Lawmaker’s wife loses state job; hiring found to conflict with law

— State officials have terminated the wife of state Rep. John Edwards of Little Rock from her $95,000-a-year job as deputy secretary of the Agriculture Department because her hiring in January 2011 conflicted with state law, department Secretary Richard Bell said.

Edwards, whose wife is Cynthia Edwards, and Bell said they didn’t know that state law requires that the governor and a legislative committee approve an agency’s hiring of a lawmaker’s spouse after he is elected and during the term for which he serves.

Edwards and Bell said they learned about Arkansas Code Annotated 21-1-402 in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s May 19 story about the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences terminating the wife of Rep. Hank Wilkins, D- Pine Bluff, from her $60,199-a-year job as a mental-health professional because her employment violated state law. Phyllis Wilkins had worked at UAMS from 2003-10 and returned to work in December 2011.

Another provision of the law — Arkansas Code Annotated 21-1-407 — allows a state agency to employ a lawmaker’s spouse without previous approval by the governor and Joint Budget Committee or Legislative Council if the spouse’s entry-level salary doesn’t exceed $37,649 a year.

Officials at the Department of Agriculture and UAMS said they are now seeking the required approval to rehire the spouses of both lawmakers.

Edwards, an attorney, asked Beebe in a letter dated May 20 to have the governor’s office “do an immediate review to determine if Arkansas Code 21-1-402 (b) and any other relevant statutes were followed when my wife, Cynthia Edwards, was appointed Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in 2011.”

Edwards said in his letter that Bell had initially asked Edwards’ wife if she was interested in the position. He said Bell “was coordinating this appointment with your office, which approved it,” and his wife “relied on those processing the appointment to insure things were done properly.”

He wrote that his wife has spent her career working with farmers, ranchers and other businessmen in agriculture, practiced law in an agricultural law firm and served on the staffs of U.S. Sens. Dale Bumpers and Blanche Lincoln.

Beebe, Edwards, Bumpers and Lincoln are Democrats.

“In my opinion, her greatest professional attribute is that she has worked as hard as anyone I know to always do what is right,” Edwards wrote. “Cynthia sees public service as a privilege and I know she has been very proud to be a part of your administration. Regardless of how the facts play out, the public has a right to know about these matters and it proves again the value of newspapers in particular, and the media in general, to our society.”

Kay Terry, the state’s personnel administrator, said Cynthia Edwards was terminated from her job at the close of business Thursday.

Bell said that in January 2011, he decided to hire Cynthia Edwards without advertising the job because state law doesn’t require it to be advertised and she was an aide to Bumpers and Lincoln for 23 years, has legal training and “knows everybody in the state.”

He said he’s going through the process outlined in state law to hire Cynthia Edwards again.

Beebe said in a letter dated Thursday to Richard Weiss, director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, that he’s approving the Agriculture Department’s request to hire Cynthia Edwards with a proposed salary of $95,000 a year.

“You have reported that Ms. Edwards is the spouse of John Edwards, a current member of the Arkansas House of Representatives,” according to Beebe’s letter.

“Based upon the appropriate review of the criteria pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated 21-1-402 (b), I concur with the determination that the agency has met the employee disclosure/certification and employment of family members requirements,” Beebe wrote.

Terry said the request for approval of Cynthia Edwards’ hiring now goes to the Legislative Council’s personnel subcommittee, which is to meet on June 8.

Subcommittee Co-Chairman Sen. Michael Lamoureux, R-Russellville, said Tuesday that he wouldn’t think the subcommittee would have a problem with the request.

“It sounds like to me [Rep. Edwards] figured out it was a problem and addressed it himself,” he said.

Beebe said Tuesday that he wasn’t involved in hiring Cynthia Edwards last year.

“Not only did I not have anything do with her getting a job, I have had no contact with Cynthia Edwards,” he said.

Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said later that Bell informed other officials in the governor’s office about his intention to hire Edwards for the job last year, and “we were fine with her being hired.”

But “we overlooked the same law as everyone else,” he said.

Beebe sponsored the bill that became Act 34 of 1999, which includes the provisions that apply in this situation.

Beebe said the fact that Cynthia Edwards is the second spouse of a lawmaker to be terminated because her employment didn’t comport with state law shows “that there are a lot of folks that forgot about what that law was.

“The main purpose [of the law] was to stop legislators from creating new jobs for themselves and/or enhancing jobs for themselves,” the governor said. “But as the debate evolved, it was expanded to include spouses for existing jobs, so part of it is a prohibition and part of it is a public disclosure.”

Earlier this month, UAMS spokesman Leslie Taylor said UAMS officials “became aware” of the law after reading articles in this newspaper several weeks ago about whether state Sen. Joyce Elliott’s employment through the Central Little Rock Promise Neighborhood conflicted with state law, and about Elliott’s subsequent resignation.

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Chancellor Joel Anderson has said UALR “was unaware” that hiring Elliott, a Democrat from Little Rock, to the $80,000-a-year job starting last September conflicted with the law. Elliott was hired by the eight-member Promise Neighborhood project, and UALR was the fiscal agent for a federal grant for the project.

Meanwhile, Taylor said Tuesday that Phyllis Wilkins was told when she was terminated that she could reapply for her former job once it was posted.

Taylor said Phyllis Wilkins applied for the position and was deemed the most qualified of eight applicants interviewed after the position was advertised from May 11-25.

Taylor said UAMS plans to submit a request today to the Department of Finance and Administration to rehire Phyllis Wilkins.

Neither Hank Wilkins nor Phyllis Wilkins could be reached for comment Tuesdayat their home. Cynthia Edwards could not be reached for comment on her cell phone Tuesday.

Under Act 34 of 1999, “Any willful and knowing violation of this act shall constitute a Class D felony.”

Graham Sloan, director of the Arkansas Ethics Commission, said the commission has enforcement authority for the law.

The commission can fine public officials $50 to $2,000 and/or issue a public letter of caution, warning or reprimand for “negligent or intentional violation” of the state’s ethics laws.

Front Section, Pages 1 on 05/30/2012

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