Just minutes after the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council took the oath of office this morning, veteran District 3 Councilman Chandler Loupe was elected mayor pro tem. Though several council members were interested in the position, which became available when Mike Walker's term ended at the end of 2012, no one opposed Loupe's nomination by District 4 Councilman Scott Wilson. The election of Loupe as mayor pro tem—a job that entails running the council meetings and standing in for the mayor in his absence—might suggest more of the same in terms of the divisions that existed between Holden and the previous council, which was sharply divided along racial and political lines. But Loupe tells Daily Report he wants to work closely with the administration. "I think this council will work hard on their issues and do so with a good working relationship with our mayor and his administration," Loupe says. Councilwoman Tara Wicker, who was also vying for the position, is...
Mayor Kip Holden will ring in the new year, quite literally, by taking the oath of office to begin his third term just minutes after midnight tonight. Holden's official inauguration will be Friday, but the mayor is putting his customary capstone on New Year's Eve celebrations tonight with a swearing-in ceremony at the new North Boulevard Town Square. "Most people don't realize that, according to the plan of government, the mayor must take office on Jan. 1," says Holden's political consultant, Rannah Gray, who is helping to plan the swearing in. "As [Holden] has done in his previous terms, he has decided to take the oath right away so he is ready to hit the ground running in the morning." The ceremony, which will be administered by local attorney and longtime Holden friend Leo Berggreen, will also cap the annual Historic Beauregard Town–Spanish Town New Year's Eve Celebration. Traditionally, that progressive party ends with the ringing of the bell on the State Capitol grounds.
While the new Metro Council is promising it will be more unified than the old one, its first order of business after the Jan. 3 inauguration—appointing a mayor pro tem— is shaping up to be a divisive one.
The 2012 election season wasn't a good one for Cajun Industries founder and GOP activist Lane Grigsby. He spent considerable money—he won't say how much—backing Mike Walker in the Baton Rouge mayor's race, William Morvant in the primary for the 5th District seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court, and John Michael Guidry in Saturday's Supreme Court runoff. All three lost. While Grigsby says he is disappointed, he is not discouraged. "I don't anticipate winning every time," he says. "I anticipate being on the right side." Grigsby believes a variety of factors were behind the losses of his three candidates. In the mayor's race, voters perceived Walker to be "one of the old guys who's been around forever. … He didn't offer anything new," Grigsby says. In the Supreme Court primary, Morvant's poor showing was due to the high number of sitting judges all competing for the same sliver of East Baton Rouge Parish voters. In the runoff, low voter turnout and Jeff Hughes' strong...
A week after Election Day, Bobby Jindal was one of three Republican governors mentioned as 2016 presidential candidates—including John Kasich of Ohio and Bob McDonnell of Virginia—who stopped by the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino to meet privately with its owner Sheldon Adelson, a man who could single-handedly underwrite their White House ambitions, Politico reports. Planning a presidential campaign used to mean having coffee with county party chairs in their Iowa or New Hampshire living rooms. The courting of Adelson, a full four years out from 2016, demonstrates how super PAC sugar daddies have become the new must-have "asset" for White House wannabes. Indeed, prospective candidates from both parties are wasting little time schmoozing potential super PAC funders. Read the full story here.
FuturePAC, BRAC's political action committee, is staying out of the runoff race on the Dec. 8 ballot between Democrat John Michael Guidry and Republican Jeff Hughes to fill the 5th District seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court. FuturePAC will not be making an endorsement in the race, a BRAC spokesperson confirms this morning. FuturePAC also did not make an endorsement in the race during the primarily earlier this month when a field of eight candidates were vying for the seat. "FuturePAC does not typically get involved in judicial races," says Lauren Songy Hatcher, BRAC's director of advertising and communications. In a move that surprised some, the four political action committees of influential business association LABI recently gave their endorsement to Guidry. In the primary, the LABI PACs were solidly behind Republican District Judge William Morvant, who got 11% of the vote. Guidry, 50, led the primary field with 27% of the vote. Hughes, 60, placed second with 21%.
Early voting is under way in Louisiana and continues through Saturday for runoff elections and other initiatives to be decided by voters on Dec. 8. In his latest column, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister lays out his endorsements for some of the choices on the ballot. "I have definite opinions about some of the races," writes McCollister. "I will let you draw your own conclusions about the others." The races McCollister discusses in his column include those for the Louisiana Supreme Court 5th District seat being vacated by retiring Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball, as well for the Court of Appeal, First Circuit; Metro Council, District 2; Metro Council, District 12; and City Court Judge, Division E. Click here to see all of McCollister's endorsements in the full column. Send your comments to
It might have come as a surprise to some that the powerful PACs associated with LABI did not endorse Republican candidate Jeff Hughes in the runoff for the District 5 Louisiana Supreme Court race. Instead, LABI's PACs went with his Democratic opponent, Michael Guidry.
It is amazing to me how some people are blinded by the past and “the way we've always done it before.” They see the future in a rearview mirror. That's a dangerous way to drive—whether it's your business, government or education, including our flagship university, LSU. (Hopefully, that is in the process of changing for LSU.)
Some of the biggest campaign spending in the Louisiana Supreme Court race recently—some $380,000 for 1st Circuit Judge Jeff Hughes—came from the third-party group Citizens for Clean Water and Land, a PAC formed last summer by trial attorneys with a stake in the outcome of oilfield legacy lawsuits. That's the same group that funded a high-profile TV ad campaign in September featuring Hays Town II and Jimmy Jenkins and their nonprofit group Save BR Water, which advocates tougher regulations for the municipal drinking water supply. Some have suggested the PAC teamed up with the nonprofit and its well-known founders to elevate its profile, give it legitimacy, and help it raise money to spend on Hughes in the November primary. But that wasn't the case, insists political consultant Roy Fletcher, who produced the commercials for the PAC. "The point of the [Save BR Water] ad campaign was to raise awareness about clean water," says Fletcher. "The point was not to raise money for...
When Democrat Kip Holden was elected mayor of East Baton Rouge Parish in 2004 on his third try, it was written off as something of a fluke, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball. "He was merely the benefactor of the 'anybody but Bobby [Simpson]' crusade," Ball writes in his latest column. And when Holden became the first mayoral candidate in parish history to win all 315 precincts in the 2008 election, Ball notes the landslide was declared a testament to Walter Monsour, "the mayor's get-it-done CAO and his conduit to the white, conservative business community." But Ball says there's a different explanation for the results of last week's election, in which Holden—absent Monsour and despite steadily declining popularity—was easily re-elected to a third and final term, with 60% of the vote. "The explanation, this time, was that many south Baton Rouge white voters decided four finite years of Kip was better than a potential dozen with Mike Walker, the...
