Gabe Holmstrom To Resign As House Chief Of Staff, Rep. Robert Dale To Replace Him

Gabe Holmstrom, who served as chief of staff for the Arkansas House of Representatives for House Speaker Davy Carter, R-Cabot, is resigning from the post and will be leaving at the start of the next legislative session.

A term-limited legislator, Rep. Robert Dale, R-Dover, will succeed him.

In a letter to Carter dated November 7, 2014, Holmstrom said:

“I respectfully submit my resignation as House Chief of Staff, effective January 12, 2015. I look forward to working with you and Speaker Elect Gillam to ensure a smooth transition. I consider it one of the great honors of my life to have served during the historic 89th General Assembly as the Chief of Staff for the first Republican majority in 138 years.”

Carter tells Talk Business & Politics, “I am forever grateful for Gabe’s friendship and his service to the state of Arkansas. He served the House of Representatives with class and dignity and I am very proud of the things that we accomplished for the state of Arkansas. I can’t imagine the last two years without him by my side. I wish him the very best.”

Holmstrom said, “I am weighing several options and expect an announcement will be made in the coming weeks. I have always enjoyed the business of government, and I look forward to continue working for what is in the best interest of our great state.”

House Speaker-elect Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, said he appreciates Holmstrom’s service to the House.

“He’s done an absolutely fantastic job of coming in and aiding the House and our goals,” Gillam said. “I wish him the best and I know he’s going to be successful in whatever he does.”

Gillam said he did consider “a lot of different scenarios” for the Chief of Staff position, including Holmstrom.

“We looked at some different options, but I think at the end of the day there were bigger and better opportunities awaiting Gabe and we refigured and are moving forward in the House,” he said.

Rep. Dale is a retired banker and served on the House Education and Insurance & Commerce committees. He also served on Joint Budget Committee in the 2013 General Assembly.

“Robert Dale is going to be my Chief of Staff. I’ve gotten to know Robert extremely well in my freshman term in the House,” said Gillam, who noted Dale’s background in banking, his management and legislative experience, and his institutional knowledge of the chamber.

“I think he brings years of experience to the staff that I think will be extremely valuable for us moving forward,” said Gillam.

Republicans gained the majority in the Arkansas House in 2013 with 51 seats – the first time they had controlled the legislative body since Reconstruction.

In the 2014 election cycle, the GOP made further gains taking 64 seats to the Democrats’ 36 positions.