arkansas before any others.”
Mayberry, a state representative, said in a written statement Thursday that he’s encouraging Darr to resign after a phone call between the two Tuesday because “regardless of political ideology, the public’s trust in their elected officials should reign supreme.”
“In light of the recent findings of the Arkansas Ethics Commission and the [Division of Legislative Audit], I believe it is in the best interest of the state of Arkansas for Lt. Gov. Darr to vacate his position,” Mayberry wrote.
“I hope he will take this action soon,” he said. “In his role presiding over the Senate, I believe Lt. Gov. Darr’s presence during the upcoming fiscal session [starting Feb. 10] could prove to be an unnecessary distraction as the Legislature hopes to focus its full attention on other important issues facing our state.”
Last month, the Legislative Audit Division said Darr received $9,298 in improper mileage reimbursements for more than 22,000 personal vehicle miles, stemming from its review of Darr’s travel expenses between January 2011 and September 2013. Auditors said Darr also made personal purchases on a government credit card totaling more than $2,300.
Auditors recommended that Darr reimburse the state $9,836 for excess travel reimbursements and expenses, and a Darr spokesman has said Darr is making arrangements to repay the money.
If Darr resigns, Mayberry said, a special election may be held to fill the vacancy. If that happens, the Arkansas Constitution would not allow Mayberry to run for the position because he is already a sitting representative, Mayberry noted.
“In the end, though, we all have to do what we believe is the right thing and accept the outcome, whatever that may be,” he said.
State Rep. Charlie Collins of Fayetteville, who is running for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, could not be reached for comment Thursday by email and cellphone.
Collins called for Bookout’s resignation on Twitter after the Arkansas Ethics Commission fined Bookout $8,000 for four violations of state ethics law, including the personal use of more than $53,000 in campaign contributions.
Bookout resigned from office Aug. 20, after a special prosecutor was appointed to review the matter.
Mayberry announced his bid for lieutenant governor Aug. 23.
Burkhalter, who formerly served on the state Highway Commission and Economic Development Commission, said Thursday in a written statement that he has always believed as an Arkansan and a businessman, that elected office is a sacred responsibility, that the public’s trust must be upheld and that personal integrity is paramount.
“Arkansans need to know that the second-highest-ranking official in state government is someone they can trust and depend on to do the right thing. These admitted state law violations by Mr. Darr cloud the trust people place in the lieutenant governor’s office and I believe he needs to resign,” he said in a written statement.
Back in August, Burkhalter declined to say through a spokesman whether he believed that Bookout should resign from office.
Hobbs, a state representative who called for Bookout’s resignation in August, said Thursday that Darr “was placed in a position of public trust and has violated that trust.
“A consequence of that violation should be his resignation,” Hobbs said in a written statement. “The perception by many in the general public is that elected officials are not to be trusted. Darr has given yet another example of why that is true.”
Coleman, who called for Bookout’s resignation in August, said Tuesday in a written statement that “to be consistent with the standards to which former state Sen. Paul Bookout was held, I sadly and reluctantly recommend the resignation of Lt. Gov. Mark Darr.”
A spokesman for Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson of Rogers, a former 3rd District congressman, said Thursday that Hutchinson has been consistent with regard to Bookout and Darr, maintaining that a prosecutor should review the case and see if criminal charges are warranted, and a resignation should be demanded if criminal charges are filed.
Ross said in August that he would reserve judgment about whether Bookout should resign until a prosecutor reviewed Bookout’s case.
Ross said Thursday that he held off on publicly calling for Bookout’s resignation because it was his understanding that Bookout was already considering resigning.
Beebe, who stopped short of calling for Bookout’s resignation last summer, said Thursday that he had been prepared to call for Bookout’s resignation if Bookout had failed to quit in August.
Amid the Darr controversy, Beebe said he’s not afraid to leave the state with Darr as the acting governor.
“You can’t just be a prisoner in your own state,” he said. “I am going Saturday to a bowl game [in Mobile, Ala., with Arkansas State University facing Ball State University] and be gone Saturday and Sunday and come back Sunday night. And he’s going to be the acting governor, and that’s just the way it is. I am not going to be a prisoner in my own office.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/03/2014