In an earlier post you may recall that when Gov. Hutchinson announced that Bud was his choice to be the new director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission Administration, he stated:
“I am pleased to announce Bud Roberts as the new Director of Alcoholic Beverage Control. Bud’s breadth of experience in Arkansas law, in addition to the knowledge he possesses of the issues related to ABC, makes him the right choice as new director.”
From documents obtained from the Department of Finance & Administration we can see Bud has little or no experience with issues related to the ABC. His own resume lists his limited expertise to Workers' Compensation and Medicare. His greatest achievement appears to be that he was valedictorian at Dumas High School.
In 2011, Dumas High School was ranked No. 1,584 of 2,008 high schools in the nation rated in the Challenge Index with an index score of 1.316. In 2012 and 2013, Dumas improved its ranking with a 2.640 and 2.820 index scores, respectively, and are ranked No. 548 (2012) and No. 534 (2013) of evaluated high schools, although the school's AP exam pass rate was below 10 percent. Dumas Highs School has approximately 298 enrolled students this year.
However it is very clear that Bud is in the job only due to his relationship (financial contributions to campaign and favor to his brother who employs one of Asa’s sons) to the governor as evidenced by the letter the DFA Human Resources Manager sent to Kay Terry, the DFA OPM Administrator. Valentine makes no reference to Bud’s knowledge and experience of ABC issues. She does point out that his salary of $88,968.00 is midpoint for the position. Valentine definitely points out that exceptional salary for a “new hire” with minimal experience and who just meets the minimal job requirements ( educational equivalent of a Juris Doctorate; plus seven years of legal experience, including three years of managerial experience) is getting the job because the governor wants him to have the job.
