House votes GOP’s Gillam as speaker-designate

The state House of Representatives on Wednesday elected Rep. Jeremy Gillam as speaker-designate for 2015-16, giving the Judsonia Republican a lopsided first-ballot victory.

Gillam topped three other candidates, receiving 57 votes. Lawmakers will formally elect a speaker after the November elections.

Gillam told reporters after the vote that he had asked for support from both Democrats and Republicans. The House is made up of 51 Republicans, 48 Democrats and one Green Party representative.

“The way I looked at it is I was reaching out to my colleagues regardless of what caucus that they were a part of, and I was trying to appeal to a shared vision of how we were going to operate and move forward,” Gillam said.

All four of the candidates mentioned a need for consensus in the coming session.

The three other candidates split the remaining votes. Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, received 21, Rep. Fredrick Love, D-Little Rock, had 15 and Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, netted five, House spokesman Cecillea Pond-Mayo said.

The vote was by secret ballot, so the roll call was not released.

Gillam, 37, is a farmer who serves as chairman of the Arkansas Health Insurance Marketplace Legislative Oversight Committee, the House Judiciary Courts and Civil Law Subcommittee and the House Management Committee.

Gillam said House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, “left some big shoes to fill” and he thanked his colleagues for choosing him.

“The show of support and confidence that they showed today was definitely very humbling. I’m very proud to start to work now with the members in planning and moving forward to the 90th General Assembly. I think we’re going to be able to do some great things together,” Gillam said after Wednesday’s vote.

Gillam, who is running unopposed for a third term, said if Republicans keep control of the House in November,he expects the membership to “rally behind [him]” and make him speaker.

In November, 51 House candidates will be unopposed including 27 Republicans and 24 Democrats. The remaining 49 seats include 25 held by Republicans, 23 held by Democrats and one by a Green Party member, who will run as a Democrat.

“As we’re planning and moving forward, we’re going to do so in a way that we’re incorporating members of the Democratic caucus. So if [Democrats take control] … the transition would be able to be handled very smoothly and responsibly, which I think is what the citizens of Arkansas expect of us,” Gillam said.

Carter praised Gillam, saying he had “all the confidence in the world that he’ll do a great job.”

“I was very proud of all four of the candidates for speaker-designate. I think they all did a very good job in their speeches and they all should be commended,” Carter said.

Carter said he did not expect anyone besides Gillam to be selected in November.

In early 2012, the Democratic-led House elected Darrin Williams, D-Little Rock, as speaker-designate over Terry Rice, R-Waldron. But when control shifted to the Republicans after the elections, a coalition of Republicans and Democrats joined to elect Carter as the next speaker.

“That was just a one-time deal. Whether that repeats itself, it’s only speculation,” Carter said.

Gillam said he expects more debates over health care in the coming session and that the “private option” will again be a key issue.

“I think right now our focus needs to be on monitoring the implementation of the program as we continue to move forward … seeing what’s working, what’s not working,” Gillam said.

“Making sure that the members are well-informed of what we’re seeing data-wise coming out of it and making sure that we’re all on board moving into the next session on what needs to be done” will be a priority, he said, adding, “I’m confident we’re going to be able to do that.”

Gillam said he would likely select members for committee chairmanships as Carter had, based on the proportion of Republicans and Democrats in the House and who selects what committee.But he said it was too early to tell exactly how he would differ from Carter as speaker.

“We have similar styles in our demeanor, but obviously we have different skill sets and different life experiences, so there obviously will be some differences in our approaches, but we”ll see how those bear out in the coming months,” Gillam said.

In other business, the House Republican Caucus selected Rep. Ken Bragg of Sheridan as the party’s majority leader. Bragg is serving his first term in the House and is facing Libertarian Wayne Willems for his seat in November.