Asa’s good start

There was some slight snickering in certain circles when early in his advertising now Governor-elect Asa Hutchinson simply said: “As your governor, we will hit the ground running and never look back.”

He did just that this past week.

The slight bit of snickering had long since faded after polls prior to Tuesday night showed Hutchinson the man to beat. His little mantra tag line at the end of these ads was, like the candidate, gaining traction with voters. And boy that traction showed in the election results.

The savvy Gravette native has executed a plan that shows some real planning, stealth execution and a vibe of seriousness that has seldom been seen, since, well, since our present governor, Mike Beebe, defeated Hutchinson in 2005 for the position.

It was almost like he was taking a page from Beebe’s play book and tapping a veteran state Senator as chief of staff. The move quieted any remaining critics of the former Congressman after the charge of the GOP on Nov. 4.

Governor-elect Hutchinson not only won and was gracious. He was serious too. His pick of State Senator Michael Lamoureux of Russellville, a fellow attorney and the President Pro Tempore of the Upper Chamber, was indeed a brilliant move. It could be said to be a coup, which only the most far-thinking politico would have even dreamed might become a reality.

Sen. Lamoureux is a veteran law maker, an easy going guy with a keen sense of perpetual patience at the Capitol. He was one of a handful of GOP Senators who was in the Private Option corner since its inception. He was in the corner of the authors of Private Option largely because Lamoureux knew the time and effort poured into the bi-partisan effort would stop any potential of government gridlock at the state level.

A soft-spoken and almost at times silent thinker, Lamoureux is not one prone to theatrics. His temperament as the new Chief of Staff mirrors that of Beebe’s faithful No. 2 gatekeeper, former State Senator Morril Harriman of Van Buren.

Never doubt that Lamoureux can be tough. He can politically twist arms with the best of them in the Upper Chamber. He can also soothe the wildest members (state Sen. Jason Rapert quickly comes to mind) in a crisis where the noise of the few should not drown out the profound silence of the majority.

Early on last week, Governor-Elect Hutchinson also answered the biggest “unknown” about his stance on the Private Option. He asked for a little more time to digest the state’s budget, the state’s needs and how he can do even more of that “hitting the ground running and never look back,” to lead our state.

His first sprint out of the election night gate last week wasn’t so bad. In fact, to parrot another old well-worn Southern phrase, “I am mighty encouraged.”