Jimmie Lou Fisher (Photo courtesy of Talk Business & Politics)
Jimmie Lou Fisher, one of the state’s longest serving constitutional officers and the first female major party nominee for Arkansas governor, has died, according to a Twitter statement from the Democratic Party of Arkansas. Additional sources have confirmed her passing.
Fisher, a resident of Paragould, was 81 years old.
According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas:
Fisher got her start in politics by being elected treasurer of Greene County in 1970, but her friendship and alliance with young Bill Clinton when he campaigned for Congress in 1974 launched her state political career.
Her final race came in 2002, when Democratic Party leaders persuaded her to run for governor against the popular Republican governor Mike Huckabee, who was running for his second full term. Though heavily outspent and suffering from a painful back ailment, Fisher nevertheless received 47% of the vote.
Fisher, a Democrat, was first elected county treasurer in Greene County, a post she held for eight years.
In 1979, Clinton, then governor, appointed her to state auditor to fill a vacancy. Two years later, she was elected state treasurer, an office she held for 22 years until term-limited.
Born in Delight (Pike County) in 1941, she was the oldest of five children. She was active in Democratic Party politics serving as vice-chair of the state party and was a delegate to the party’s national conventions in 1988, 1992, 1996, and 2000, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
Funeral arrangements have not been released.
Former Gov. Mike Beebe, D-Ark., issued this statement regarding Fisher.
“Jimmie Lou Fisher, only the third woman ever to be elected to statewide office in Arkansas, went on to serve a total of 22 years as state treasurer, longer than any other treasurer in Arkansas history. Not only was she one of our state’s most devoted public servants, Jimmie Lou had a great love of life, an energetic spirit, and she was a staunch advocate for education and public service. For me personally, she was a loyal friend, a trusted advisor, and a dependable ally. Saying that she was one of a kind is not a cliché in Jimmie Lou’s case; it’s the truth and we will miss her.”
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