The national elections are over and President Barack Obama has won another four years. Some folks are elated, some angry, and others just dazed, wondering, What’s going to happen now?
The perception is that Baton Rouge, like the rest of Louisiana, is solidly red, but four years ago presidential candidate Barack Obama beat John McCain here, 50.5%-48.3%. More surprising is that President Obama, the archenemy of our governor and this region's petrochemical industry, did even better last week against challenger Mitt Romney, 51.8%-46.6%.
If there was anything surprising about the outcome of the Baton Rouge mayor's race, it wasn't that incumbent Kip Holden was re-elected to a third term. Rather it was the wide margin with which Holden beat challenger Mike Walker. It wasn't even close, with the mayor receiving nearly 60% of the vote compared to Walker's 38%.
Republican U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany and Jeff Landry could end up spending more than $5 million total by the time a Dec. 8 runoff election decides who will represent Louisiana's 3rd District. "We could spend some really big bucks here," said Pearson Cross, head of the political science department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "Both of these candidates will continue to spend, and we're going to hit that $5 million mark." By Oct. 17, Boustany had spent $2.6 million, and Landry had spent more than $1.2 million. Neither candidate drew the primary election majority needed to win outright on Tuesday. In the weeks leading up to the runoff, both candidates will work to raise more money. "It's a new election, so they're entitled to new contribution limits," says Bob Biersack, senior fellow at the Center for Responsive Politics, a research group that tracks campaign spending. Individuals can contribute up to $2,500 per election, and political action committees can give up to...
One of the more closely watched contests in the Baton Rouge area was the race to fill the 5th District seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court, which is being vacated by retiring Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball. No fewer than eight candidates, including six sitting judges and two attorneys, spent millions collectively in a campaign that propelled judicial electioneering to new heights, or lows, depending on your perspective. "The thing that amazed me was how the candidates fell over each other basically promising how they would rule on issues," says Bob Mann, professor at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. "They talked about how they are ideological conservatives or whatever. … It strikes me as a very unethical way to run for office." Voters were apparently less bothered than Mann. Arguably, the most ideological conservative in the crowded field, 1st Circuit Judge Jeff Hughes, finished a strong second in the race with 21% of the vote behind fellow Appellate Judge...
If you thought Tuesday's election would be the end of the presidential speculation—at least for a little while—think again. It's only been a day since Republican challenger Mitt Romney was bested by President Barack Obama, and already the pundits and talking heads are yammering about who might be the Republican Party's next great presidential hope in 2016. And, in what should come as little surprise, Gov. Bobby Jindal's name is included in the mix. "The young and wonky governor of Louisiana coasted to a second term last year, and 2016 might finally mark a good opportunity for Jindal to take a run at higher office," reports the National Journal—which actually released its list of the "Top 10 Republican Presidential Contenders in 2016" while the votes were still being tallied on Tuesday. Jindal is No. 7 on the list, which you can see in its entirety
Now that Mayor Kip Holden has easily won a third term with a solid mandate from the voters, will his relationship with the Metro Council improve? Metro Council members sure hope so. "My hope is that Kip will be able to utilize this time to really bridge the gap and make sure lines of communication are open," says District 10 Councilwoman Tara Wicker. "The mayor and I spoke briefly about the divide and how it's not healthy," says Councilman-elect Buddy Amoroso, who will succeed the term-limited Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker in District 8. "We didn't talk about whose fault it is. The main thing is we try to move forward." Adds District 4 Councilman Scott Wilson: "We've got to have better communication with the mayor. That is the most important thing. It hasn't been there." That all sounds good the day after an election. But it's easier said than done. As a practical matter, for instance, Amoroso and several white members on the racially divided council are interested in exploring the...
Secretary of State Tom Schedler had predicted before Tuesday's election that voter turnout in Louisiana could top 70%, a feat that hadn't been achieved in about two decades. According to complete but unofficial results posted on Schedler's website this morning, Louisiana fell a bit short of that mark. With just shy of 2 million ballots cast, 67.2% of registered Louisiana voters went to the polls Tuesday. Turnout was higher in East Baton Rouge Parish, at 69.8%. And while Mitt Romney easily won Louisiana at large, President Barack Obama edged out his challenger in East Baton Rouge, 52% to 47%. In 2008, East Baton Rouge went for Obama over Republican challenger Sen. John McCain, 50% to 48%. Just a handful of Louisiana's 64 parishes saw Obama support eclipse that for Romney. Nowhere in the state did Obama perform better than in Orleans Parish, where voters sided with the president 80% to 18%. You can check out the complete results of the Louisiana vote, which still need to be made...
Members of the Louisiana Democratic Party celebrated President Barack Obama's re-election Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, The Times-Picayune reports, erupting into applause when Ohio's 18 electoral votes were called for the president. A "Relief, relief, relief" was what self-styled "campaign veteran" Nellie Gilbert says she felt when the major networks announced they were calling Ohio for Obama, pushing his electoral count over the needed 270 to win outright. "It's like you delivered that baby," Gilbert says. "It's finally out!" At the Democratic Victory Headquarters on Government Street, LSU Campus Democrats President Daniel Colvin says it was "amazing" to celebrate Obama's victory there with "like-minded individuals." Over 200 volunteers streamed in and out of the headquarters on Election Day, working in shifts to call voters in swing states like Florida and Ohio and to ensure polling places in Louisiana were open and operating smoothly. "Thank you for all your hard work,"...
It used to be that asking someone whom they cast their vote for was akin to asking them how much money they make or what their waistline measures. It appears social media is changing that perception. According to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project released today, roughly 22% of registered voters are taking to Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites to tell their friends, families and followers how they voted. Members of the older generation, however, remain the most hesitant to share their vote. While 29% of voters under the age of 50 reported publicly sharing their vote somewhere online, just 17% of voters over 50 said the same. The study also found that people are using Facebook posts and tweets to convince others to vote for their candidates of choice. Around 30% of registered voters say they've been encouraged by family and friends to vote for either President Barack Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney via posts on social media sites in the...
The most expensive presidential race in American history now becomes the biggest show on television, a night with enough uncertainty that it could become a telethon lasting well into morning—and perhaps even longer. For the third time in the last four presidential campaigns, The New York Times reports, the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees headed into Election Day so close in the national polls that not even one of the major opinion surveys gave either President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney any lead of statistical significance. But presidential races are decided in the states, and the nation will get an answer to the opposing cases for victory that each candidate has made for so many months. It will finally know, as one of Obama's top aides has put it, "which side is bluffing" and whether battleground-state polls, which have given Obama a slim but consistent edge where it matters most, accurately foretold the outcome. As the night unfolds, clues to the...
