Democratic Party, House eye barring Arkansas Dobbins' return

LITTLE ROCK Arkansas House and Democratic Party Leaders said Thursday they're working on two fronts to stop a former lawmaker from returning to a seat he left to settle a felony sexual assault charge one to block his nomination and another to bar him from being seated in the Legislature.

State Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney said Thursday that the party's state committee will consider a rule at a party convention Saturday that would prevent former Rep. Dwayne Dobbins of North Little Rock from being certified as the party's nominee for the House seat he vacated three years ago. The proposal comes as the House leadership says it will propose a rule that could also effectively bar Dobbins from returning to the Legislature.

Also Thursday, a retired educator who lives in North Little Rock filed paperwork with the secretary of state's office to run as a write-in candidate against Dobbins.

Clinton Hampton, 64, said he decided to run after reading about Dobbins' attempt to return to elected office despite his plea agreement.

"I just think that with the circumstances, he should have lived up to his agreement," Hampton said.

In March, Dobbins unexpectedly filed at the last minute to run for his old seat, which is currently held by his wife Sharon. She did not file for re-election. In 2005, he resigned and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor harassment in a plea bargain reached after he was arrested on a felony sexual assault charge. Prosecutors accused Dobbins of fondling a 17-year-old girl at his home.

"There's going to be a rule change that's going to come up that's going to deal with issues similar to Dwayne Dobbins," Gwatney said.

He would not say what the proposal would be, but said it could prevent Dobbins from being certified by the party as its nominee for the state House seat. Gwatney said the rule change would not specifically address Dobbins, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary in May.

"A normal, ordinary citizen who doesn't hold elected office does not have the ability to resign an elected position as a term of a plea bargain," Gwatney said. "In a sense, an individual is using elected office as a bargaining chip in terms of a criminal charge, and that's really what we're talking about."

Dwayne Dobbins did not return messages left at his home Thursday.

Dobbins was sentenced to a year's probation, fined $1,000 and ordered to undergo counseling. While the plea agreement required Dobbins to step down, it did not restrict him from seeking elective office in the future.

Incoming House Speaker Robbie Wills also said Thursday that he wants the House members to consider changing their rules to prevent Dobbins' return to the House.

"We're looking at a rule change that would have the effect of denying membership to anyone who had previously resigned a public office as part of a plea agreement and focusing on the act of resignation," said Wills, D-Conway. "The fact that someone had a position of trust and then bargained that away to avoid a felony keeps coming up with members as the main objection to having Dwayne Dobbins in the House of Representatives."

Wills said he hoped to have the chamber consider the rule change in August or September, before the regular legislative session begins in January. Changing House rules requires the support of at least 67 members.

House Speaker Benny Petrus said he would support considering rule changes aimed at barring Dobbins' return if there's enough support for such a measure.

"I don't think the Dobbins case was handled like it should have been," said Petrus, D-Stuttgart. "There's just a cloud over him with filing at the last minute."

House Majority Leader Steve Harrelson, D-Texarkana, and Rep. Bryan King of Berryville, who will serve as the House Republican leader in the 2009 session, said they believed there would be enough support among members of both parties to back the new rule.

Gov. Mike Beebe, who has said it appeared Dobbins' filing at the last minute was a "setup deal" to mislead people who thought Sharon Dobbins would run again, declined to comment on the proposed House rule.

When asked about the Democratic Party possibly enacting a similar rule, Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the governor "feels that in general it sounds like a sensible rule to have."

Wills said he would like the House to caucus after the Aug. 6 deadline for write-in candidates to file. No other Democrats or Republicans filed to run against Dobbins, but Gwatney has said he is looking for a write-in candidate to run. The Green Party of Arkansas has nominated Richard Carroll to run against Dobbins.

Hampton, who said he was the first black mayor of Dermott, ran unsuccessfully in 2000 as an independent candidate against Democrat Randy Rankin for a House seat representing Ashley, Chicot and Desha counties.

Gwatney said he's also sent Dobbins a letter offering to refund the former lawmaker his filing fee if he withdraws his candidacy for the House.