LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas board that redraws legislative district boundaries every 10 years following the U.S. census has hired a former state chief justice to be the panel’s coordinator.
The Arkansas Board of Apportionment hired Betty Dickey on Monday at a rate of $10,000 per month for the term of the redistricting process.
Lawmakers also authorized the redistricting coordinator in the governor’s office with a maximum salary of $63,000 a year, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Dickey will begin June 15, where she must undergo training and hold meetings to gather public input, including when the board has a proposed map for legislative districts, Hutchinson said.
Dickey, 81, is a former Pine Bluff City Attorney, former prosecuting attorney for Jefferson and Lincoln Cunties and a former member of the Public Service Commission.
“I’m humbled and appreciative that they trust me to be fair,” she said after the Board of Apportionment meeting. “I’ve had a lot of challenging jobs and this is probably the most challenging because it is statewide.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson serves as chairman of the apportionment board, and other board members include Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Secretary of State John Thurston.
