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Independent candidate gets Huckabee's signature Thursday, Apr 13, 2006 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Rod Bryan of Little Rock needs every signature he can get by the end of the month in his quest to qualify for the November election ballot as an independent candidate for governor. So when he saw Gov. Mike Huckabee walk by Wednesday, Bryan thought he'd ask. "I asked him if he wanted to sign my petition," Bryan said, recalling his encounter with Huckabee outside the Statehouse Convention Center, where the governor had attended a business awards luncheon. Initially, Bryan said, the governor declined, saying he supported Republican Asa Hutchinson for governor. A determined Bryan, who said he has collected about half the 10,000 signatures he needs, asked another way. "I asked him to do it so my wife can vote for me" Bryan said. The governor stopped, thought about it, then signed the petition. Bryan said his encounter with the governor illustrated a problem he has faced while seeking signatures. "People think that if they sign my petition they are endorsing me. It's not an endorsement. It just allows me to get on the ballot so anyone can vote for me," Bryan said. "(With Huckabee), we had a public official in a moment of clarity deciding that Democracy isn't so bad." Huckabee, in a statement released by his office, said he agreed to sign Bryan's petition "because (Bryan) clearly understood that I supported Asa and if he made it on the ballot it might be good for Asa." Attorney General Mike Beebe is the Democratic candidate for governor. |
