Southern

GOV. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS IS HAPPY TO BE HOME IN ARKANSAS

by Roby Brock

Ask Arkansas’ 46th governor the best part of being back in state and you’ll get a laundry list of responses regarding family, friends and familiarity with the Natural State.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was elected in November as the state’s first female governor, is happy to be home, happy for her kids, and happy to have a job where she feels she can make a difference.

“Arkansas is home, so it just feels different. My family is here, my long-time friends are here, and there's a different comfort level that comes with being at home. I also love that people are nice in Arkansas. I say all the time, we have amazing things here in the state, but the people here are our greatest asset,” Sanders said in a recent interview in the governor’s suite at the Arkansas state capitol.

Though the experience of serving as White House Press Secretary in the Trump administration was a privilege, everyday life and raising a family with her husband, Bryan, was a challenge in the nation’s capital.

“While D.C. can be a great place and I loved my time there, I couldn't get out of there quick enough. We joke in our family, everybody refers to D.C. as ‘the swamp,’ and that's kind of insulting to the swamp, because it's so unbelievably politically polarized that you can forget anything meaningful really taking place there,” she said.

In Arkansas and as governor, it’s different.

“We get to see things. You can see a problem, address a problem, come up with a solution, and actually see it enacted very quickly at the state level. So I feel like the things that we were able to do, even during this first session, are going to really impact people's lives for the better. And knowing that you get to be part of that every day is pretty amazing.

“I also get to go home on a regular basis and see my kids and have dinner with them at night and breakfast with them in the morning before they head off to school. I get to be at their basketball and football and baseball and tennis. We play a lot of sports. I get to be at all their activities and things like that, which is important to me for my kids to know that no matter what work I'm doing, they're still a priority and still going to be the top priority for me. At the same time, they also get to see the work I'm doing up close and personal and be part of it in a way that was harder to do in D.C.” Sanders added.

Sanders campaigned across the state for two years before she was elected. The daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sarah Sanders had the benefit of seeing the state in her youth and now in adulthood on the campaign trail. Those years of travels ingrained the importance of big cities and small towns to every community in the state. She says that local banks are a critical backbone to communities of every size.

“You have so many small towns, so many communities that probably every football field in the state, any little league field in the state, you're going to see the scoreboard or the field was probably sponsored by the local bank. Bank employees are investing into those communities, and people recognize them. Those are the people who are helping support a lot of community activity,” she said. “They also help support the financial sector of our entire state. I mean, we've got over 25,000 people who work in the banking industry. We have over

PREVIOUS SPREAD: (from left) Governor Sanders welcomes kids back to school in Wynne, Arkansas, on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 for their first day back since the March 31 tornadoes.

Governor Sanders, First Gentleman Bryan Sanders, and Arkansas State Park Rangers at Pinnacle Mountain State Park.

Governor Sanders cuts the ribbon to officially inaugurate The Orthopedic and Spine Hospital (TOSH) at UAMS.

Photography by Randall Lee

ABOVE PHOTO: Governor Sanders signs legislation to lower the state income tax and phase out the throwback rule.

Photography by Randall Lee

80 banks, community banks, that are based here in the state. It's a booming and strong sector for us. So not only the investment they're making locally, but collectively the investment that they make for the state is a big deal and a big impact.”

While this legislative session dealt with high-profile issues such as education, public safety and tax cuts, there were scores of bills affecting the financial industry. Sanders said it’s important to her to have the input of the banking sector on legislation impacting the industry before making decisions.

“I feel like anytime you're making a decision that impacts an industry like that, that has such a pivotal role in your state, you obviously want to bring the stakeholders to the table. And I'm thankful we have great relationships with a lot of the banking leadership across the state of Arkansas,” said Sanders. “I think we have a fantastic commissioner, Susannah Marshall, who does an amazing job, has great relationships. I’m able to rely and lean on them for good feedback and honest, candid feedback. I have a handful of bankers that I can call that I know are going to shoot me straight. And that's another great thing about Arkansas. You can call one banker and they're going to lay it down for you real quick. And I actually appreciate that.”

Candor is appreciated with this governor and she is not shy to express her support for financial leaders in her administration, notably the aforementioned Commissioner Marshall and Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald, whose agency houses the state Bank Department.

"I think they both have kind of a unique background and compliment each other well. I love the fact that Hugh spent so much time in the private sector, and he's able to bring that private sector experience into state government. He can pick up the phone and call the CEO of a major company, and they see each other as peers. And that is, I think, really important for our state. And it's, I think, critical for the role that he's playing," she said.

"And Susannah Marshall has been engaged in public service and state government for awhile, so that balances out, I think, pretty well... I sound like a broken record, but she has outstanding relationships across the state and in the banking industry. I was teasing her, I saw her a couple weeks ago at an event, and I said you know, it's interesting that the banking community has so many opinions on so many things, and so many times they're vastly different. However, one thing they all had in common was every single one of them came and said, 'Do not mess with Susannah Marshall.' I was like, 'Okay, fair enough. I got it. I heard you guys loud and clear.' She's just so highly respected and, again, has great relationships," Sanders said.

To emphasize the pace of life in Arkansas, Sanders was leaving this interview and headed into a meeting with a group of lawyers to discuss state business, but she managed to make time for her sister-in-law and young nephew, who happened to be in the neighborhood, to show them around her capitol office and the governor’s conference room. Before departing, she added one more comment about banks that highlight her recognition of the industry and its impact on the state.

“I’m proud of the fact that we have so many people that are engaged in this space and that they continue to stay in Arkansas,” she said. “There are a number of our banks that are based here that, frankly, could be other places, and they aren't. They’ve stayed right here. And even our bigger banking leaders, they have branches in other places, but this is home and this is where they invest heavily. We're appreciative of that and all that they do to impact communities across the state.”