Preston Bynum

Preston Conrad Bynum (born June 8, 1939) is a high-powered lobbyist in Little Rock who served as a Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from January 1969 - December 1980. On his first election, Bynum was one of only four Republicans in the 100-member house; when his party's delegation numbered five or six, he became, as senior member, the "minority leader". Bynum succeeded fellow Republican James Lee "Jim" Sheets, then of Siloam Springs in Benton County, who did not seek a second term. At the time Bynum was an automobile dealer in Siloam Springs one of the northwestern Arkansas towns of Benton county receptive to the Republican political message.

He did not seek reelection in 1980 but instead became chief of staff to Republican Governor Frank D. White (1981-1983). He now represents a number of major Arkansas clients through his Phoenix Investment Group, Inc., of Little Rock.

Byum and Nixon

During Bynum's third term in the Arkansas House, he was the chamber's only Republican representative. He was a vocal supporter of U.S. President Richard M. Nixon, who was elected to the White House in the same election which sent Bynum to the legislature. In 1974, Bynum said that Watergate revelations put him and other Nixon backers in a tense position: "I accepted his statements on true face value. So naturally, I'm disappointed he didn't tell me the truth."

Nevertheless, Bynum called Nixon "the greatest President this country's ever had." Bynum calculated Nixon's greatness on having disengaged from the Vietnam War, dismantling some federal agencies that reduced the size of the bureaucracy, and "being known as a world leader."

Bynum said that impeachment by the House and conviction by the U.S. Senate was a foregone conclusion. Bynum did not suggest that Nixon resign, which he did shortly thereafter. "In the past I've been right down the line with him, but the presidency is crumbling," Bynum said in a "Time" magazine interview.

In the Frank White administration

After the election of Frank White as governor in November 1980, Bynum and a House colleague, Carolyn Pollan of Fort Smith, the seat of Sebastian County, prepared the 1981 budget while White went on a post-election vacation to celebrate his defeat of incumbent Governor Bill Clinton. Bynum and Pollan kept the current budget figures but with 5 percent across-the-board cuts. Pollan continued to serve in the House but also functioned as White's legislative counsel.

Len E. Blaylock, a former partisan of Winthrop Rockefeller who had himself lost the 1972 gubernatorial general election to the Democratic incumbent Dale Bumpers, joined the new administration as appointments secretary. Bynum coordinated who would see White, for how long, and what issues the new governor would address.

Lobbying career

After White left the governorship, Bynum began a successful business and lobbying career. He is a member of the Association of General Contractors, and he has many clients, including Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville. The NWACC president said that she "sought and received nothing but positive feedback" before the institution hired Bynum: "He is very well respected in the halls of the State Capitol, he is an effective lobbyist, and he will do a good job representing the college's interests."

Bynum encountered serious legal problems in the middle 1990s. While employed by the Little Rock investment banking firm Stephens, Inc., he was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bribery and falsifying tax returns. He was charged with having bribed Terry Busbee, a county official in Pensacola, Florida, in an effort to obtain a bond underwriting deal for Stephens. Bynum arranged four loans to Busbee from the Worthen National Bank in Little Rock. Bynum subsequently repaid the loans. Bynum was convicted, fined, and imprisoned. He was forbidden to represent clients in the securities business for the rest of his life. He was released by the federal Bureau of Prisons on July 1, 1998, according to the United States Bureau of Prisons. Bynum quickly resumed his lobbying activities. He has been credited with getting legislation passed, including a measure which was approved by law enforcement in general to make it legal for Arkansans to be in possession of knives used for self-defense

References

"Arkansas Election Statistics", 1968 (Little Rock: Secretary of State)

"Arkansas Outlook" (Arkansas State Republican Party newletter), February 1970

http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?ppds=per&v1=BYNUM%2C+PRESTON&sort=newest

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60616FD35590C768EDDAC0894DD494D81

http://www.agcar.net/content/public/overview/board_pictures_.asp

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2003/03/05/36677.html

http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/clinton/clinton080674.html

http://www.uams.edu/update/absolutenm/templates/news_release_andrea.asp?articleid=5818&zoneid=35

http://www.akti.org/legislation/arkansas.html

http://www.arktimes.com/Weblogs/WeblogItemDetail.aspx?WebLogItemID=71cae8c9-94a7-4255-b7bc-61e51eddc05f&WeblogID=dabe8285-8214-4a72-ae7c-7ed16bb5ed5b

http://www.publicintegrity.org/hiredguns/reg.aspx?state=AR

http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=125

http://www.nwacc.edu/weekly-insider/documents/WeeklyInsiderJan17.pdf

http://www.arklobbyists.com/roster_print.asp

http://www.usedcarnews.com/news/2003/03/03/industry.html

http://ssdi.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi?lastname=Bynum&start=3581

"Washington Weekly", January 30, 1995

http://www.sec.gov/info/municipal/mbonds/uwriter.htm

http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=Bynum&Middle=&FirstName=Preston&Race=W&Sex=M&Age=66&x=26&y=26