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No plans yet for naming successor to slain party chairman Sunday, Aug 17, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Though it will have to be addressed at some point, the governor's office and members of the state Democratic Party's executive committee say naming a successor to slain party chairman Bill Gwatney is the last thing on their minds right now. "Until we get through Monday, I don't think anyone's giving it any significant thought," said Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe. "At this moment, that is not a priority," said executive committee member Mary Louise Williams of Little Rock. Gwatney, 48, was shot and killed Wednesday at the party's headquarters in Little Rock. The gunman, 50-year-old Timothy Dale Johnson of Searcy, led police on a 30-mile chase before being fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire with officers near Sheridan. As of Friday, police had not posited a motive for Gwatney's slaying. Beebe is scheduled to speak at Gwatney's funeral, set for 2 p.m. Monday at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church in Little Rock. The family will visit with friends at Griffin Leggett Rest Hills Funeral Home in North Little Rock today from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Party rules impose a time limit for filling a vacancy in the chairman's post, said executive committee member Jay Barth, a political science professor at Hendrix College in Conway. "I think the rules do lay out a requirement that there be, I believe, an election within 60 days of a vacancy. ... But that's a long way off and there's a lot of time to figure out what the next step is," he said. By party tradition, the committee elects a person recommended by the governor when the governor is a Democrat. Beebe picked Gwatney for the position after taking office last year. The two served together in the state Senate and were close friends. Barth said committee members are not ready to look ahead just yet. "It's very much still hour-to-hour in terms of people moving through this ... It'll probably be a week before even anybody starts thinking about, 'What next?'" he said. Williams, who was in the Little Rock office two days before the shooting, said security is another issue that will need to be addressed at some point, after everyone has had time to grieve. "This has been one of our very saddest moments," she said. Committee member Charles Allen of Little Rock said his thoughts were focused on Gwatney's family and the workers who were in the party headquarters when the shooting occurred. "And then (there is) the senselessness of it," he said. "I just can't come to grips with it at this point in time. It makes no sense." |
