Gov. Beebe Expected to Ask Darr to Resign

According to a report by the Associated Press, a longtime spokesman for Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said he expects the governor to ask former Springdale resident and current Lt. Gov. Mark Darr to resign now that Darr has signed a settlement letter to pay $11,000 in fines to address complaints against him.

The spokesman, Matt DeCample, said Monday he expects Beebe to request Darr’s resignation. Beebe was prepared to ask a state senator to step down in a separate ethics case last spring.

The Arkansas Ethics Commission released a letter Monday offering Darr a settlement to claims that he misspent campaign funds and failed to keep complete records.

The commission proposed $1,000 fines for each of 11 violations and said that, by signing, Darr agreed with the findings.

The lieutenant governor is a Republican and makes $41,896 a year, according to the Associated Press. He has 30 days to pay the fine.

The settlement is the latest chapter in a tumultuous few months for Darr.

On Aug. 29, he dropped out of the race for U.S. Congress after reports surfaced of his campaign expenditures.

The campaign exit came just 17 days after Darr announced he would move from Springdale to his hometown of Mena to fulfill the residential requirement of running for the Republican nomination to represent the 4th Congressional District.

Darr, in his first run for public office of any kind, was narrowly elected the state’s lieutenant governor in November 2010.