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Irregular News for 11.15.06
Little Rock, AR -- “Wedding” registries in the names of Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet, have been set up at two department store chains in advance of the Huckabees’ move out of the Governor’s Mansion into a private home.
The term-limited governor leaves office in January, and friends of Janet Huckabee created the registries at Dillard’s and Target stores to help facilitate their transition to private life, Huckabee spokeswoman Alice Stewart said Friday.
The Huckabees purchased a 7,000-square-foot home in North Little Rock this year.
“Some ladies who are friends of Janet’s are giving her a housewarming party,” Stewart said.
Arkansas law prohibits public servants from accepting any gift worth more than $100, unless the gift is conferred “on account of a bona fide personal, professional or business relationship” independent of the recipient’s official status.
“Items costing more than $100 which are given to public servants to show appreciation for their efforts (i.e., to reward them for doing their job) or to reward them for past or future action are prohibited under this rule,” the law states.
Gifts from relatives are not prohibited, nor are wedding or engagement gifts.
The Huckabees married in 1974. They entered into a covenant marriage in February 2005.
State law also requires public servants to report all gifts they receive of $100 value or more on their annual Statement of Financial Interest.
Stewart declined to say if Huckabee was sure that accepting pricey gifts as a result of the registries would be legal or whether he plans to report any valuable gifts they receive.
The Dillard’s registry on the department store’s Web site states, “Welcome to the wedding registry of: Janet and Michael Huckabee.” The registry lists the “event date” as Nov. 14.
Items listed on the registry range in price from $14 for saucers to $300 for a KitchenAid mixer.
The Target registry, which also can be viewed online, states, “Welcome to Janet Huckabee and Michael Huckabee’s Club Wedd Registry.” Target lists the “event date” as Nov. 16.
Items on the Target registry range in price from $2 for napkins and place mats to $250 for a 12-piece Kitchen Essentials cookware set. The registry also notes that Target gift cards can be purchased for amounts up to $1,000.
Questions have been raised in the past over Gov. Huckabee’s acceptance of gifts. In 1998, a lawsuit filed by Arthur Kerns and Don Venhaus of Little Rock and Peggy Tucker of Jonesboro alleged that Huckabee misused the expense account of the Governor’s Mansion and illegally accepted as a gift about $70,000 worth of furniture.
The claim of misused funds was dropped after Huckabee agreed to a policy change; the claim of illegal gifts was dropped after Huckabee said the furniture belonged to the state, not to him personally.
Kerns said Friday he is not surprised about the gift registries.
“He’s using the trappings of the governor’s office to get everything he can, and the sad part of it is, I honestly believe he does not see anything wrong with this,” said Kerns, a retired lawyer for the Department of Veterans Affairs. “It’s like ‘ethics’ is a foreign word to him.”
Kerns said it did not matter that Huckabee is leaving office.
“That’s like me telling my wife, ‘I’m planning on filing for a divorce, and it’ll probably be effective in 90 days, so my having an affair right now does not violate the oath of our marriage, right?’” Kerns said.
Kevin Crass, a Little Rock lawyer who represented Huckabee in a number of legal disputes with the Ethics Commission, did not immediately return a message left at his office Friday.
State Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, the state Republican Party chairman, said he was not aware of the registries but saw no problem with them.
Baker said housewarming gifts for an outgoing governor “have nothing to do with bribery,” which he said the law against gifts is intended to prevent.
“I’m glad you let me know about it so I can get online and buy him something,” the senator said.
Telephone calls to the Arkansas Ethics Commission office went unanswered Friday and the commission’s executive director, Graham Sloan, did not return a message left on his personal telephone seeking comment.
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Little Rock, AR -- “Wedding” registries in the names of Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet, have been set up at two department store chains in advance of the Huckabees’ move out of the Governor’s Mansion into a private home.
The term-limited governor leaves office in January, and friends of Janet Huckabee created the registries at Dillard’s and Target stores to help facilitate their transition to private life, Huckabee spokeswoman Alice Stewart said Friday.
The Huckabees purchased a 7,000-square-foot home in North Little Rock this year.
“Some ladies who are friends of Janet’s are giving her a housewarming party,” Stewart said.
Arkansas law prohibits public servants from accepting any gift worth more than $100, unless the gift is conferred “on account of a bona fide personal, professional or business relationship” independent of the recipient’s official status.
“Items costing more than $100 which are given to public servants to show appreciation for their efforts (i.e., to reward them for doing their job) or to reward them for past or future action are prohibited under this rule,” the law states.
Gifts from relatives are not prohibited, nor are wedding or engagement gifts.
The Huckabees married in 1974. They entered into a covenant marriage in February 2005.
State law also requires public servants to report all gifts they receive of $100 value or more on their annual Statement of Financial Interest.
Stewart declined to say if Huckabee was sure that accepting pricey gifts as a result of the registries would be legal or whether he plans to report any valuable gifts they receive.
The Dillard’s registry on the department store’s Web site states, “Welcome to the wedding registry of: Janet and Michael Huckabee.” The registry lists the “event date” as Nov. 14.
Items listed on the registry range in price from $14 for saucers to $300 for a KitchenAid mixer.
The Target registry, which also can be viewed online, states, “Welcome to Janet Huckabee and Michael Huckabee’s Club Wedd Registry.” Target lists the “event date” as Nov. 16.
Items on the Target registry range in price from $2 for napkins and place mats to $250 for a 12-piece Kitchen Essentials cookware set. The registry also notes that Target gift cards can be purchased for amounts up to $1,000.
Questions have been raised in the past over Gov. Huckabee’s acceptance of gifts. In 1998, a lawsuit filed by Arthur Kerns and Don Venhaus of Little Rock and Peggy Tucker of Jonesboro alleged that Huckabee misused the expense account of the Governor’s Mansion and illegally accepted as a gift about $70,000 worth of furniture.
The claim of misused funds was dropped after Huckabee agreed to a policy change; the claim of illegal gifts was dropped after Huckabee said the furniture belonged to the state, not to him personally.
Kerns said Friday he is not surprised about the gift registries.
“He’s using the trappings of the governor’s office to get everything he can, and the sad part of it is, I honestly believe he does not see anything wrong with this,” said Kerns, a retired lawyer for the Department of Veterans Affairs. “It’s like ‘ethics’ is a foreign word to him.”
Kerns said it did not matter that Huckabee is leaving office.
“That’s like me telling my wife, ‘I’m planning on filing for a divorce, and it’ll probably be effective in 90 days, so my having an affair right now does not violate the oath of our marriage, right?’” Kerns said.
Kevin Crass, a Little Rock lawyer who represented Huckabee in a number of legal disputes with the Ethics Commission, did not immediately return a message left at his office Friday.
State Sen. Gilbert Baker, R-Conway, the state Republican Party chairman, said he was not aware of the registries but saw no problem with them.
Baker said housewarming gifts for an outgoing governor “have nothing to do with bribery,” which he said the law against gifts is intended to prevent.
“I’m glad you let me know about it so I can get online and buy him something,” the senator said.
Telephone calls to the Arkansas Ethics Commission office went unanswered Friday and the commission’s executive director, Graham Sloan, did not return a message left on his personal telephone seeking comment.
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