Lt. Governor Darr Plans To Resign On Feb. 1 (UPDATED)

Lt. Governor Mark Darr (R) announced Friday evening that he will resign from office on Feb. 1, 2014.

In a statement released at 6:30 pm, Darr said:

It is my great honor to be the Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. This office has allowed me to meet so many wonderful Arkansans over the past few years. My family and I are forever grateful for the support the people of this great state have shown us for the past few years and during this extremely difficult time. We have learned that difficult days demand decisions of faith.

Throughout this process, it has been my desire to share the facts, and I feel this has been accomplished. I have been honest, forthright and acted with integrity. I made mistakes, but not omen with malicious intent.

Effective 2/1/14 I will resign as Lieutenant Governor and I submit that resignation to the people of Arkansas, not an elected official. I have spoken with Speaker Carter and Senate Pro-Tempore Lamoureux to notify them of this decision. They agree with me it is in the best interest for me, my family and the state at this point. I respect these two men for their concern: not just for the state but for me and my family.

Politics can be a toxic business. I will no longer subject my family to its hard lessons. All my forgiveness to those who play the games and all my respect and appreciation to those who serve with class and humility.

Mark Darr

Darr has been under pressure since Dec. 30 when news of his acceptance of an ethics fine became public.

Darr accepted an $11,000 fine – the largest ethics fine in Arkansas history – after revelations of errors on his campaign finance reports became public. The Arkansas Ethics Commission found that Darr misspent more than $44,000 in both campaign and public funds.

The issue of spending by Darr was first brought to light by attorney and blogger Matt Campbell, who reported inaccuracies in Darr’s campaign finance reports tied to his run for lieutenant governor and filed an ethics complaints against him. The disclosure came to light shortly after Darr’s declared candidacy for the Fourth District Congressional seat. Darr dropped out of the race 17 days after announcing.

Earlier this week, Darr said he had no plans to resign from office over the ethics fine and that his case was different from others in recent politics because he had no “malicious intentional disregard of the law.”

Gov. Mike Beebe, all five Congressional Republicans and other elected officials and candidates had called on Darr to step down.

UPDATE:  State law requires the Governor to call for a special election if there is a vacancy in the Lt. Governor’s office.  However, Arkansas lawmakers could alter the law in their upcoming fiscal session to avoid a $1 million election that wouldn’t likely have a result until late in the year.

Fox 16’s Kevin Kelley and Talk Business’ Roby Brock discussed the scenario in this Friday night conversation.

Also, radio talk show host Alice Stewart of The Voice 96.5 FM and Blue Hog Report blogger Matt Campbell appeared on this week’s Capitol View on KARK Ch. 4. Their analysis of events appears in this video.  Also, Talk Business blogger Michael Cook was a guest on our Talk Business program on Sunday.  His video is below, too.