Succession Clarified, Clinton Will Soon Resign as Governor

Having waited more than a month after winning the presidency, Bill Clinton plans to resign as Arkansas’ governor within the next few days now that the state’s Supreme Court has clarified the rules for his successor to take office, aides said Friday.

Clinton’s extended stay in the governor’s office had begun to raise protests from some, including editorialists at the state’s largest newspaper, who likened him to a guest who “says goodby but never leaves.” But Clinton, himself, had said for several weeks that he felt he could not quit the office until the courts resolved whether the state’s ambiguous constitution allows Lt. Gov. Jim Guy Tucker to take the job directly or whether a special election would be needed first.

Under the court ruling, Tucker will be allowed to assume the office without a new election. That means he, and not Clinton, will preside over a special legislative session starting Dec. 14 that is expected to be forced to raise new taxes to pay for the state’s Medicaid program.

Clinton is, however, expected to keep living in the governor’s mansion for at least a few more weeks. The President-elect does not own a house of his own, and Tucker has said he is welcome to stay in the mansion as a guest until he moves to Washington.