Is the Senate Being Mean to Former Gov. Hutchinson?
The Arkansas Senate blocked some of former Governor Asa Hutchinson’s appointments. The response by some has been, “How dare they treat Hutchinson so badly.” Of course, those who are upset tend to be liberal media pundits and big government types.
Let’s get real about this. There is nothing to complain about. First, it is the Senate’s right and duty to weigh whether each nominee should or should not be confirmed. Second, the appointments we are talking about are basically last minute favors Asa was doing for friends and supporters. Third, such late in the year appointments can also be characterized as an effort to deny the next executive the opportunity to fill the vacancies, in this case the executive being Governor Sarah Sanders.
Yes, these were late in the year appointments. Governor Hutchinson had an opportunity to make nominations and have them confirmed by the Senate in mid-August when the General Assembly was meeting in the Third Extraordinary Session. That means Hutchinson had an opportunity to make nominations and have them confirmed only about a month and a half before the November election at which Sarah Sanders was elected governor. For vacancies occurring after mid-August, there is no real reason for a lame duck Governor to make such appointments when the appointments can’t be confirmed until the next legislature meets and by then there is a new governor.
Despite what critics of the Senate want you to believe, the Senate has confirmed many of Hutchinson’s appointees. It has been reported over 100 of Hutchinson’s appointees have been confirmed.
Senators do not necessarily share all their reasons for voting against a nominee. In the case of Governor Hutchinson’s nomination of his aid, Doug Smith, to the plum position of Parole Board member, we wonder if perhaps Smith was too much of a lightning rod.
Smith is known for his highly publicized strong-arm tactics against the Mississippi County Republican Committee. If such tactics were used on other issues, Senators may not have felt he would be a good fit for a well-functioning Parole Board.
Some Republicans in Mississippi County will remind you of Smith’s efforts to try intimidating them into disinviting Jan Morgan from being a speaker at their meeting. At the time Morgan was either considering running against Hutchinson for governor or had announced her candidacy for the 2018 Republican nomination. When the committee said it couldn’t disinvite Morgan, Smith also copied his complaint to the owner of the venue where the event was to be held, seemingly in an attempt to get the owner to pressure the committee to dump Morgan as a speaker or perhaps block use of the venue.
We are not suggesting the upset feelings among Republican county members and other committee chairs is the reason Smith’s appointment was blocked. But, we are saying strong arm tactics on various issues could be of concern to Senators.
We think the Senate has bent over backward to confirm so many of a lame duck Governor’s appointees. The Senate is doing its job.