Voters in East Baton Rouge Parish who turned out to the polls early this morning were met with wait times that exceeded an hour in several precincts, while high usage of the Louisiana Secretary of State's website to find polling places and look up other voting information temporarily overwhelmed the site. Secretary of State Tom Schedler—who on Monday predicted Louisiana's turnout could exceed 70% this year—this morning issued a statement asking people to go easy on the "refresh" button when they're checking election results on his office's website. Schedler's office will post today's results at geauxvote.com, which he says can be overloaded when too many people try to repeatedly reload the page—which occurred this morning temporarily. The website appears to be back in operation as of press time. Office spokeswoman Meg Casper says voters can also get the information on the website by calling a...
No matter who wins the presidential election tomorrow, the economy is on course to enjoy faster growth in the next four years as the headwinds that have held it back turn into tailwinds. As Bloomberg reports, consumers are spending more and saving less after reducing household debt to the lowest since 2003. Home prices are rebounding after falling more than 30% from their 2006 highs. And banks are increasing lending after boosting equity capital by more than $300 billion since 2009. "The die is cast for a much stronger recovery," says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Penn. He sees growth this year and next at about 2% before doubling to around 4% in both 2014 and 2015 as consumption, construction and hiring all pick up. The big proviso, according to Zandi and Yale University professor Ray Fair, is how either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney tackles the task of shrinking the $1.1 trillion federal-budget deficit. The Congressional Budget Office...
Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler says he's expecting a strong turnout on Election Day, especially after a record number of voters cast their ballots ahead of time during the weeklong early voting period. More than 340,000 people voted early, nearly 12% of Louisiana's 2.9 million registered voters. In the 2008 presidential election, Louisiana turnout was about 62%. Addressing the Baton Rouge Press Club today, Schedler predicted turnout this year could top 70%; he says voters should expect long lines at the polls. At the top of Tuesday's ticket is, of course, the contest between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. A number of congressional races and judgeships are on the ballot across the state, as well as nine proposed constitutional amendments. A seat on the state's utility regulatory agency, the Public Service Commission, is also up for grabs, along with an open Louisiana Supreme Court seat representing the Capital Region. In East Baton...
The "Fight, Not Fear" campaign that Baton Rouge businessman and political activist Lane Grigsby is bankrolling in an effort to move public support behind consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office says both violent crime and property crime are 26% higher in Baton Rouge than in New Orleans. Innovative Advertising of Mandeville, which is managing Grigsby's campaign, based the percentages it released this morning on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports for 2011, released Oct. 29. "The new FBI statistics prove that the situation in Baton Rouge is even worse than we initially thought," says campaign spokesman Jay Connaughton in a news release. The crime statistics show that Baton Rouge, with a population of 231,592, had 2,468 violent crimes and 64 murders in 2011. They also show that New Orleans, with a population of 346,974, had 2,748 violent crimes and 200 murders last year. At the same time, Baton Rouge had 12,666 property crimes; New Orleans had...
An eerie quiet has settled over the Walker Components plant in Denver, which assembles custom cables for a global wind turbine company. Orders are down from earlier in the year, and one-third of its employees have been laid off so far in 2012. "At the beginning of this year we just didn't feel we had enough time, and now we've got too much time on our hands," says one of its workers, 25-year-old Calvin Huddleston. "I really thought wind would be a sustainable business." The wind energy boom President Barack Obama touted as key to his energy strategy has hit a wall in an election-year dispute over taxpayer support for renewable energy. The government poured billions of dollars into renewable energy, hoping to unleash a wave of good-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs. But federal spending to support development of green energy has dropped sharply—75% since 2009—amid tea party criticism that it's wasteful. Congress's failure to extend past December the production tax...
Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden's prospects to win a third term in the primary looked pretty good until a Republican barrage unloaded on him in the final weeks, with a strategy to peel Romney voters off of the two-term Democrat. An ad last week by Republican challenger and Metro Councilman Mike Walker started the offensive on a racial note, criticizing Holden for providing police protection to Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan when he spoke at Southern University in October. That ad was followed by a spot from the Republican Super PAC, based in Indiana, showing images of President Barack Obama and Holden with a voiceover saying the former has failed on the economy and the latter on crime. Finally, hitting close to home on Holden is a direct mail piece sent by a local GOP group that shows homes on the mayor's street with security bars on doors and windows. The ads have put Holden on the defensive in the final week, but he still has white support in south Baton Rouge neighborhoods...
Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister admits that narrowing down his endorsements for candidates on Tuesday's ballot "was a very tough task because there are many qualified candidates in some of the key races, especially in the race for (Louisiana) Supreme Court." Nonetheless, McCollister has made his picks, and he reveals them in his latest column. Here's a rundown of McCollister's endorsements for the races as they will appear on the ballot in East Baton Rouge Parish: • President: Mitt Romney, Republican • U.S. Representative, 6th District: Bill Cassidy, Republican • Louisiana Supreme Court, 5th District: Bill Morvant, Republican • Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit: Mike McDonald, Republican • Public Service Commission: Scott Angelle, Republican • Mayor-President: Kip Holden, Democrat • Metro Council, District 6: Donna Collins-Lewis, Democrat • Metro Council, District 10: Tara Wicker, Democrat
According to the polls, the so-called minor candidates in the Baton Rouge mayor's race—landscape architect Gordon Mese and attorney Steve Myers—don't have much of a chance to force a runoff between Mayor Kip Holden and Councilman Mike Walker, much less make it into one themselves. But if Tuesday night's live, televised forum with all the mayoral candidates showed anything, it's that Mese and Myers are keeping the contest interesting.
Their responses are in—or not—and our state legislators have spoken: They will leave solving the current health care crisis to Gov. Bobby Jindal rather than take responsibility for it themselves. A solid majority of the House, 66, and a supermajority of the Senate, 30, did not sign the petition for a special session to deal with the sudden loss of federal Medicaid dollars and with the governor's plan to close a mental health hospital and to gut public hospitals, turning some into glorified outpatient clinics.
With just a week before Election Day and the final campaign finance reports having been submitted, Democratic Mayor Kip Holden is winning the race for campaign cash and has nearly three times as much in his war chest as his main opponent, Republican Metro Councilman Mike Walker.
With just a week before Election Day and the final campaign finance reports having been submitted, Democratic Mayor Kip Holden is winning the race for campaign cash and has nearly three times as much in his war chest as his main opponent, Republican Metro Councilman Mike Walker. Between Sept. 28 and Oct. 17—the period covered in the latest campaign finance reports—Holden raised nearly $85,000, compared to Walker's $38,000, and has a total of more than $326,000 to spend in the final days of the campaign, while Walker has $133,000. Holden also far outspent Walker during the three-week reporting period, shelling out nearly $176,000 on campaign ads to Walker's $38,000. However, the reporting period does not include spending as of last week, which was when Walker began airing a high-profile and controversial TV ad about a Baton Rouge Police escort for Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan. Reports also show that candidate Steve Myers, no party affiliation, has $124,500 to...
