LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP)— Arkansas Treasurer Mark Lowery has died a day after announcing he was leaving office following two strokes he experienced over the past several months, his office said. He was 66.
Lowery’s office said the former state lawmaker died from complications from his stroke Wednesday morning at a Little Rock hospital. Lowery experienced his second stroke in June, and his office announced Tuesday he was leaving office on Sept. 30.
“We are devastated,” Chief of Staff Stephen Bright said in a statement. “Losing Mark represents a huge loss for the entire staff. Mark was an incredible leader and a humble public servant and this was unexpected.”
Lowery, 66, experienced two strokes, one in March and another in June. After the first, Lowery spent several weeks rehabilitating in Arkansas before recovering with his daughter in Maryland. Lowery’s office described the second stroke as more severe and said it led him and his family to decide to announce his retirement.
“It was the joy of his life traveling across Arkansas and building lasting relationships with constituents throughout the state,” Lowery’s family said in a statement. “Every moment of every day he lived his dream by serving others and fighting for Arkansans.”
The treasurer oversees the state’s investments and serves on several panels including the boards of trustees for the state employees and teacher retirement systems.
Alexa Henning, a spokeswoman for Sanders, said the governor was praying for Lowery and his family.
“She appreciates his decades-long service to the state and to Arkansans,” Henning said.
Before being elected treasurer in November, Lowery had served 10 years in the state House.
Lowery sponsored a 2017 law that reinstated the state’s requirement that voters show photo identification before being allowed to cast a ballot. A previous voter ID law had been struck down by the state Supreme Court, but justices in 2018 upheld Lowery’s revision.
Lowery also sponsored a 2021 law that removed the ability of people without identification to cast a ballot, even if they sign an affidavit affirming their identity.
