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Mike Beebe

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Mike Beebe
Mike Beebe.jpg
Governor of Arkansas
Incumbent
In office
January 9, 2007 - Present
Term ends
January 13, 2015
Years in position 6
PartyDemocratic
PredecessorMike Huckabee (R)
Compensation
Base salary$87,352
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 2, 2010
First electedNovember 2006
Next electionIneligible due to term limits
Term limits2 terms
Prior offices
Arkansas State Senate
1983 - 2003
Attorney General of Arkansas
2003 - 2007
Education
Bachelor'sArkansas State University
J.D.University of Arkansas Law School
Personal
BirthdayDecember 28, 1946
Websites
Office website

Contents

Michael Dale Beebe (born December 28, 1946) is the Governor of Arkansas and a member of the Democratic Party. He was elected to his position as Governor of Arkansas on November 7, 2006 after having served a four-year term as Attorney General of Arkansas and earlier, as a member of the Arkansas State Senate for 20 years.[1]

Beebe is the 45th Governor of Arkansas.[1] He announced on January 19, 2010 that he would seek a second term as Governor of Arkansas, a race he won.

In a state that favored Republican presidential candidate John McCain over Barack Obama in 2008 by nearly 20 percentage points, Beebe has governed as a conservative Democrat. He was one of just three Democratic governors nationally who are regarded by the Congressional Quarterly Gubernatorial Race Tracker for 2010 as having a "Safe Democratic" seat.[2][3]

Biography

Governor Beebe was born in Amagon, a small town in Jackson County, Arkansas. He was reared by his mother, a waitress, and never met his father. As a child, Mike and his family moved often. They lived in Detroit, St. Louis, Chicago, Houston and Alamagordo, New Mexico. They returned to Arkansas, and he graduated from Newport High School in 1964.[4]

Beebe received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Arkansas State University in 1968, where he was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. He earned a law degree from the University of Arkansas in 1972. Beebe served in the U.S. Army Reserve.

He practiced law in Searcy in White County for ten years after his graduation from law school. In 1982, he was elected to the Arkansas State Senate, where he would serve for twenty years. In 2002, he was elected Arkansas attorney general.

Beebe and his wife, Ginger, have three children.

Political career

Governor of Arkansas (2007-Present)

Beebe was elected to his position as Governor of Arkansas on November 7, 2006.[5]

Human Heartbeat Protection Act veto

On January 28, 2013, Senator Jason Rapert introduced Senate Bill 134, the proposed "Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act." The bill, now Act 301, would require all pregnant women considering abortion to undergoing medical testing to determine if the fetus has a heartbeat and would ban abortions in pregnancies past 12 weeks where the fetus has a heartbeat. Act 301 includes exemptions for abortions carried "to preserve the life of the pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or when continuation of the pregnancy will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman," "due to the existence of a highly lethal fetal disorder as defined by the Arkansas State Medical Board," and in cases of rape and incest.[6] The House passed the bill in its final form 68-20 on February 23, and the Senate followed on February 28, with a vote of 26-8. Beebe vetoed SB 134 on March 4, asserting that "because it would impose a ban on a woman's right to choose an elective, nontherapeutic abortion well before viability, Senate Bill 134 blatantly contradicts the United States Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court."[7] More than the required simple majority voted to override his veto in each chamber, with the Senate doing so 20-14 on March 5 and the House 56-33 on March 6. The Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act became law on March 6 as Act 301.[8] When enacted, the ban on most abortions after a fetus reaches 12 weeks of age was the earliest in the country.[9] The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights announced that they would challenge the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act before it goes into effect 90 days after the legislature's adjournment.[10]

State budget

See also: Arkansas state budget

In January 2010, Beebe said he intended to cut the state's budget by $106 million, or 2.4%. The announcement came after the state's Department of Finance and Administration said that the state's revenues came in below forecast in the last quarter of 2009. At the same time, the state lowered its estimate of income in fiscal year 2011 by 0.4 percent, a reduction of $19.4 million from the forecast the government issued in December 2009. The 2010-2011 budget, which goes into effect on July 1, 2010, does not include cost-of-living increases for state employees.[11],[12]

Voter ID

On March 25, 2013, Beebe vetoed a Voter ID bill that required voters to show photo identification in order to vote. In his veto letter the governor stated he "believes that the bill will unnecessarily cost taxpayers money, grow bureaucracy and risk disenfranchisement of voters." The state Senate overrode the veto on March 27 and the House followed suit on April 1.[13]

Attorney General of Arkansas (2003-2007)

Beebe served a four-year term as Attorney General of Arkansas.[5]

Arkansas State Senate (1982-2002)

He also served as a member of the Arkansas State Senate for 20 years.[1]

A photography of Mike Beebe's January 9, 2007 inauguration.
Photo credit: David Quinn

Elections

2014

See also: Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2014

Beebe is ineligible to run for re-election as governor in 2014 due to term limits.

