LITTLE ROCK — Sharon Trusty on Friday submitted her resignation from the state Senate, effective Sept. 1. She cited family needs.
The Russellville Republican has been in the state Senate since November 2000 when she won a special election to replace Sen. Tom Kennedy, DRussellville, who resigned to accept a lobbying job with Entergy Corp.
Trusty was an ally of former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee and the late GOP Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller. Huckabee appointed her to the Economic Development Commission, and she was a legislative liaison for him in the 1999 session. She is chairman of a Senate panel that raised money for an artist to sculpt a bust of Rockefeller, who died in 2006.
Among her notable voteswas one she cast in 2004 for legislation to require the consolidation of school districts with fewer than 350 students. A member of the Senate's tax committee, shevoted last year for Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe's severancetax increase on natural gas to raise money for highways and this year voted against his tobacco-tax increase to help fund health-care programs.
Trusty said in her resignation letter to Beebe that "I am currently facing many personal considerations. I have a 94-yearold father and several grandchildren to whom I believe I should give additional time and energy."
She enjoyed serving with Beebe in the Senate from 2001-2003, the letter said. She said she appreciated "so much our time working together under your leadership as governor. I wish you the very best as you strive to meet the challenges presented to you as governor and stand ready to assist you in whatever way I can as a private citizen."
Beebe said Trusty "has always been amicable to work with, even when we have beenon opposite sides of an issue."
Huckabee said her "service was always to the people of her district first and foremost, not to the party, and she always served with clarity of conscience."
Senate President Pro Tempore Bob Johnson, D-Bigelow, said the Senate has "lost a real peacemaker."
"She was really someone thatdid not make irrational judgments. She wanted to know all the facts before she weighed in, and when she weighed in her word was her bond," Johnson said.
Trusty, 63, owns and manages rental properties and investments. She is married and has five adult children.
She acknowledged in a telephone interview that she had a tough time deciding whether to seek election last year to a fouryear term that goes through 2012, when she would be barred from seeking re-election under the state's term-limits amendment.
"The job keeps growing in responsibility," Trusty said. "With annual sessions [required under Amendment 86 approved by voters in November], the workload keeps increasing and I am facing the same considerations with aging parents."
It's best for both her family and her constituents for her to resign, she said.
"I am just very sad to be leaving, but sometimes you just know it is the right thing for everyone involved and this is one of those times," Trusty said.
She said she expects many candidates will seek the Senate seat in a special election. Former Rep. Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, "would be a very good choice for the people," Trusty said. "I will let him decide what he is going to do."
Lamoureux, a 33-year-old attorney, said he is interested in running for the seat but is not ready to make an announcement.
"Sharon is still in Houstontaking care of her daughter," he said. "I want to visit with her more and continue to talk to friends and families. I will make a decision pretty quickly."
Arkansas law mandates that all elections to fill this vacancy be completed within 150 days of Trusty's resignation, according to the governor's office. It appears that current members of the House will not be eligible: Article 5, Section 10 of the Arkansas Constitution says, "No Senator or Representative shall, during the term for which he shall have been elected, be appointed or elected to any civil office under this State."
Trusty said she's resigning Sept. 1 to make sure her district, District 4, is represented in the legislative session set to begin in February.
The district includes Yell County and parts of Logan and Pope counties.
The governor will ask the state committees of the respective political parties to determine whether their nominee for a special election will be chosen through a special primary election or through a convention of delegates. Then the parties have 10 days to report their decision in writing to the governor, who then will set the dates for the elections necessary to fill the seat.
State Republican Party Chairman Doyle Webb of Benton called Trusty "an exemplary public servant for the state of Arkansas and a tremendous representative for her district."
He said it's too early to know whether there will be a contested race for Trusty's seat.
Mariah Hatta, executive director of the Arkansas Democratic Party, declined to comment about possible Democratic candidates.
"Right now, our thoughts and prayers are with Sen. Trusty and her family," she said.
Trusty said she had been encouraged to run for the House of Representatives if her Senate service was ended in 2012 by the term-limits amendment.
"There is always that chance," she said. "I love my job and my district."
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 08/22/2009