Arkadelphia lawyer to lead Arkansas Democratic Party

by The City Wire staff ([email protected]) 96 views 

Gov. Mike Beebe today (Jan. 21) named Todd Turner as the new chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party. The chairman’s post is a two-year term, without term limits.

The appointment is expected to be formalized at a Feb. 7 meeting of the Arkansas Democratic Party. However, an appointment by a governor to this post is rarely, if ever, challenged.

Turner, a lawyer from Arkadelphia, was part of the successful litigation that challenged Arkansas’ payday lending law.

The chairman post was previously held by former State Sen. Bill Gwatney who was murdered in August while working in the Democratic Party office in Little Rock. Former U.S. Sen. David Pryor was appointed acting chairman by Beebe until a new chairman was named.