LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced today that she will appoint Michael Mayton to the Workers’ Compensation Commission and Doyle Webb to be the chair of the Arkansas Public Service Commission. 

Mayton’s appointment will expire on December 31, 2028, and he will replace Christopher Palmer. Webb’s appointment will expire on January 14, 2029, and he will replace Kimberly A. O’Guinn. As chair, he will replace Katie Anderson, who will continue to serve on the Arkansas Public Service Commission.

“I am proud to appoint Michael Mayton to the Workers’ Compensation Commission and Doyle Webb to chair the Arkansas Public Service Commission – two respected, qualified leaders whose service will benefit every hardworking Arkansan,” Sanders said. “Michael is a top-notch attorney who has decades of experience successfully handling workers’ compensation cases, and Doyle has been an accomplished public servant, having spent his career working to improve the lives of Arkansans. I am pleased that both of them have agreed to take on these critical positions to help make Arkansas the best place to live, work, and raise a family.” 

Michael Mayton Bio: 

Michael R. Mayton is a native Arkansan, born in Hope, Arkansas, and a resident of Little Rock. He is a graduate of Taylor High School and received a Bachelor of Science degree, with honors, from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and a law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law at Fayetteville, where he was on the Dean’s List and served as the associate editor of the Arkansas Law Review.

Mayton is a lawyer in private practice specializing in the defense of employers and insurance carries and has been selected in the past for inclusion in Best Lawyers in Arkansas, Best Lawyers in America, and the Mid-South Super Lawyers List. He has practiced law for 46 years and for the past 30 years has focused his practice on the defense of workers’ compensation cases in Arkansas. Mayton has served twice as Special Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He is the senior partner in Mayton, Newkirk & Jones, a law firm in Little Rock.

Doyle Webb Bio: 

Doyle Webb graduated with a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law, now Bowen, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Webb worked as an attorney for the Arkansas Department of Labor. He established his own law firm in Benton, Arkansas, where he engaged in the general practice of law for 25 years. 

Webb is recognized for his ability to fairly and properly preside over court proceedings and meetings of state and national organizations. He has served as a Special Court Judge and a City Court Judge. Webb served as Chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas from 2008 until 2020. From 2017 to 2020, he also served as General Counsel for the Republican National Committee and chaired the Committee on Contests and Credentials Committees, where he presided over hearings concerning delegate selection to recent Republican National Conventions.

Webb entered public service when he was elected Justice of the Peace in Saline County. He distinguished himself as Budget Chairman where he recommended efficiencies in the operation of the county, lowered property taxes for the citizens, and renovated and expanded the Saline County Courthouse at no cost to the taxpayers.

In 1994, Webb was elected to the Arkansas State Senate representing Saline and Perry Counties. Webb served as the Senate Co-Chair of the Joint Committee on Energy which studied utility infrastructure and future water and energy requirements for Arkansas. He co-authored the Senate’s Code of Ethics and led efforts on behalf of the citizens and business owners before the Arkansas Public Service Commission to successfully authorize “Metro Calling” – telephone service connecting Benton, Bryant, and all of the Little Rock exchanges – as local service converting it from long distance calling. He advocated and assisted the Paron Community in receiving a state grant of nearly a million dollars to provide reliable, clean drinking water to the West End of Saline County. Along with then-Governor Mike Huckabee, Webb led the way to achieve the expansion of Interstate 30 from 4 to 6 lanes by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Commission between Little Rock and Benton.

In the Senate, Webb also served as Chairman the Rural Fire Department Study Commission and the Affordable Housing Taskforce and as the Vice Chairman of State Agencies and Governmental Affairs. He served on the Taskforce on Racial Profiling and a number of Committees, including Joint Budget, Legislative Council, Legislative Audit, Children and Youth, Judiciary, Efficiency, City, County and Local Affairs, and the Natural and Cultural Resources Council. 

Near the end of his second term in the Senate, Webb was appointed Chief of Staff by Lt. Governor Win Rockefeller, where he served from April of 2002 through January of 2007. 

Webb has served as President of the Benton-Bauxite Rotary Club, the Benton Civitan Club, the Royal Theater and as district chairman for the Quapaw Council for Boy Scouts of America. He is an ordained deacon and elder in the Presbyterian Church. Doyle and his wife, Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Barbara Webb, reside in Benton, along with their two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Cloie and Carlisle.