Gov. Mike Beebe said he’s not taking sides in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, although one of his staff members is working part time as a fundraising consultant for gubernatorial candidate and former U.S. Rep. Mike Ross.
“Of course not,” Beebe, a Democrat, said in a recent interview. “People are free to work for or support anybody they want to support as long as it is not on my time.”
Former Lt. Gov. Bill Halter of North Little Rock and Ross of Prescott have said they intend to seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014. Beebe, who has been governor since 2007, is barred from seeking re-election under the state’s term-limits amendment.
Beebe’s director of appointments for boards and commissions, Mica Strother, started working on a half-time basis rather than full time for the governor on Oct. 28 for an annual salary of $41,750 - half her regular salary - said Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample.
Strother directed fundraising for Beebe’s 2010 re-election campaign as the finance director while on a leave of absence from the governor’s office from Jan. 24 to Nov. 16 that year. She has worked for Beebe in the governor’s and attorney general’s offices and his campaigns.
Strother filed papers on Oct. 31 incorporating Strother Strategies, according to records in the secretary of state’s office.
Ross’ campaign has contracted with Strother Strategies since mid-April to consult with Ross’ fundraising staff when needed, said Ross spokesman Brad Howard. He said Dustin Smith, deputy campaign director for finance who has worked for Ross for many years, manages Ross’ fundraising efforts.
Strother Strategies also has been working as a consultant for Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor’s re-election campaign since last fall.
Asked whether Halter has any problem with Strother working part time for Ross while she also works part time for the governor, Halter spokesman Bud Jackson replied Thursday that, “This is the first we have learned about this, and since we are not familiar with the details we are going to decline to comment until more light is shed on the issue.”
In 2006, Halter briefly challenged Beebe for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination before he decided to run for lieutenant governor instead.
Beebe explained that Strother told him a year ago that “she was going to go to half time and work for Mark Pryor half time, so her working for Ross is something that was never contemplated or talked about because she was already taking down to half time anyway based on [her work for] Pryor.”
Beebe said he’s allowed Strother to work part time for the governor’s office in the mornings since last fall “and whoever she wants to work for other than that is her business, not mine.”
Asked whether he would let other governor’s office employees work part time so that they can take jobs with 2014 gubernatorial candidates, Beebe said he would make those decisions on a case-by-case basis, after considering the workers’ duties in the governor’s office and whether they can perform them on a part-time basis.
Ross announced his bid for governor on April 17, about 11months after he initially said he wouldn’t enter the race and nearly three months after Democratic Attorney General Dustin McDaniel withdrew from the race. McDaniel ended his campaign a few weeks after disclosing having an inappropriate relationship with a Hot Springs attorney.
Strother Strategies is a fundraising consultant for Pryor’s re-election campaign, Pryor campaign manager Jeff Weaver said Friday.
“As is normal in the business world, Strother Strategies has a staff that handles multiple clients.”
Pryor’s campaign paid Strother Strategies $10,000 on Nov. 1, $10,000 on Dec. 1, $11,000 on Jan. 3, $11,000 on Feb. 1 and $11,000 on March 1, as well as $530 on Feb. 6, according to the Federal Election Commission’s website. It also reported paying Mica Strother $438 on July 18 and $633 on Dec. 5 for travel-expense reimbursement.
While Strother is working for Ross, some key labor leaders are rallying behind Halter.
This week, the Arkansas AFL-CIO executive board recommended that at the union’s state convention next April, the union endorse Halter for governor, said Arkansas AFL CIO President Alan Hughes. The state convention generally follows the recommendation of the executive board, he said.
The federation’s executive board is made of 25 members, and 18 or 19 members attended Tuesday’s meeting at which the recommendation to endorse Halter was made, Hughes said. He said the board’s vote was not unanimous, but he declined to disclose the vote totals.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 05/18/2013