ROGERS -- Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson promised Northwest Arkansas will receive its fair share of political appointments in his administration, something he said it lacked in the past.
"I'd say the governor-elect's assessment is fair, and I'm looking forward to having more Northwest Arkansas folks on state boards, commissions and other government bodies," said state Rep. Greg Leding of Fayetteville, a Democrat who campaigned for Hutchinson's opponent, former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross.
Hutchinson made his remarks at a Red, White and BBQ event at the Embassy Suites in Rogers on Monday, the first of a series of celebrations leading up to his inauguration at the state Capitol on Jan. 13. He and his wife, Susan, hosted the capacity crowd of more than 275 people.
"We had this idea of not just having an inauguration in Little Rock, but that it should be all over the state," Hutchinson told the crowd. He has similar events planned for Fort Smith, Jonesboro and El Dorado.
Jim Von Gremp of Rogers will be reappointed to the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees and Philip Taldo of Springdale will be named to the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Hutchinson announced to the crowd. Neff Basore of Bella Vista also will be named to the Arkansas State Police Commission, Hutchinson said in his remarks.
Hutchinson will be the first governor from Benton County since James Henderson Berry won election to the office in 1882 as a Democrat. Berry did not move to Benton County until he joined his brother-in-law to open a law practice there at the age of 28, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. Hutchinson was born in Benton County and graduated from Springdale High School.
"What's really gratifying is to see classmates here from Springdale High School -- some of them very liberal -- and good friends from Gravette and Bentonville," Hutchinson said in an interview before his remarks.
One reason he started his pre-inauguration stops in Rogers was because he believed he owed it to the region where he got his start in politics, Hutchinson said. A former U.S. representative for the region, Hutchinson became active in state GOP politics in the 1970s, when Arkansas was a strongly one-party Democratic state. His election as governor is due to the work to make Arkansas a two-party state that first caught a firm hold in Northwest Arkansas, he said. "What we've done together in the political trenches is what made this possible. Thank you," he said.
It will be very good for the region to have a governor that comes from this corner of the state, said several attendees. "It will be good for everybody, because he's going to be energized by the pride of the people of Northwest Arkansas that he's been elected," said Mayor Bob McCaslin of Bentonville.
The governor-elect will bring more than an openness to appoint people from around the state, Von Gremp said. He will also bring an openness to listening to new ideas. Von Gremp and the governor-elect share a vision of getting more Arkansans to graduate from college and also that more earn technical degrees.
Tim Summers of Bentonville was formerly a Democratic member of the Benton County Quorum Court who later won election to the state House of Representatives as a Republican. "Asa Hutchinson's character and potential will benefit the whole state, including Benton County," Summers said.
Lance Johnson of Springdale, Washington County chairman of the Republican Party, said he was gratified by Hutchinson's election, the appointments and the policies the governor-elect has advocated so far. "I like everything I've heard and seen," Johnson said.
State Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said he believes Hutchinson's background from Northwest Arkansas, a thriving part of the state, will help him know what policies to follow in the rest of the state.
Commentary on 01/06/2015