Hutchinson appoints 5 to mansion's panel

Gov. Asa Hutchinson solidified control of the Governor's Mansion Commission with five appointments on Friday.

A bill passed in a May special session changed the commission's functions, in part by removing some duties, and specified that members served at the will of the governor. Recent news articles addressed maintenance and repair problems at the mansion, as well as disagreements that the first lady had with the commission.

"Because of Act 3 there was some restructuring, so the governor had to reappoint mansion commissioners," said J.R. Davis, a Hutchinson spokesman. "The governor reappointed every former commissioner that reapplied and then of course filled the rest of the positions with new commissioners."

[See full list of all governor’s appointments here.]

Davis provided a letter, dated May 26, thanking commissioners for their work and asking them to complete an appointment application, due June 6, if they wanted to continue their service.

Commissioners Kaki Hockersmith, Debi Havner and Penny Thomason and Commission Chairman Michael Mayton were replaced. Their spots were taken by Woody Freeman, Sally Kibler, Dinah Arnold and Barbara Phillips. Patricia Johnson was also newly appointed to the commission, but she is not listed as replacing anyone.

Shayla Copas, Joe Dan Yee and Charlene Reed remain on the panel.

The Governor's Mansion Commission is now composed of nine members instead of eight. Because of the legislation, Arkansas Department of Heritage Director Stacy Hurst went from a nonvoting ex-officio member to a full voting member of the commission.

During the special session in May, lawmakers approved a 105-page so-called efficiency bill that made changes to a number of state committees, boards and agencies, including the Governor's Mansion Commission. As a result, Hutchinson is now able to remove members of the commission at will.

On May 20, Asa Hutchinson told reporters that he would have to review the legislation changing the Governor's Mansion Commission to recall why the law was being changed. He has said the bill was "legislatively driven." There weren't problems with individual commissioners, he said.

However, first lady Susan Hutchinson demanded final approval and sometimes sole say in decorating choices at the mansion -- despite the commission that was tasked by law with overseeing the process. In emails last summer, sometimes punctuated by words in all capital letters, she found fault with decorating choices and work done in her taxpayer-owned home.

Davis has said a change was warranted because of a rat infestation, structural problems and deferred maintenance at the mansion. The commission had also failed to promulgate rules, he said. Though the rats are dead, the faint smell of their urine could be detected in the governor's private office at the mansion by a reporter on a tour last month.

It has been suitable for Hurst -- who also serves as director of florist Tipton & Hurst -- to make a profit in her dealings with the mansion's fundraising association because she was a nonvoting member, according to emails released under the state Freedom of Information Act.

Copas and Hockersmith -- both professional designers -- were not allowed a profit.

Under the new law, the commission will no longer make rules and regulations pertaining to repairs, improvements and decorations at the mansion. The legislation also gives the governor the sole authority to accept grants, gifts and donations to the mansion. Previously, both the governor and commission had to approve them.

Davis said late Friday that he didn't have details on the new appointees, but said the governor knows most of them. Freeman is a Jonesboro businessman who donated to Hutchinson's 1996 congressional campaign and who was the Republican challenger to Gov. Bill Clinton in the 1984 general election.

"We're going to move forward," Davis said. "Just like any other commission."

Metro on 06/11/2016

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