politicalbiographies.com
Bobby Rimmer
Christopher Robin Rimmer III was born on July 1st, 1960, to industrialist Christopher Rimmer, Jr. and his wife Lola in Greenwich, Connecticut. From an early age, Rimmer went by "Bobby" to differentiate himself from his father, who would become one of the few billionaires in the world.
In his teens, Rimmer was known for his womanizing ways, including an arrest recorded in the
Greenwich Time for "lewd behavior" at a local private high school in 1976. This all came to a head, when in 1977, Rimmer impregnated local waitress Wendy Jaynes. Strongly anti-abortion, Rimmer and Jaynes turned down advice from his family to "take care" of the problem, and the event turned out to be the last straw in his family relationship. He was disinherited by his father.
With only a couple million to his name, the shortest amount of money Rimmer had ever had, he moved down south to be "as far away" from his father as possible. They would never speak again before the elder Rimmer's death in 1984. Jaynes and Rimmer split amicably, with Jaynes remaining in Greenwich where she raised their son, Christopher Robin IV, part of the year in joint custody with Bobby.
Eventually, Rimmer settled in Fayettville, Arkansas, where he attended the University of Arkansas (his application to Duke University being rejected) from 1978 to 1982, and the U of A Law School from 1982 to 1986. For five years, Rimmer served as a modest lawyer in Fayettville within his own office, trying to live down his name and connection to the Rimmer family fortune (still in dispute amongst Rimmer's younger siblings).
A newspaper article in 1991 brought Rimmer's presence in Arkansas to light and spurred a bolster in his reputation amongst the Arkansas elite. He soon accepted a job as senior partner in Congressman Jack Stanton's law firm. When Stanton ran for Governor the following year, Rimmer took full control over the law firm and became a permanent fixture in Little Rock. In 1993, Rimmer was appointed by Stanton as Attorney General for Arkansas, following the previous holder's resignation. He would be elected to the position in 1996.
In 2000, he won the Democratic nomination for Governor to succeed Governor Stanton (himself running for Congress due to term limits). As the Governorship was not held by a Republican since Reconstruction, many assumed Rimmer (especially with his fairly conservative views) would win the election easily. However, low voter turnout amongst Democrats, toppled with higher turnout for Republicans in the midterm, saw a surprisingly high percentage (59%) for the Republican challenger, Matt Talbot. Rimmer retired from politics and reopened Rimmer-Stanton. In 2002 he helped his son, Chris IV, win Jack Stanton's in Congress, while Stanton unsuccessfully ran for the Senate seat held by Robert Miner.
In late 2003, Rimmer he was approached by DNC operative Steve Rorsche about running again for Governor. Talbot had low opinion polls and was seen as an easy take back by the Democrats. Rorsche saw a "revenge/second chance" campaign by Rimmer would resonate loudly amongst the Arkansas electorate, and personally managed the campaign. With a stronger emphasis on Rimmer's conservative principles, he beat Talbot's attempt at reelection.
As Governor beginning in 2005, Rimmer reversed many of the policies of Talbot. Although criticized for his working relationship with President Bartlet, and the hiring of his son as his chief of staff, Rimmer consistently polled higher among citizens than likely challengers. The local economy in Arkansas saw a boost in activity from 2006 to early 2008, relative to the rest of the United States, which many saw as a consequence of Rimmer's actions to protect small businesses (he liberally used his vetoed on many bills from the then-Republican-controlled state legislature).
In 2008, with the downturn in the economy, Rimmer saw a minor dip in polls. But by November, following a cross-state whistlestop tour, Rimmer easily beat his Republican challenger (a returned Talbot, taking credit for the '06 upturn). In 2009, his name came up several times as a long-shot possibility for Vice President or Supreme Court Justice, however he was never publicly vetted for either position. He closely advised President Santos on several occassions, and was a National Co-Chair on his 2010 reelection campaign. He has since claimed he focused "too much" on the unwinnable situation of Santos' reelection, and not enough on his own son's run for Senate (against Fletcher Carey for Howie Kim's seat), which he says "should've been easily winnable." On account of the Walken national victory, Chris Rimmer lost the Senate election that year.
In 2012, Rimmer will be term-limited from running again. He has not announced any plans for the future, saying he prefers to focus on the "here and now."
Rimmer lives in the State Capitol with his wife, Ella Griffith-Rimmer, and their two children (Rimmer's second and third).
