Dale King takes oaths of office for city and JP

— Is it legal to hold two elected positions?

That is the question both county and city officials are asking since the oath of office of Garfield council members was received in the County Clerk’s office.

When Dale King took the oath of office as a member of the Garfield City Council, he was officially sworn in to his second elected position.

King, unopposed for the council position which he has held since August 2006, was elected as Justice of the Peace for District 1 of the Benton County Quorum Court, unseating Tanya Lewis.

King was sworn in as Justice of the Peace for the Quorum Court Jan. 1 by Judge Jay Finch.

Prior to the Garfield City Council meeting Tuesday, Jan.

11, King, as JP, administered the oath of office to Mayor Laura Hamilton.

Then, the mayor administered the oath of office to King as councilman.

Opinions vary as to the legality of holding two elected positions.

Mayor Hamilton said it is legal saying she was advised by legal counsel for the Arkansas Municipal League that he could hold both positions but could not accept pay for both. Arkansas Code 21-5-108 states “A person holding more than one elective office shall be entitled to receive compensation from only one of the offices held.”

Benton County Clerk Tena O’Brien expressed concern, saying: “We didn’t discover this until Thursday when we received theoaths of office in the mail. I was supposed to go out there and administer the oath of office Tuesday, but because of the inclement weather, I couldn’t. We arranged for the JP to go and do it.”

O’Brien said she requested an opinion from Tim Humphries, general counsel for the Arkansas Secretary of State.

Humphries, contacted Tuesday, referred to Arkansas State Code 14-14-1202 which states: “(3)(a) No person shall simultaneously hold office and serve as an elected county justice of the peace and hold office andserve as an elected city council member.” (Pg. 41 County Government Code of the Arkansas Code of 1987, annotated 2009 supplement)

“It’s not our responsibility to do anything about it,” Humphries said, but added that the question was whether it was an eligibility question or an ethics question.

If it’s one of eligibility, then the attorney general’s office can take steps to have the person removed.

If ethics, that is a question for the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

“I called Mr. King and asked him if he was serving both positions,” O’Brien said, adding that King said he had sought a legal opinion from the city’s attorney (Joanne McCracken). O’Brien said she has sought an opinion from the county attorney George Spence.

Neither King nor Mc-Cracken were available for comment Tuesday.

Aaron Sadler, press secretary for the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, said the attorney generalis prohibited by law from giving legal advice but can point to various legal opinions. He referred the question to another department, which was still researching the issue at press time.

O’Brien recalled a similar issue when Marge Wolfe resigned her JP seat to take the appointment for the Rogers City Council, but said she hasn’t faced someone actually being sworn into two offices.

O’Brien has been in office since January 2009.

News, Pages 1 on 01/19/2011