In our increasingly digital world, pundits and talking heads have discussed at length the social media presence of President Barack Obama and his GOP challenger Mitt Romney in their respective campaigns for the White House. While the Obama campaign has been widely declared the "winner" when it comes to social media use and popularity, a new study released by the LSU Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs shows all those tweets and Facebook posts won't necessarily translate into more votes for Obama—even among those younger voters who are key to winning the election and are being heavily courted online by both candidates. "There is no statistically significant difference between Obama and Romney support among likely voters between 18 and 34 who use social networking as a source of political news," reads the study's executive summary. "Even when heavy users of social media and those who 'like,' 'follow' or 'view' are assessed, there is no meaningful difference in support across...
An important Election Day that will determine the direction for the next four years for our nation, city-parish and judicial system looms in just a week. There are many items on the ballot, and I certainly hope each voter will inform themselves and vote. It is hard to complain about the outcome if one doesn't participate in the process.
Mayor Kip Holden and several others today accused Metro Councilman and mayoral candidate Mike Walker of trying to divide the community along racial lines with a recent campaign ad. "We are building a city and a region with a national reputation," says Holden, who convened a press conference downtown this afternoon to discuss the "tone" of the mayoral race. "This commercial has the potential to stain our reputation." Holden is referring to an attack ad that claims Holden authorized the use of taxpayer funds to provide a police escort for Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan during a recent visit to Southern University. Motivational speaker, author and former LSU basketball coach Dale Brown spoke at today's press conference, saying he asked to appear because he's fed up with negative campaigns that seek to "pull somebody apart." Asked for comment following the press conference, Walker issued...
The system for electing City Court judges in Baton Rouge dilutes black voting strength and violates the U.S. Constitution and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That's according to a lawsuit filed last week in federal district court by three local attorneys, who say the system "is tantamount to an apartheid judicial election system in favor of White judicial candidates running for City Court." One of those attorneys, Joel Porter, is a black attorney running for City Court judge. The suit names Gov. Bobby Jindal, Attorney General Buddy Caldwell and Secretary of State Tom Schedler, and takes aim at the city's 1993 Judicial Election Plan, which was crafted by the state Legislature and creates two majority-black districts and three white ones. At the time, the 60-40 split reflected the population of the city, which was then 60% white, 40% black. Since then, the population has shifted, and black voters now compose 54% of the population, compared to white voters' 38%; but the Judicial Election...
Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White is taking responsibility for overseeing an incident that has spawned one of the most sensational ads of the political season: "Limoing Louie." The spot, paid for by Mike Walker's campaign, takes Mayor Kip Holden to task for a police escort that Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan received when he spoke earlier this month at Southern University. "The Mayor-President had no prior knowledge of Minister Farrakhan's scheduled visit … nor did I consult with the Mayor when security arrangements were coordinated," White writes in an email, adding that no overtime dollars were used. Walker's ad shows Farrakhan speaking at Southern and thanking the mayor, the police chief and the city police for meeting his flight in New Orleans and "shepherding" him to Baton Rouge. It concludes with the tag line: "Mayor, our police and taxes are for fighting crime, not limoing Louie." In response, Holden's campaign says the ad is misleading: that it takes a...
With just two weeks left before Election Day, early voting begins today in Louisiana for the Nov. 6 election, which includes the presidential race, six congressional races, judgeships, local contests—including mayoral and Metro Council races in East Baton Rouge Parish—and nine proposed amendments to the state constitution. Voters seeking to cast their ballots in advance of Election Day can vote early today through Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.—except on Sunday—at their parish registrar of voters' office or other designated locations. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says he anticipates high voter turnout for the election and is encouraging people to vote early to avoid long lines on Election Day. In East Baton Rouge Parish, there are four locations at which you can cast an early ballot: City Hall, 222 St. Louis St., Room 201; 10500 Coursey Blvd., Room 203; Louisiana State Archives, 3851 Essen Lane; and 2250 Main St. in Baker. You can see the list...
For months, the one reliable constant for President Barack Obama was the public's approval of his handling of foreign policy and terrorism. Al-Qaida was on the run, he would say. The war in Iraq was over. Bin Laden was dead. Crowds cheered and national polls showed a majority in the country stood with him. But with just 15 days left before Election Day, the landscape has changed; and as Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney take their seats at their third, final and foreign policy–focused debate tonight in Boca Raton, Fla., the president will be facing headwinds from abroad instead of the breezes that once had been at his back. Libya. Uncertainty in a post–Arab Spring world. Iran's nuclear intentions. U.S. casualties at the hands of Afghan security forces. Europe's continued struggles with its economic and financial crisis. A conflagration in Syria. Amid these mounting challenges, Obama will hear Romney charge him with exhibiting timid leadership. At the same time,...
With fewer than three weeks now remaining until the Nov. 6 election, Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball has seen enough—or not enough—to declare the local mayoral race the most boring in the modern history of Baton Rouge. "Be honest: Is anyone at all excited about this election—other than the candidates themselves and those who will handsomely profit if their guy is in office?" Ball asks in his latest column. While Mayor Kip Holden and his main challenger, Metro Councilman Mike Walker, have been content to squabble over a few well-worn issues including crime and infrastructure, Ball says, long-shot candidates Gordon Mese and Steve Myers haven't been able to inject any excitement into the race. "This race is such a who-cares affair that the campaign contribution haul of all four candidates combined is less than the $800,000-plus [Business Report Publisher] Rolfe McCollister single-handedly raised in his 2000 primary run for mayor," Ball notes.
Back in the summer of 2008, Metro Council member Mike Walker counted Mayor Kip Holden among his closest political allies. "I love Kip Holden to death," Walker said at the time, in reference to the mayor's proposed $900 million bond issue. "I'm glad he has the courage to present this bond issue." These days, the love is nowhere to be found, and Walker—the main challenger in the mayor's bid for a third term—is taking on his former friend in one campaign forum after another, attacking Holden's record on crime, crime and, well, crime. "The No. 1 responsibility of all public officials is public safety," Walker said at a forum in late September. "Mayor Holden has forgotten that." That Walker and Holden's relationship has devolved so dramatically in such a relatively short amount of time is one of the more interesting aspects of the 2012 Baton Rouge mayor's race. The other is that the lackluster political contest has been such a sleeper—focusing on few issues, attracting...
