FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM)- Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe (D) was a guest at a luncheon hosted by the Political Animals Club of Northwest Arkansas Friday (Nov. 21) afternoon.
5NEWS caught up with Governor Beebe as his final term comes to an end in January when Republican governor-elect Asa Hutchinson will take over the position after beating Democratic candidate Mike Ross on Nov. 4. Beebe couldn't run for office again because of governor term-limits.
Beebe on his accomplishments as governor:
"I'm very proud of reducing the grocery tax and [having] a plan to have it totally gone automatically in 2018. I'm proud of how we've climbed the rankings in education to fifth in American. [I'm] proud of us being one of only four states that didn't have a fiscal crisis during the Great Recession. [I'm] proud of the way we've changed healthcare, with not just the private option, but with payment reform that does away with fee-for-services that the rest of the county is trying to follow."
Beebe on the legacy he's leaving behind:
"I hope the one thing that I've done that I could single out is that we've created the atmosphere in our people, and Northwest Arkansas has had this for a while, but we needed it in the whole state, an atmosphere of self-confidence with a little bit of swagger. Not an arrogant swagger, but a good positive swagger that Arkansas can compete with anybody, we can do anything, anywhere, as well, or better than anybody else and our people are what makes that happen. I hope we've instilled in our people that attitude and I hope I never hear 'Thank God for Mississippi' ever again. That's the wrong attitude to have. The right attitude is to be upset that Maryland is first in education and we're only fifth."
Beebe on the things he wished he'd accomplished:
"One of the things that I would've done, given another year, is try my best to change the legislature's mind and create opportunities for our public schools in high-speed internet through a connection with ARE-ON. [The legislature] ought to be free to go to the private sector, but the state taxpayers have invested all that money for our universities, which is way over capacity. We can get prices down significantly and extend the broadband to all our public schools by connecting them with something we already have and the state already owns. If the private sector can compete with that, fine! But that ought to be an option on the table."
Beebe on pardoning his son before leaving office:
"I'm not going to treat my son differently than anybody else, I'm not going to treat him worse. What he did was wrong, he paid the price. That was 11 years ago. He finished off all his stuff he's supposed to finish and I've granted over 700 pardons to young people who had marijuana or other drugs and they've learned their lesson and haven't re-offended. I couldn't go to sleep at night if I treated him worse than I've treated everybody else in a similar circumstance."
Beebe has been governor of Arkansas since 2007 after beating Asa Hutchinson in the 2006 election. Beebe was elected to a second term in 2010, defeating former State Senator Jim Keet.