Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday that he's starting a search for a successor for longtime Arkansas Parks and Tourism Department Executive Director Richard Davies, who is retiring later this year.
Davies, who started work for the department in 1973, has been the executive director since 1990, when then-Gov. Bill Clinton appointed him.
Asked whether he's considering state Rep. Kelley Linck, R-Flippin, or Department of Arkansas Heritage Director Stacy Hurst for the job, Hutchinson told reporters that "they certainly both would be top-notch," but it wasn't clear whether Linck would be eligible for the post.
In a written statement later Wednesday, Hutchinson's spokesman repeated that message.
"While the governor believes Rep. Linck would make an outstanding candidate, the Arkansas constitution prohibits him from holding this position at this time," said the spokesman, J.R. Davis.
The state constitution restricts the ability of state lawmakers to accept state jobs during their terms.
Linck announced this week that he wouldn't be running for re-election in 2016 and said he's looking for new opportunities. He is currently executive director of the Ozark mountain region's tourism marketing association. He said he'd like to succeed Davies but doesn't think the state constitution would allow him to take the post until after his term of office expires in January 2017.
Hurst on Wednesday declined to comment when asked whether she was interested in Davies' job.
She is a former member of the Little Rock Board of Directors who lost a state House race to Democrat Clarke Tucker in November. She and her husband, Howard Hurst, own and operate the Tipton & Hurst floral chain.
Hutchinson said he prefers to have someone from Arkansas, who has an understanding of the state's parks and its tourism industry, to succeed Davies.
He said there are a number of other employees in Davies' department who will be leaving soon.
"We've got to replace a lot of really senior executives in parks and tourism, and that's going to be a focus I'll have over the next month," Hutchinson said.
He said Davies has done "an extraordinary job leading the agency for a number of decades.
"He's made it one of the premier parks and tourism agencies in the United States," Hutchinson said.
"I am starting to interview and consider different options for a replacement," he said. "I am sure we will get somebody with a top quality.
"But what I want from them is to take a fresh look, to be creative [and] to look at how we can build on the great success that we already have in terms of not just tourism, but our parks and our heritage," he said. "So there is a lot I am going to charge the new leader to look at, including efficiencies and how can we can continue really to be successful in promoting tourism in our state parks in this state."
Hutchinson said he hasn't formally interviewed any candidates for the post, but "I have started identifying how I want to go about that search."
Metro on 09/17/2015