Technically, U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, still has an election to win to hang on to his seat in Congress. But with victory against two lesser-known opponents all but assured, Cassidy can afford to entertain the idea of running for the U.S. Senate against Democrat Mary Landrieu in 2014. "Absolutely, I would consider it," he says. "I'm an American. To be asked to run for Senate, wouldn't that be an incredible honor?" Which is not to say he's necessarily running. Doing so requires four things, he says: family approval, a victory in his next election, money in the bank, and support from "serious people," including big donors and grassroots organizers, who could help him win. "We've been working hard so the people in this district know that we have policy," he says, including work on Medicaid reform, relief for victims of the Stanford Ponzi scheme and dyslexia education. "You build that sort of reputation so that if another opportunity comes along, people look at your track...
The following is a list of endorsements for candidates in the East Baton Rouge Parish mayoral, Public Service Commission District 2 and Louisiana Supreme Court 5th District races, as submitted to Daily Report. If your association or organization has an endorsement in one of these races you'd like to share, please email it to ssanoski@businessreport.com.
Facing two bloodthirsty opponents who command hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, boast lengthy political careers and enjoy a regular public stage as mayor and mayor pro tem is a daunting enough prospect for any would-be candidate.
Back in the summer of 2008, Metro Council member Mike Walker counted Mayor Kip Holden among his closest political allies. “I love Kip Holden to death,” Walker said at the time, in reference to the mayor's proposed $900 million bond issue. “I'm glad he has the courage to present this bond issue.”
Editor's note: Ed Roy, R-Lafayette, has since dropped out of the District 2 race for Public Service Commission. If ever there were any doubts about the state of the Louisiana Democratic Party, consider the District 2 race for Public Service Commission.
Election Day is Nov. 6, and I hope you are ready to vote. There are local, state and national decisions each of us must make, and you should examine the issues and the candidates as the outcomes will impact you and your business.
Three weeks remain before voters cast their vote for mayor, yet one fact is undeniably clear: This is the most boring mayoral campaign in the modern history of Baton Rouge.
It sounds like the opening lines of another lawyer joke: Six sitting judges are running for one seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court. A poll comes out, and guess who's leading?
While the mayor's race isn't turning out to be terribly exciting or full of surprises, the Metro Council races are proving even less riveting. Six of the 12 seats are already filled—because either the incumbent or the replacement for the term-limited incumbent was unopposed. Even in those districts where incumbents do face challengers, the current office holders are strongly favored.
It's exactly four weeks until Election Day, and the latest campaign finance reports, due at midnight, have been coming in all day. In the local mayoral race, Mayor Kip Holden leads Metro Councilman Mike Walker handily, with a total of $750,000—$161,500 of which has been raised during the most recent reporting period—and $417,000 cash on hand. To date, Walker has raised $412,000, $80,000 during the most recent reporting period. He has about $125,000 available to spend in the final weeks of the race, though donations from a fundraiser with top GOP elected officials in New Orleans next week is not included in this report. In the hotly contested race for Louisiana Supreme Court, local attorney Mary Olive Pierson leads the crowded field, with more than $289,000 raised so far, including $77,000 in contributions. She has about $75,000 cash on hand. Other reports show 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jeff Hughes with $284,000 raised and $284,000 cash on hand; 19th Judicial...
When the political ranting of your Facebook friends get wonkier or more diabolical than defending Big Bird or calling for open hunting season on the PBS icon, it can be tempting to "unfriend" them. But to do so is akin to social-media shunning of the worst sort, says Mary Ellen Slayter, a member of the local social media association, BRSocME, and founder of Reputation Capital. She advises against the unfriending for political reasons. "I think it's aggressive"—and the same goes for unfriending friends with numerous wall posts of babies or puppies, says Slayter, a former career-advice columnist for young workers at The Washington Post. "My No. 1 rule is: you can't call people names," Slayter says. "As long as people are talking about facts, I let them have at it." Only racist posts by an old acquaintance has justified an unfriending for Slayter. Be that as it may, Southeastern Louisiana University Communication Professor Joseph Burns says election season can spur many...
It hasn't been hard for Mayor Kip Holden and chief rival Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker to find areas of disagreement during this mayoral campaign. "At forum after endless forum, it's bluntly clear to anyone paying the least bit of attention that these two share little in common when it comes to solving the problems of this parish or in their visions for the future of Baton Rouge," says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball in his latest column. Combating crime, downtown investment and economic development are popular issues the candidates have discussed at great length—putting their differences on display time and time again. "Yet Walker and Holden are in agreement on one point: a willingness to ignore the escalating poverty rate in this parish, a rate that, according to the Census Bureau, is now estimated to be at 20.1%," Ball says. "Think about that: One out of every five East Baton Rouge residents is living in poverty. Even worse is incorporated Baton Rouge, where the...
While the lackluster Baton Rouge mayor's race has been relatively short on spending so far by either Mayor Kip Holden or Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker—collectively the candidates have raised only $700,000 or so—that may soon change. An influential group of Republican lawmakers and GOP party officials will be passing the hat for Walker later this month at a pricey fundraiser in downtown New Orleans. U.S. Sen. David Vitter, Congressmen Bill Cassidy and Steve Scalise, and La. Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere are hosting the Oct. 17 event, which costs $500 per couple. For a special host committee reception, the price is $1,000 per individual. "Clearly this shows that serious money can be raised," says political consultant Roy Fletcher, who is producing Walker's paid campaign ads. "Mike is the conservative and they want to be with him." Though candidates for public office seldom look gift horses in the mouth, the invitation for Walker's reception makes clear that not...
During this mayoral campaign, incumbent Kip Holden and chief rival Mike Walker have had zero problem finding areas of disagreement. At forum after endless forum, it's bluntly clear to anyone paying the least bit of attention that these two share little in common when it comes to solving the problems of this parish or in their visions for the future of Baton Rouge.
Metro Councilmember Tara Wicker makes no bones about her political aspirations. "I would absolutely love to be mayor of this city," says Wicker, the District 11 councilwoman. "My dream is to help create a city where my five children can live when they grow up. If that means getting into a mayor's race so that I can create that city, I will do it." But not this time. Wicker says she decided against throwing her hat in the ring this fall—after giving serious thought to the race—because the contest between Mayor Kip Holden and Councilman Mike Walker was too bloody and contentious before it even began, and she didn't think it was in her best political interest to get involved in it. "Their fight is a fight that is more about the individuals than the community, and I didn't think that was the kind of race I want to be involved in," she says. "That and the fact that I want to finish what I started in my district." —Stephanie Riegel
If Mike Walker is to become the next mayor of Baton Rouge, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball, two things must happen. "First, incumbent Kip Holden can't win the race outright (50%-plus) in the Nov. 6 primary; and, second, voters in south Baton Rouge must turn out in significant numbers and push the 'x' button for the current mayor pro tem in the Dec. 8 runoff," Ball writes in his latest column. "It's as simple as that—and it's Walker's only legitimate shot at preventing Holden from winning a third term as the head of the parish and its signature city." Holden is hardly the darling that he was with voters in 2008, when he easily won re-election with 71% of the primary vote and became the first mayoral candidate to capture all 314 parish precincts, Ball acknowledges. But despite the fact that his popularity has been slowly fading—in both the black and white communities—ever since, Ball says: "Holden is still the incumbent, he's still popular with...
