A foundation in journalism launched a public service career

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Rhodes Scholars, Yale, the University of Arkansas School of Law and, of course, Arkansas itself.

“He had been all over Arkansas and was a master of retail politics,” Rutherford said, in reference to a time when voters knew their politicians by their first name. “People knew him and he knew them.”

That paid dividends in his well-organized race for the presidency as “Arkansas Travelers” embarked to points all over the country assisting in his campaign. The effort focused on “local issues” in the various states and then coupled that, of course, with the national campaign. The result was a two-term presidency for an unlikely candidate from a small state.

“Number one, he is smart,” Rutherford said in reference to Clinton’s success as a candidate and a leader. “He also knew and understood the issues and surrounded himself with very capable advisors.

“He also had a great ability to connect with people,” Rutherford added, noting he could work with opposing politicians such as Newt Gingrich and Trent Lott. “He could be effective no matter how strong the disagreement.

“Clinton was just a very effective communicator,” he added.” After the Clinton win, Rutherford was faced with one of his life’s most difficult decisions. McLarty became the President’s Chief of Staff and, of course, Rutherford would have an opportunity to serve in an important capacity in Washington, D.C.

“It actually came down to one of those 51-49 decisions,” Rutherford said. “In some ways it was the thrill of a lifetime to have that opportunity (to work in Washington).

“I weighed it really hard, but I had three children at home at the time and I decided to stay in Arkansas. I believe it was the right call.”

At that point he decided to visit Ron Robinson at Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods, the premier advertising and public relations firm in the state. Robinson was surprised by the news that Rutherford was not going to Washington and then shortly came back with a job offer as executive vice president.

The affirmative decision led to a successful professional stint of 13 years with CJRW. During that period Rutherford began a personally satisfying period of teaching classes (on a voluntary basis) at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, University of Central Arkansas, University of the Ozarks and Lyon College. He currently serves on the board of trustees at Lyon in his hometown of Batesville. He recently taught a class on the 2022 election at the school.

As it turned out, the connection with Bill Clinton was not over. In 1997, Rutherford became the first president of the Clinton Foundation (a non-paying position) and supervised the planning, construction and opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Downtown Little Rock.

Rutherford was a “strong advocate” for locating the library in Arkansas and its ultimate location east of Interstate 30 in Little Rock.

There was opposition to the specific location, with Arkansas Gazette columnist Richard Allin calling it “Murky Bottoms.” Rutherford continued to promote the location, believing it could be a major step toward a more cohesive downtown area.

Rutherford clearly is proud of the result. “We were able to clean up a lot of blight,” he said of the project, which was completed in 2004. “We were able to change the image of Downtown Little Rock, but we also have changed the direction of tourism in Arkansas.”

Rutherford also is proud of other developments related to the

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