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He did not seek reelection in 1980 but instead became chief of staff to Republican Governor Frank D. White (1981- 1983 ). After more than a decade as a lobbyist, Bynum was convicted of fraud, fined and imprisoned. He completed the sentence and resumed lobbying. He 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 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 forgone 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, who had no previous budgeting experience, 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 but encountered serious legal problems in the middle 1990s. While employed by the Little Rock investment banking firm Stephens, Inc., Bynum 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. Bynum is a member of the Association of General Contractors. Despite his legal problems, he has many clients, including Northwest Arkansas Community College in Fort Smith. 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." THE DISPUTE WITH JIM HOLT On March 4 , 2003 , Bynum got into a dispute with then State Senator Jim L. Holt , the unsuccessful Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and for Lieutenant Governor in 2006 . Holt accused the former GOP lawmaker of having lied about Senate Bill 361, which would have empowered the Arkansas Board of Used Motor Vehicle Dealers to raise fees on used car dealers. The bill was lobbied at the time by Bynum, the representative of the Arkansas Independent Automobile Dealers Association and himself a former automobile dealer. Holt told senators that Bynum "grossly misrepresented" the bill in committee and broke a promise to discuss the bill with him before he submitted to a committee of the Arkansas House. Bynum in two separate interviews with two different reporters denied any attempt to misrepresent the bill and said that he had tried to meet with Holt but had been unable to see him. "I just can't sit by and let someone lie. Misrepresenting a bill that effects thousands of people is a lie," Holt told senators, who declined in a voice vote to recall the bill from the House. Later, Holt, a Baptist minister from Springdale in Washington County next to Bynum's Benton County, failed in an effort to get a bill passed which would have banned felons from lobbying, a jolt at his intraparty rival Bynum. PERSONAL MATTERS Bynum was born in Pryor, Oklahoma , the son of Homer F. Bynum ( 1911 - 2004 ). He is Baptist. Over the years, Bynum gained weight and took part in a weight-loss program sponsored by the Area Health Education Centers of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The same program helped former Arkansas Governor Michael Dale "Mike" Huckabee , shed more than a hundred pounds. Bynum himself lost eighty pounds. The associate director of the program is Bynum's third wife, the former Carol Ann Bailey (born ca. 1941 ), who holds an Ed.D degree.
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 |
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