Bookout set to fill big shoes in Senate

JONESBORO — Paul Bookout was born more than 200 miles away in El Dorado, but he has no recollection of growing up anywhere but Jonesboro. He also doesn’t know anything about his parents, at least the ones that gave him life.

He’s never been the “least bit curious” to find out more.

The parents he knows and cares about are Jerry and Loretta Bookout.

“My sister and I, we were adopted,” Paul Bookout says. “I just thank the good Lord. I was blessed. I never had any desire to know [my biological parents] because I had wonderful Christian parents who raised me. I was fulfilled.”

Bookout, 48, a Democratic state senator from Jonesboro, will become the Senate president pro tempore for the state’s 2011 legislative session, which begins Jan. 10. He follows his father, who held the same position in 1991.

A portrait of Jerry Bookout hangs on the wall in the Senate hallway at the Capitol, and another one hangs on the wall of the family business, Langford-Bookout Funeral Home in Jonesboro.

Paul took after his father, working in the funeral home and being elected to the Legislature.

“He wasn’t just my dad,” Bookout says. “He was my best friend. We had an extremely close relationship. He was a huge influence on me, in so many positive ways.”

Jerry died in 2006, after a six-month battle with cancer. He was 72. The disease overtook him quickly. He had always been in good health and his death shocked and saddened many, not only in northeastern Arkansas but throughout the state’s political establishment.

“Jerry was a giant,” said Attorney General Dustin Mc-Daniel, who has known the Bookout family since he was a boy.

The elder Bookout served 34 years in the Legislature, including six in the House and 28 in the Senate. He was outspoken but a “gentleman” who knew how to be effective in the era before term limits, when “bulls” ran the Senate, McDaniel said.

To understand how Paul approaches his work in the Legislature, you have to understand his relationship with his father, said Randy Woodruff, a dentist in Jonesboro and a longtime hunting buddy of Paul.

“What drives Paul is to constantly make his dad proud,” Woodruff said. “That’s why he takes everything so seriously.Paul is the kind of guy who wears his legislative hat at all times. We’re calling the ducks and he’s on his BlackBerry.”

Bookout will replace Sen. Bob Johnson, D-Bigelow, as the symbolic head of the Senate. The position of Senate president pro tempore has no more power than other members of the Senate. But the holder of the title often helps organize the Senate and negotiates and steers legislation.

For more than decade, Johnson was a powerful figure at the Capitol, serving as House speaker before becoming head of the Senate. He shepherded numerous pieces of significant legislation. He wasn’t shy about expressing his opinions, which often generated criticism.

Bookout, although a Johnson ally, has a different personality and legislative resume.

Quick with a smile and handshake, Bookout shies away from public criticism of others. When asked his position on issues, he often says the different sides have good points. He talks of how each member of the Senate has equal standing and how he wants to build consensus.

He earned the nickname years ago of “Proper Paul,” according to Sen. Mary Anne Salmon, D-North Little Rock.

“He always dresses just right,” Salmon said. “He always says the right thing. He doesn’t take any chances. He’s easy to get along with. He’s not confrontational. He’s just Paul.”

During his 10 1/2 years in the Legislature, Bookout’s achievements include being the chairman of the House Insurance and Commerce Committee in 2003, being an advocate for Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, and being the lead sponsor of a bill in 2007 to send $36 million to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences for its cancer center.

Bookout hasn’t been out front on legislation that required much debate. The UAMS bill was an easy sell during a time the state had hundreds of millions of surplus dollars. It was pushed by Johnson, and every member of the Legislature signed on as co-sponsors.

Bookout says he doesn’t “get caught up” in politics.

“There can be a perception out there that I was not involved in a lot of controversial issues,” he said. “That’s awfully unfair. I just try to do things responsibly.”

He said he’s “extremely proud” of the UAMS money. Spending so much time at UAMS while his father underwent cancer treatment made him realize how important the facility is to families across the state, he said.

Paul Jeremy Bookout Jr. was born June 30, 1962, in El Dorado. He was adopted by the Bookouts as an infant. He doesn’t recall how he was told he was adopted, but he said it’s something he realized at an early age when his parents adopted a baby girl, Jill, who would become his sister.

In 1973, a tornado hit Jonesboro and did major damage throughout town, including to the Bookout house.

Driving through town on a recent day, he pointed out the house, since renovated, and the window to what used to be his room. He recalled walking into his parents’ room with his sister seconds before the tornado hit.

“The house exploded,” he said. “Mom and Dad threw us on the bed and covered us.”

He graduated from Jonesboro High School, and in 1985 from ASU with a degree in political science.

He worked for a couple of years at a cemetery-monument company his father ran before leaving to work for the funeral home, which was started by his mother’s family. His father had worked at the funeral home years earlier and later returned to work there until his death.

Loretta Bookout is a coowner of the funeral home. Paul is the funeral director.

“It’s a unique kind of business,” Paul Bookout said. “But you can get a good deal of satisfaction helping people when they are going through a difficult time.”

The business relocated to the western side of town in 2004 from a location downtown next to their church, First Baptist.

Paul has been married 26 years to the former Sherry Flanigan, a counselor at Jonesboro High. They met in the fourth grade and later dated off and on until getting serious in college. Paul transferred from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville after his freshman year to be closer to her.

They have two children, Morgan, 22, and Paul Jeremy III, 18, who goes by P.J.

Paul was elected to the House in 1998, the only year in which he was opposed, serving there for six years. He went to the Senate after a 2006 special election to replace his father.

Unlike many legislators who hunker down in Little Rock during legislative sessions, Paul would often drive home to Jonesboro in the evenings and drive back to Little Rock early in the morning. He said he didn’t want to miss games and other events his kids were in.

He says he’ll stay in Little Rock more this session because of his position. His colleagues chose him for the post in a race against Salmon and Sen. Ruth Whitaker, R-Cedarville.

The Senate will be different this year. An infusion of Republicans from the November election makes the ratio 20 Democrats to 15 Republicans. During the 2009 session, it was 27 Democrats to eight Republicans.

“We’re all equals,” Bookout said. “I’m ready for a bipartisan approach.”

He said he doesn’t have his own legislative agenda. He considers it his job to make sure other senators have their issues addressed.

His top lieutenant will be Sen. Robert Thompson, DParagould.

“Legislative leaderships is something that comes very naturally to Paul because of his personality and background,” Thompson said. “He cares about his fellow senators. He attends funerals. He sends cards. He makes phone calls.He remembers birthdays, all the little things.”

But Bookout will be without his closest adviser, his father.

“Jerry coached him on how to be a good legislator,” said Woodruff, the dentist. “When he lost his dad, he lost a friend and a mentor.”

Bookout says following his father, 20 years later, in the role of Senate president carries a “very special meaning.” He sits in the same seat that belonged to his father in the Senate chamber.

“Dad had some really good instincts,” he said. “You pick up on those things. You do a job to be proud of. I treat colleagues like Dad would expect me to. I miss him every day. I’d love to be able to talk to him about the position I’m getting ready to step into. He would have some things to tell me.”