If Mike Walker is to become the next mayor of Baton Rouge, two things must happen: First, incumbent Kip Holden can't win the race outright (50%-plus) in the Nov. 6 primary; and, second, voters in south Baton Rouge must turn out in significant numbers and push the “x” button for the current mayor pro tem in the Dec. 8 runoff.
The front cover of the Nov. 5, 1991, issue of Business Report is not subtle. There are head shots of Republican David Duke and Democrat Edwin Edwards, with a big red X over Duke's face. “Business faces disaster,” the headline warns.
Support for Mayor Kip Holden's re-election among whites has fallen to only about 29% of likely voters, says pollster Bernie Pinsonat, who addressed the Baton Rouge Press Club this afternoon. Holden's approval rating among whites at times has been as high as 60% or better, Pinsonat says. "Crime is absolutely wearing him out," he says. Pinsonat stopped short of predicting that Holden will lose the election, remarking only that the race is closer than many observers might have predicted several months ago. Holden still polls better than the "very unpopular" Metro Council at large, although Pinsonat notes people may be happier with their own representative than with the council as a whole. The parish is becoming "a lot more fractionalized," he says, as shown by deep divisions over issues such as the downtown library, the transit tax and breakaway school districts. The "downtown crowd" is unpopular with a large segment of the parish population, while some people who live in the city of...
Speaking about the pursuit of the American dream at the Republican National Convention last week, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "Ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement. We have never believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well. … Ours has been a belief in opportunity." Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says Rice's view—and that of the Republican party—stands in stark contrast to that of President Barack Obama's and the Democratic party. "Rice addressed our values, our opportunities, our challenges and the leadership they require," McCollister writes in his new column. "Her views are not about race or gender, but about the belief in individual freedoms and pursuit of happiness for all." McCollister says Rice's address articulated some of the differences between Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney that voters should keep in mind as they go to the polls this fall. "The essence of...
Baton Rouge entrepreneur Charlie Davis is only 36, but already he's a Republican lifer. Davis ran for chairman of the College Republican National Committee in 1997. He served as president of the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference, as an elected member of the party's state Central Committee, and as director of the Republican Party of Louisiana.
The election for the Public Service Commission open seat is still more than two months away—the primary is in November, not October—but the campaigns are beginning to take shape. Earlier this week, Scott Angelle picked up endorsements from the presidents of six parishes—including Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Martin, St. Mary, Iberville and West Baton Rouge—and next week the three candidates will square off in their first face-to-face Candidates Forum, sponsored by the East Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce. The event is scheduled to be held Tuesday at Café Americain, 7521 Jefferson Hwy. "Because of our system of not having party primaries, the race will be held later than usual, but you're going to start to see it heat up in the next couple of weeks," predicts pollster Bernie Pinsonat. The Candidate Forum is set to begin at noon on Thursday. A reception will precede at 11:30 a.m. It is open to all chamber members, business owners and their guests. Cost for lunch...
In attending Metro Council meetings the past six months, Steve Myers says he kept waiting for a highly qualified candidate to enter the mayoral race. "But nobody else stepped up," says Myers, co-founder of Tiger Rag and a real estate broker who last year set out to organize the Baton Rouge Independent Landlords Organization. Just before the deadline late Friday, Myers qualified to run in the mayoral race on the Nov. 6 ballot. He faces incumbent Mayor Kip Holden, term-limited Metro Councilman Mike Walker, and Garden District businessman Gordon Mese, whose campaign slogan is "Mese Against the Machine." Myers says he believes Walker and Holden will cancel each other out in voters' minds with their increasingly nasty rhetoric. He also figures that the absence of a campaign presence before Friday may work in his favor, leaving him looking like a fresh alternative. "My goal is to be a good candidate," Myers says. Besides crime and traffic, Myers says he would focus on eliminating...
On the day before qualifying began for this fall's political races, Democratic consultant Michael Beychok said Mayor Kip Holden's reelection looks like a slam dunk.
Endorsements don't necessarily deliver votes, but they do help raise money, which is why the endorsement of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is proving to be so important in the hotly contested race for the Louisiana Supreme Court seat. The contest has so many announced candidates—seven by last count—none has had much success in passing the hat. Earlier this month, 19th Judicial District Judge Bill Morvant got a leg up on the competition when LABI threw its official support behind him. Such a blow did fellow contestant Jeff Hughes consider LABI's selection of Morvant, the First Circuit Court of Appeal judge asked LABI to reconsider its evaluation of him, noting in a letter, “With the support of LABI, I can win the race.”
The state Board of Ethics has been looking at revising how candidates running for office spend their campaign contributions. The Campaign Finances Rules committee says it's in the process of reviewing a new set of recommendations regarding campaign finance rules. Once a draft of recommendations has been compiled, the committee will present the full board with the recommendations for consideration. Scott Schneider, chairman of the committee, says its members began looking at revisions for the current rules because the board noticed a number of cases where campaign funds seemed to be used for purely personal reasons. Louisiana has traditionally had few restrictions on how candidates can spend their campaign funds. On the table for consideration are campaign funds used by candidates for sports tickets, clothing and travel expenses.
Larry Selders has qualified to run against incumbent Tara Wicker for the District 10 seat on the Metro Council. Selders, a BREC commissioner, says his campaign began a few weeks ago. "As the City Council representative for District 10, I plan to focus on the Plank [Road] to Scenic [Highway] and Thomas Delpit corridors as centers of investment," Selders says in a news release. "For too long these areas have been neglected while investments happen around them." Selders is Wicker's lone challenger thus far. Today is the last day for candidates to qualify. You can keep up-to-date with all those qualifying for races at the secretary of state's website here. Meanwhile, The Times-Picayune reports Thursday was a slow day at the secretary of state's office, with only four new candidates qualifying for multiparish races on the Nov. 6 ballot. One notable qualifier, however, was a second challenger to Baton Rouge...
