A group of Republican officials summoned by Lt. Gov. Mark Darr to a meeting in Northwest Arkansas last weekend warned him that the House would try to impeach him if he didn’t resign, and tried to determine whether Darr’s family is prepared for a battle in the House and a possible trial in the state Senate, one of the participants says.

Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said the Republican leaders also prayed for Darrand his family to make “the right choice” about whether to resign or remain lieutenant governor.

Those Republicans were acting as Darr’s friends, Hester said. Two other state senators and a state Republican Party officer also confirmed Wednesday that they met with Darr, and they didn’t dispute Hester’s account of the meeting.

During the private gathering, Darr, a Springdale Republican, laid out his position for continuing in office, according to Hester. The Republican group’s members didn’t say whether Darr should tender his resignation after Darr agreed to pay an $11,000 fine to the Arkansas Ethics Commission for 11 violations of state ethics laws and violations, Hester said.

In a post Saturday, the Facebook page of Darr’s wife, Kim Darr, says, “So thankful for the 6 Godly men and women political leaders who prayed with our family today … put the wind back in our sails .. God has a perfect timing!”

Darr announced Tuesday that he won’t resign his $41,896-a-year job, saying the public still trusts him despite the ethics violations. A few hours later, House Republican leader Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs said it’s inevitable that a majority of the 100-member House will impeach Darr unless he resigns beforehand.

Sens. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home, and Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, state House candidate Robin Lundstrum of Elm Springs, who is the second vice chairman of the state Republican Party, confirmed Wednesday that they attended the meeting with the Darrs, but they declined to say who else was present.

Darr could not be reached for comment on his cellphone Wednesday. After the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette asked for an interview with the lieutenant governor about the post on Kim Darr’s Facebook page, Mark Darr’s director of governmental affairs, Josh Curtis, replied in an email that “The Lieutenant Governor will not be doing any interviews today.”

Earlier in the day, Darr told Little Rock radio station KHTE-FM, 96.5, that he doesn’t hear people “coming forward in droves and picketing in Sheridan, or Hot Springs Village or anywhere else demanding for my head.”

Asked by Republican political consultant Alice Stewart on her radio show about discussions among House Republicans about possible impeachment proceeding, Darr said, “I asked the people of Arkansas for forgiveness, and it would be wrong of me to ask for forgiveness if I am not willing to forgive those people.

“As long as I feel that we handle it as a family, then we’re in it,” he said. He and his wife have two children.

About a dozen state lawmakers Wednesday said that they didn’t want to discuss Darr’s decision to stay in office, while several others privately said they were bewildered by Darr’s refusal to resign.

Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe, the state’s congressional delegation, various state legislators, and several Democratic and Republican candidates for statewide offices had urged him to step down.

The state Ethics Commission issued Darr a public letter of reprimand last week and fined him $11,000 for the violations, which included improperly using more than $31,000 in campaign funds, using a state-issued credit card for more than $3,500 in personal purchases 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 inaccurate campaign-finance reports for the violations.

Last month, auditors for the Legislative Audit Division reported that Darr received $9,298 in improper mileage reimbursements for more than 22,000 personal vehicle miles and made personal purchases on a state-issued credit card of more than $2,500. They recommended that Darr reimburse the state $9,836 for excess travel reimbursements and expenses. Darr said he plans to reimburse the state soon.

While Darr might have boosted his public standing by addressing his ethical and legal problems this week, “I haven’t heard of any tides turning among legislators on his behalf,” Hester acknowledged.

A few hours later, state Rep. Ann Clemmer of Benton, a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District seat, became the latest Republican lawmaker to call for Darr’s resignation.

Last week, Rep. Andy Mayberry, R-East End, and Debra Hobbs, R-Rogers, suggested that Darr leave his post. Mayberry is seeking his party’s nomination for lieutenant governor, while Hobbs is vying for her party’s nomination for governor.

Clemmer said Wednesday afternoon that Darr “is in a very tough situation, and I don’t see how it ends well for him.

“Given that, I think it would be best if he’d step aside,” she said. “If the process goes forward, it is going to result in impeachment. I am not giving away a vote. You can look at numbers and just say that the odds of there being 51 votes are pretty good.”

The House consists of 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats and one Green Party member.

“I don’t like making a prediction on any kind of impeachment because I don’t think very many of us have seen all the evidence. But I am just saying I wouldn’t want to play those odds,” Clemmer said.

She noted that she tweeted Tuesday “Who will play Sen. Howard Baker in this drama?” because Baker, R-Tenn., “went to [then-President] Richard Nixon and said, ‘This isn’t going to end well for you, you should step down.’”

Sen. Larry Teague, D-Nashville, said, “I don’t think it makes sense for [Darr] to force us into impeachment.

“He is the lieutenant governor, and he gets to decide what to do,” he said.

But “I don’t like the thought of impeaching him. If he doesn’t resign, we’ll end up there or at least have some proceeding,” said Teague, co-chairman of the Joint Budget Committee.

If the House votes to impeach Darr, the Senate would hold a trial. It would require 24 votes in the 35-member Senate to convict Darr. The Senate has 21 Republicans and 13 Democrats. One seat is vacant, and Craighead County voters head to the polls Tuesday in a special election to fill that vacancy.

Senate President Pro Tempore Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, said some lawmakers have asked “what’s the downside for Darr,” but “the downside is he may have to pay for all of this.”

Under state law, Darr could be billed for roughly $50,000 to cover the cost of per-diem expenses and mileage for lawmakers for impeachment proceedings if he’s convicted, according to Lamoureux.

Lamoureux said he has told House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, that he doesn’t believe it would be a good idea for the Senate to have a trial during the Legislature’s fiscal session, which starts Feb. 10.

“We could save the state $50,000 in per diem [by holding the Senate trial during the fiscal session] and cost the state a lot of money in lost revenue if we don’t get the policy right [in the fiscal session],” Lamoureux said.

Carter said he prefers that the House not hold impeachment proceedings during the fiscal session, and it probably will be difficult for the House to hold them beforehand.

Key said he made sure Wednesday that Darr’s chief of staff, Bruce Campbell, knew about the state law that makes Darr liable for the cost if lawmakers are forced to remove him from office.

Curtis said Darr was made aware of that provision of state law “recently.”

Darr said Tuesday that he’s not remaining in office simply to keep his state salary, adding that he works part time for a pizzeria that he formerly owned.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 01/09/2014