Respect apparent as Beebe checks in Legislators ready to work with him
BYLINE: BY SETH BLOMELEY ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
In Gov.-elect Mike Beebe, Arkansans have chosen a highly involved chief executive who isn't above sorting through stacks of budget manuals himself to find solutions to problems.
Detail work is what he's done for 24 years as a legislator and attorney general.
But he's never been a bookish policy wonk. Come January, chances are fair that visitors to the state Capitol could happen upon him roaming the hallways, smiling and yukking it up with legislators, telling old stories, listening to their concerns and lobbying them about his positions.
"I'm me," Beebe said. "I can't change who I am." During his first news conference as governor-elect last week, Beebe exhibited postelection euphoria as he shook hands and slapped backs of legislators. He even hugged members of the news media.
Afterward, Beebe, joined by an aide, slipped away from the 200 or so people gathered at the steps of the Capitol. He walked briskly up the stairs to the secondfloor entrance, through the bronze doors, and up to the third floor to visit his old haunt, the state Senate.
He wanted to say hello to his old pal Bill Goodman, the Senate chief of staff who for years was a partner in working on state budgets.
But Goodman wasn't there.
He then asked for Secretary of the Senate Ann Cornwell. But she was gone too.
What's a governor-elect to do?
But soon-to-be heads-ofstate are never short of hands to shake and he found some as he left the Capitol.
Beebe, a Democrat, was elected governor on Tuesday by a margin of 55 percent to 41 percent over Republican Asa Hutchinson, and will be sworn in Jan. 9.
He was received warmly at his news conference by Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
He also shared thoughts on how he would conduct business at the Capitol.
"They'll tell you in the attorney general's office I'm a paradox," Beebe said. "There are some things I micro-manage and there are some things that I totally delegate. I guess it depends on the people involved and my confidence in those folks and my thoughts on whether I have expertise in the field. You'll see times when I'm very detailed." Such as?
"Dealing with legislators," Beebe said. "I want to be involved in education and economic development. But I recognize that you can't do it all. Time dictates that you have to delegate and trust people." He then talked about a management strategy he picked up at an attorney generals conference before uttering a line that probably wouldn't have been considered for any campaign commercial: "I expect that at times I'll stick my nose into places that are a little bit unusual." Beebe, a trial lawyer by trade, is known for speaking quickly on policy details and often going back to add context and history of whatever subject he's talking about. Unlike the departing Gov. Mike Huckabee, he isn't known for one-liners and doesn't stick to broad themes and talking points in speeches.
Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, generally stayed in his second-floor office during legislative sessions, rarely mingling with legislators.
In contrast, former Gov. Bill Clinton would wander the hallways to lobby legislators.
"I expect I'll be a little more like Clinton," Beebe said. "I don't know how much I'll wander the hallways, but I like members of the General Assembly. They're good friends of mine. I'm a product of the Legislature so I understand them and some of the nuances of the way they think.
"But I'm that kind of [outgoing] person anyway. Heck, I even hugged you when I came up here," he told a reporter.
Beebe emphasized he wants a "true partnership" with the Legislature, regardless of party. He declined to speculate on why Democrats did so well this election year and why Republicans did so poorly, except to say that Democrats had the better candidates. But he said that laughing.
"We need to bring people together," Beebe said. "If I'm going to say that in a campaign, I need to live it." Legislators said they appreciate and respect Beebe and look forward to working with him.
"I'm very encouraged," said Rep. Gregg Reep, D-Warren. "I think he's really going to communicate with us. I'll be honest with you. That hasn't been happening in the two years I've been here, not from that office [Huckabee's]. I don't mean that to be overly critical. I'm just stating a fact. I think that's going to change. [Beebe is] going to take a lead and be willing to talk to us." With term limits, most legislators at the Capitol, including Reep, didn't serve with Beebe, whose last year in the Senate was 2002. But Reep said newer legislators know Beebe's reputation and are willing to work with him.
Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, chairman of the state GOP, has no criticism for Beebe.