In full campaign mode and having just received the endorsement of the Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish, mayoral candidate Mike Walker gave a fiery luncheon speech today at Café Americain that hammered home his platform of reducing crime while touching on other key issues. Besides tackling crime, Walker told the monthly Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon that he wants to limit mayoral leadership to two terms. "If you can't get it done in eight years or have somebody set up to come in behind you, then you can't get it done," Walker says. Mayor Kip Holden, a Democrat, is running for his third and final term. Walker also promoted himself as a servant to small business, which he says is stymied by governmental red tape. "All we do is throw small obstacles in your way," he says. Walker also explained to those gathered how as mayor he'd fight crime through improving education. —Adam Pearson
The Republican Party of Louisiana won't endorse candidates in the Nov. 6 election for races that have two or more GOP contenders seeking the same office. That includes the most high-profile Republican battle in Louisiana: the race between U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany of Lafayette and U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry of New Iberia. The two men were forced into the same district when Louisiana lost a congressional seat. State Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere tells The Times-Picayune that party officials like both Boustany and Landry and won't get involved in that race or others with at least two Republican candidates. Villere says the party will get involved in the Dec. 8 runoff if a Republican is up against a Democratic opponent.
Metro Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards says she's running for re-election to a second term as representative of District 5. "I look forward to continuing to work with the community to pursue greater improvements in infrastructure and neighborhood revitalization, basic services and smart growth initiatives, economic and small business development," Edwards says in a prepared statement. Edwards says she has established a track record of achieving "major accomplishments" during her first term, including "a 125% increase in civic participation, over $150 million invested in new housing construction, $187 million in dedicated street, bridge, sewer improvements and infrastructure repairs." She also says progress has been made on blight removal in her district and points to two newly constructed elementary schools as evidence of it. Thus far, no candidates have announced a challenge to Edwards for the seat. Qualifying ends Friday. For Edwards' full biography and information on legislation she...
Scott Angelle may have finally silenced those complaining that he can't make up his mind, as he made some major moves this week. First, on Tuesday, he was appointed to the LSU Board of Supervisors; on Wednesday, he resigned as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources; then on Thursday, he jumped headlong into the Public Service Commission race against Rep. Erich Ponti of Baton Rouge and former Lafayette Parish Councilman Ed Roy. All three men are Republicans. Angelle leaves the DNR as the agency grapples with its response to the bizarre phenomenon of an enormous sinkhole that has swallowed trees and earth in Assumption Parish following mysterious reports of natural gas bubbling in nearby Bayou Corne. Local media outlets reported Thursday that the suspected cause of the bubbles and the 422-foot-deep hole is the failure of a nearby salt cavern that DNR officials knew had structural problems as early as January 2011.
The A&E reality show Cajun Justice may not be returning after the season finale airs next week. The show, which follows the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, is airing its final episode of the season Aug. 16. The show was taped when Vernon Bourgeois was sheriff. Bourgeois did not seek a second term and was replaced by former longtime sheriff Jerry Larpenter, who says he doesn't want to see the show return. Larpenter tells The (Houma) Courier that the show was "ridiculous and disrespectful." He says he spoke with producers before taking office last month but has not talked to them since. Larpenter served as sheriff for 22 years, but didn't seek re-election in 2007, choosing instead to run for parish president. Though he lost that race, voters re-elected him to the sheriff's post last year. Read the full story here.
A day after announcing his resignation as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources—a position he held more than eight years—Scott Angelle this morning confirms to Daily Report that he's entering the race for the Public Service Commission District 2 seat. "Obviously, I've chosen to devote much of my adult life to public service, and I think there's an opportunity for me to expand my role. On the PSC, I believe I can bring about more opportunities to create an environment that is conducive to creating jobs and growing our economy," says Angelle, a Republican. "I am confident I can do more good for the people of Louisiana." Angelle's announcement also comes a day after Baton Rouge Republican Rep. Erich Ponti announced his candidacy for the PSC seat that's being vacated by Jimmy Field, who is retiring at the end of his fifth term on Dec. 31. Ponti says he has approximately $280,000 in ready cash for the race, close to $170,000 of which he has raised...
Baton Rouge Republican Rep. Erich Ponti announced this morning he's running for the District 2 seat on the Public Service Commission that's being vacated by Jimmy Field, who is retiring at the end of his fifth term on Dec. 31. Ponti, also a general contractor, says he sees the PSC as a place where his "conservative principles can serve ratepayers and help strengthen our economy." Ponti says he has approximately $280,000 in ready cash for the race, close to $170,000 of which he has raised since early June. Many prominent Louisiana politicians—including former Govs. Huey Long, John McKeithen and Kathleen Blanco—have used the five-member, independent regulatory agency as a stepping-stone in their careers. Also announced as a candidate for the vacant PSC seat on the Nov. 6 ballot is Lafayette businessman Ed Roy. The recently redrawn District 2 covers the parishes of Lafayette, St. Mary, St. Martin, Terrebonne, Lafourche, East Feliciana, West Feliciana and Point Coupee as well...
Businessman Jim Mayer has sent an email to supporters announcing his withdrawal from the upcoming mayor's race. He is giving up his long-shot bid, he writes, to focus his energy on helping LSU, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the medical school survive "devastating" budget cuts. Mayer does not explain in his email how he intends to accomplish his new goal. The decision, which comes less than a week after Republican John Conroy left the race, reduces the field to three announced candidates: incumbent Kip Holden, term-limited Metro Council member Mike Walker and business owner Gordon Mese. Qualifying for candidates does not begin until Aug. 15, but it increasingly appears the race will be a two-person showdown between Holden and Walker. —JR Ball
With presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney expected to announce his pick for a running mate sometime in the next week or two, speculation about who will get the nod is hitting fever pitch. Gov. Bobby Jindal has been considered to be among those on Romney's short list for months now. In recent weeks, Jindal has been traveling outside of Louisiana—on the campaign trail alongside and on behalf of Romney—about as much as he's been in the state. Political observers are predicting that by spending an inordinate amount of his time campaigning for Romney, Jindal is setting himself up for national office, although it might not be this year. "Win or lose, he's going to come out of this looking good," says Pearson Cross, head of the Political Science Department at the...
The LSU Public Policy Research Lab recently conducted a study that surveyed first-time voters in 2008 and found that 82.5% of those who voted for President Barack Obama are less likely than other Obama voters—90%—to think he deserves re-election. The PPRL survey also found that 82.2% of 2008 first-time voters are less likely than other voters—93.3%—to say they will definitely be voting in 2012, and that 71.9% of 2008 first-time voters are less likely than other 2008 Obama voters—90.4%— to say the president will be better than GOP candidate Mitt Romney at improving the economy. The study was supported by the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs and housed within the Manship School of Mass Communication. "This unique insight into President Obama's base offers a sneak peek into how his key constituency's loyalty has fared in the four years since he stepped into office," says PPRL Director Kirby Goidel. "This is the only survey to identify 2008...
