LITTLE ROCK — Catherine Johnson of Little Rock is the newest member of the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
Gov. Mike Beebe appointed Johnson, who attended her first commission meeting on Friday, to the five-member commission on April 5 to a term ending Dec. 31, 2011, said Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample.
She replaces Ted Dickey of Little Rock, appointed in 2002 by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The commission regulates the conduct of lobbyists and governmental officials.
DeCample said the governor appointed Johnson because she is well-respected for her work with nonprofit and volunteer groups.
"The governor thought she would be a voice on the commission to represent Arkansans well," he said.
Under state law, this appointee had to be someone whovoted in the Republican Party's primary election in the last two primaries in which the appointee voted, DeCample said.
Johnson's husband, Mark Johnson, works as a consultant for AARP Arkansas, DeCample said.
He's the son of former state Supreme Court Justice Jim Johnson of Conway.
Johnson told the commission that she's originally from Indiana and came to Arkansas in 1980 after she met her husband in Washington, D.C., where he worked for then-U.S. Rep. Wilbur Mills and where the couple lived for about six years.
She said she is a professional fundraiser. She is 52.
The commission comprises five members, appointed one each by the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, House speaker and Senate president pro tempore under state law.
The terms for the commissioners last five years.
The appointing officials "shall ensure that at least one (1) member of a minority race, one (1) woman, and one (member) of the minority political party .... serves on the commission" under state law.
Johnson is Beebe's second appointee on the commission.
As the state's attorney general in 2004, he appointed minister and retired businessman Larry Ross of Sherwood.
The other three commissioners are Joe Ball of Hot Springs, Elaine Black of Mount Ida and Stuart Vess of Scott.
A year ago, the commission issued a public letter of caution to Beebe in response to an ethics complaint accusing the Democratic candidate for governor of using a state computer to edit a campaign speech.
The sanction came several months after Beebe acknowledged his mistake in having a volunteer make changes in a political speech by using a state computer after hours.
Arkansas, Pages 20 on 04/22/2007