"I think the governor-elect is off to a great start, in his tone and tenor," Baker said. "I've been thrilled. I look forward to working with him. The point he makes is right on: `The campaign is over. It's time to govern.' I believe he means it. He's no stranger to the political process. There is give and take at this Capitol. I believe he'll reach out across party lines, across economic lines, to do the best he can as governor." Sen. Percy Malone, D-Arkadelphia, said he's looking forward to having a detail-oriented governor at the Capitol. Huckabee has acknowledged being a manager with broad ideas but delegates most of the detail work.
"I expect Gov. Beebe, when he has a proposal, to give us the details, and we can work with him," he said. "If we don't agree with him, at least we can know what his proposal is." Danny Knight, the superintendent of the Watson Chapel School District who often attends education meetings at the Capitol, said Huckabee too often publicly blamed school problems on administrators, and he expects Beebe won't do that.
"I'm hoping there's a different attitude at the Capitol now," Knight said. "I think it's going to change." Huckabee's been governor for 10 1/2 years. For many state employees, he's the only state chief executive they've worked for. For younger Arkansans and many transplants to the state, Huckabee is the only governor they've known.
How will Arkansas be different under a Beebe administration?
Beebe said he'll leave that to others to analyze.
He's never exhibited a particular ideology, either in the Legislature or in the campaign.
But he said he's always tried to help improve higher education institutions and worked to ensure that public school funding met mandates from the state Supreme Court.
He said he doesn't want to "back up one iota" on education standards, an issue in the governor's race. Hutchinson contended Beebe was being too rigid for small rural schools.
Beebe wants to expand preschool and enlarge the homestead property tax exemption for homeowners.
He wants to bring more jobs to Arkansas by creating a "quick action closing fund" for the governor to use for incentives to attract industry to the state.
He's also pledged to phase out the state sales tax on groceries but hasn't offered a definitive timeline on doing that. "I can propose all I want to propose, but we have to make sure that the House and Senate will be supportive of these ideas," Beebe said. "We'll probably drink lots of cups of coffee with members of the General Assembly." Regarding the General Improvement Fund, from which legislators have funded hundreds of projects in their districts, Beebe said he'd rather use the money for state needs. "I'll tell you in front of my colleagues in the General Assembly that I believe the bulk should be spent in two major areas: higher education and economic development," he said.
"But I'm also realistic that sometimes you don't get everything you want." Beebe began his news conference with a story about an 8-year-old girl whose mother e-mailed him four days before the election. The e-mail tells of how the girl taped pieces of paper together, each with one big letter to spell out "Vote for Mike Beebe." He said he couldn't read it because he would "get choked up." The end of the election season was tough on Beebe. His son-in-in-law last month died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at a Searcy hotel. The man had been abusing and threatening Beebe's daughter, according to police reports.
Beebe devoted countless hours to the campaign. It wore him out, he said.
He said Huckabee invited him to meet at the Capitol last Wednesday, the day after the election, to talk about the transition.
But Beebe said he had to decline.
"Frankly, ... I got about three hours sleep that night, I probably wouldn't have remembered much," Beebe said.
He said Huckabee has been "very gracious" in offering to make the transition as easy as possible.
Beebe said he'll keep some department heads from Huckabee's administration and won't keep others but gave no examples.
He's announced one appointment: His chief of staff will be Morril Harriman, an old buddy from the Senate.
Harriman was a longtime Democratic legislator from Van Buren before he became a lobbyist for the Arkansas Poultry Federation.
Beebe said the poultry industry will have no special access to his administration because Harriman won't deal with them. Those issues will be left to others on his staff.
The lieutenant governorelect, Bill Halter of North Little Rock, flirted with the prospect of challenging Beebe in the Democratic primary for governor.
Beebe said he expects to have a good relationship with Halter and that helping with economic development would be a "good role" for Halter and is something Halter has said he wants to do.
"We have a wonderful opportunity in this state," Beebe said. "We have some things afforded us that are really extraordinary in terms of our economic situation and the talent level in state government and the talent that needs to be brought in. We can't squander this chance. We owe to the people that sent us here to buckle down and do as much as we possibly can do." Information for this article was contributed by Laura Kellams of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
This article was published 11/12/2006