Hutchinson Names 4 To DHS, Including 2 Former GOP Attorney General Candidates

Gov. Asa Hutchinson has announced four new hires to the Arkansas Department of Human Services, including two former GOP candidates for Attorney General.

Hutchinson named the following positions at DHS on Friday:

· Mark White, Deputy Director at DHS
· Craig Cloud, Director of the Division of Aging and Adult Services at DHS
· David Sterling, Director of the Office of Policy and Legal Services at DHS
· Patricia Nation, Director of Client Protection and Advocacy at DHS

“I am very pleased to announce the hirings of Mark White, Craig Cloud, David Sterling and Patricia Nation to four important positions at the Arkansas Department of Human Services,” Hutchinson said in a news release.

“I’m confident each of these individuals will support fiscally responsible policies as they bring critical thinking and experience to DHS. We are lucky to have them at this essential state agency,” the governor said.

Sterling and Nation were both challengers for the Republican Attorney General nomination in 2014, which was won by current AG Leslie Rutledge. Sterling and Rutledge were in a testy run-off before she secured the nomination in route to winning the general election against Democrat Nate Steel.

White previously served as the DHS chief counsel and as its Director of the Office of Policy and Legal Services. Cloud is new to the agency, but has worked in elderly and disabilities care.