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Jimmie Lou Fisher was born in Delight, Arkansas and grew
up in Paragould. She graduated from Vilonia High
School and attended Arkansas State University. Ms.
Fisher is also a 1985 graduate of the John F. Kennedy
School of Government at Harvard University, Senior
Executives Program. She is a member of Pulaski
Heights Baptist Church in Little Rock.
 Ms.
Fisher was elected to her first term as Arkansas Treasurer
of State in 1980. Since that time, she has been
re-elected to 3 two-year terms and 3 four-year terms.
Prior to her election as Treasurer, Ms. Fisher served as
Auditor of State in 1979 and as Greene County Treasurer
from 1971-1978.
In addition to
elective service, Treasurer Fisher served on the staff of
Governor Bill Clinton in 1979 and as Vice-President for
the Southern Region of the National Association of State
Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers in 1987. She
also served as President of the National Association of
State Treasurers in 1990, was delegate to the White House
Conference on Aging in 1995, and was appointed to the
Rural Telephone Commission in 1996 by President Clinton.
As Treasurer, Ms. Fisher serves as a member of the Board
of the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, the
Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System Board, the
Arkansas Teacher Retirement System Board, the Arkansas
State Highway Employees Retirement System Board, and she
is a member and Secretary of the Arkansas State Board of
Finance.
As State Treasurer for the past 22 years Jimmie Lou Fisher
has managed the state’s money and produced over 1 Billion
dollars in interest. She has worked and cooperated
successfully with 11 different legislative sessions and 4
different governors. Fisher has produced 22 balanced
budgets.
As State Treasurer, she returned 13 cents of every dollar
allotted her to operate the Treasurer’s Office by looking
for ways to save. The Treasurer’s Office developed a
computer system to track the millions of transactions in
state government that works and the books of the State
Treasurer have always balanced. Jimmie Lou Fisher is the
only person in the race for governor with this kind of
experience.
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Jimmie Lou Fisher greatly increased the state of
Arkansas' annual earning by investing the state's
budget to achieve the highest interest rates. Last
year, she earned the state over $100 million in
additional revenues.
- Ms.
Fisher instituted a program that protected and secured
Arkansas Institutions' funds 110%, which had only been
covered up to $100,000 previously.
- She
implemented the first dual-entry financial accounting
system that made the state run on "real time." This
allowed the Treasurer's office to better manage the
growth in the state and revenue requirements.
- Ms.
Fisher gained great respect and appreciation from
county and school officials when she amended the
school funding system to keep local revenues local.
- She
modernized and upgraded the office of Treasurer and
had it Y2K compliant in 1998. The state of Arkansas
has become a leader in e-government through her tenure
as Treasurer.
- The
Treasurer's office invests and distributes $50 million
per month to cities and counties.
- She
has become VERY well respected for her input to the
House and Senate leaders on finance and investment
banking and budget issues.
- In
1997, through the International Banking act, the state
of Arkansas rewrote their banking laws. Ms. Fisher was
on the task force to develop new treasury management
laws which kept Arkansas banks competitive with
out-of-state banks.
Because of her lifetime
of service, Treasurer Fisher has received numerous
awards including:
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