2010

See also: Arkansas gubernatorial election, 2010

In Jan. 2010, Beebe announced his plans to seek another term as governor in the 2010 elections.[2] The Republican Party of Arkansas indicated that it planned to field a conservative challenger.[14]

The gubernatorial election in Arkansas was one of 37 gubernatorial contests in 2010. Of those 37 seats, 19 were held by Democrats, including Arkansas, prior to the election.

The Congressional Quarterly Gubernatorial Race Tracker for 2010 ranked the Arkansas governor's seat as "Safe Democratic." It was one of just three (out of 38) seats that the organization assigned that rating as of January 2010, while they identified 2 seats as "Likely Democrat" and 8 as "Leans Democrat".[15]

2006


Mike Beebe talks about his background at a 2006 campaign stop

Beebe announced his candidacy for the 2006 gubernatorial election on June 15, 2005. The seat was open, since incumbent Republican governor Mike Huckabee was unable to run for a third term as governor due to the state's gubernatorial term limits.

Beebe bested Republican challenger Asa Hutchinson, a former Republican member of the U.S. Congress who also served as the country's Drug Enforcement Agency chief. Minor party candidates Rod Bryan (Independent) and Jim Lendall (Green) were also in the race.

In the 2006 contest, Beebe outspent his Republican opponent by a margin of nearly 2-1. Beebe spent $6,304,515, while his GOP challenger spent $3,247,567.[16]

2006 election for Governor of Arkansas [17]
Candidates Votes Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Mike Beebe (D) 430,765 55.61%
Asa Hutchinson (R) 315,040 40.67%
Rod Bryan (I) 15,767 2.04%
Jim Lendall (Green) 12,744 1.65%
Write Ins 334 0.05%
Total votes 774,680

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Mike Beebe's donors each year.[18] Click [show] for more information.


Awards

In October 2011, Governing Magazine named Beebe as one of nine "Public Officials of the Year" for his work in managing the Arkansas budget. He was the only governor among the honorees, who also included Utah Senator Dan Liljenquist.[19] Each year since 1994, Governing has selected a handful of state and local officials to honor for standout job performance. The Public Officials of the Year program, started in 1991, "recognizes leaders from state, city and county government who exemplify the ideals of public service."[20]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Mike + Beebe + Arkansas + Governor"

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Mike Beebe News Feed


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See also

External links

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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Governor of Arkansas "Governor" Accessed September 18, 2012
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 The City Wire, "Beebe to seek second term as Governor", January 19, 2010
  3. ↑ Congressional Quarterly Gubernatorial Race Tracker for 2010"
  4. ↑ ClarkCast 018, "Interview with Mike Beebe", July 24, 2006
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Office of Governor of Arkansas Mike Beebe Facebook Page "Info" Accessed September 26, 2012
  6. ↑ Text of Arkansas Act 301, formerly Senate Bill 134
  7. ↑ Andrew DeMillo, Associated Press, "Ark. Gov. Beebe Vetoes 12-Week Abortion Ban," March 4, 2013
  8. ↑ Bill status information for Arkansas Senate Bill 134, accessed March 11, 2013
  9. ↑ Suzi Parker, Reuters, "Arkansas bans abortion at 12 weeks, earliest in nation," March 6, 2013
  10. ↑ Erik Eckholm, The New York Times, "Arkansas Adopts a Ban on Abortions After 12 Weeks," March 6, 2013
  11. ↑ KATV, "Lawmakers Wrap Up Budget Hearings", January 21, 2010
  12. ↑ ABC News, "Gov. Beebe Agrees to Cut Arkansas Budget by $106M", January 11, 2010
  13. ↑ Yahoo! News, "Arkansas House votes to override veto of voter ID bill," April 1, 2013
  14. ↑ Arkansas News, "GOP chief says ‘conservative’ challenge to Beebe likely", January 19, 2010
  15. ↑ Congressional Quarterly Gubernatorial Race Tracker for 2010"
  16. ↑ Follow The Money, Governor of Arkansas, 2006
  17. ↑ 2006 General Election Results
  18. ↑ Follow the Money.org
  19. ↑ Ryan Holeywell, Governing Magazine, "The Steady Hand," October 2011
  20. ↑ Governing, "GOVERNING Announces 2012 Public Officials of the Year," October 19, 2012
Political offices
Preceded by
Mike Huckabee (R) 		Governor of Arkansas
2007–present 		Succeeded by
NA
Preceded by
Mark Pryor 		Arkansas Attorney General
2003–2007 		Succeeded by
Dustin McDaniel (D)
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