Right after the question of the future of the Shaw Group in Louisiana is, What's next for its retiring chairman and CEO, Jim Bernhard? Louisiana politics, perhaps, according to one source who tells LaPolitics the Democrat might jump into the Public Service Commission election this fall. From there, several political sources agree, the logical step would be to run for governor in 2015. Bernhard did not return a phone call for comment. Should Bernhard take that path, he would be the dream candidate for state Democrats, now on the brink of electoral despair. The open PSC seat would be a natural fit, with his record of building a pipe fabrication company into an energy and construction engineering giant. As a potential candidate for governor in 2015, he would offer unquestioned job creation credentials. Bernhard is not exactly idle. Still Shaw chairman and CEO, he has to guide the public company through the completion of the acquisition by Dutch firm CB&I in January. After that,...
The deep federal spending cuts scheduled to take effect at the start of next year may trigger dismissal notices for tens of thousands of employees of government contractors, analysts say, and the notices may start going out mere days before the presidential election, says The Washington Post. By law, all but the smallest companies must notify their workforce at least 60 days in advance when they know of specific job cuts that are likely to happen. Obama administration officials say that the threat of layoffs is overblown and that Republicans are playing up the possibility rather than trying to head it off. The Labor Department said Monday that it would be "inappropriate" for contractors to send out large-scale dismissal notices, because it is unclear whether the federal cuts will occur and how they would be carried out. Republicans reacted with fury, saying it is the White House that is playing politics. "The president is focused on preventing advance notice to American...
Like other Gulf Coast states, Louisiana has flipped, politically speaking, from blue to red over the past 20 years. The most recent FiveThirtyEight projections of The New York Times give Mitt Romney a 99.7% chance of carrying the state. Republican presidential candidates have carried Louisiana easily since George W. Bush first won the presidency in 2000. In 2008, Louisiana was one of four Republican states in the country to vote more in favor of U.S. Sen. John McCain (58.6 percent) than Bush in 2004 (56.8 percent). But while Louisiana votes consistently with the Deep South, its conservative engine is made up of slightly different parts, some of which, when viewed in isolation, falsely appear to make Louisiana more pink, or purple, than red. Of the roughly 2.9 million registered voters in the state, 1.4 million are registered as Democrats, while about 789,000 are registered Republicans and another 694,000 registered as "other." Even if every "other" voter sided with...
The mayor's race heats up this week, as mayoral challenger Mike Walker unveils a new series of campaign spots that take aim at Mayor Kip Holden for being at the National Urban League convention last week while several violent crimes were taking place in the city. The one-minute ads, which will air on a variety of local radio stations as part of a $15,000 media buy, do not capitalize on the high-profile crimes per se, according to media consultant Roy Fletcher, who produced the spots. Rather, the ads are "framed around the notion that he and Obama were speaking to the Urban League while all this was going on," Fletcher says. "The problem is, the guy doesn't deal with it. He doesn't deal with what's going on. That's Mike's point." Crime has been Walker's main focus thus far in the campaign. Earlier this summer he ran a series of radio ads that also focused on crime. The new commercials, which begin tomorrow, are more heavy-hitting and pointed in their criticism, says Fletcher. "It's...
As diners in the small town of Newton, Iowa, dug into loose-meat sandwiches at a Maid-Rite restaurant Thursday, Gov. Bobby Jindal worked his way along the counter telling them why they should vote for Mitt Romney, The Indianapolis Star reports. "Every year we've borrowed more than a trillion dollars," Jindal told about 25 invited townspeople and a few random patrons. "My little girl came home from school the other day … and she had a button on. It said: 'Please, don't anybody tell President Obama what comes after a trillion.' " The diners, eating a round of sandwiches on the campaign's tab, burst into laughter. Jindal was one of several big-name Republicans stumping for Romney in Iowa while the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is oversees. In one interview, Jindal was asked if he's just a shiny, look-at-me object meant to deflect attention from Romney's real choice as running mate, who will likely be revealed in August. "I'm flattered that you would describe me as...
State officials are disputing a national report released Wednesday that called Louisiana's programs for overseas and military voters 'inadequate' and gives it among the lowest marks in the country. Conducted by the Verified Voting Foundation, the Rutgers Law School Constitutional Litigation Clinic and Common Cause, the report says hackers could pose a problem for Louisiana because it lets overseas voters return their ballots by fax and does not provide backup paper ballots at polling places, opening the system up to cyberattacks. "They're not going to be happy with anything we do because their agenda is paper ballots," first assistant secretary of state Kyle Ardoin tells The (Lafayette) Advertiser. "They don't know our system and they don't want to know our system because we don't use paper ballots." Ardoin says he finds the report interesting considering the Pew Center of the States "recognized us as a model state for integrity of elections. We'll look at best practices...
As the 2012 race toward the White House begins to heat up, speculation about presumptive GOP candidate Mitt Romney's forthcoming pick for a running mate has run rampant. And whenever the topic comes up, Gov. Bobby Jindal's name seems to be somewhere in the conversation—with some making their case for him and others against him. A recent survey conducted by LSU's Public Policy Research Lab offers some insight and guidance into what type of candidate would net Romney the biggest gains with voters. In short, picking a moderate candidate would net Romney the largest gain in support. Choosing a religious conservative would be the least popular choice among voters, the survey says. "In selecting a vice-president, Mitt Romney faces an interesting dilemma—pick a religious conservative to mobilize his Republican base or pick a moderate to appeal to independent and potential crossover voters," says PPRL Director Kirby Goidel. "Our data show pretty convincingly that Romney's biggest...
A new report analyzing states' programs for overseas and military voters gives Louisiana and Delaware the lowest marks in the country, and says The Bayou State is among a half dozen that are least prepared for problems and most susceptible to cyberattacks. The report was released today by Common Cause, Rutgers Law School and the Verified Voting Foundation. It calls Louisiana's plan "inadequate," and says hackers could pose a problem for the state because it's among 24 that lets overseas voters return their ballots using the Internet, email or fax. Louisiana is also faulted in the report for not providing backup paper ballots at polling places. Elections Commissioner Angie Rogers tells USA Today that the state cannot afford the cost of backup ballots—more than $150,000 — and instead ensures that each polling place has at least two machines in case one breaks down. Secretary of State Tom Schedler, meanwhile, says Internet voting is not ready yet in the state, which...
President Barack Obama arrives in New Orleans today to help kick off the National Urban League annual conference. But as The Times-Picayune notes, Obama is landing in a state where his party, less than a month before the qualifying deadline, has yet to find a congressional candidate for any district outside the black-majority seat held by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans. In short, while the president may have plenty of admirers in New Orleans—as well as across Louisiana and the Deep South—he doesn't have a whole lot of political allies. State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, who seized control of the Democratic party from Buddy Leach in April, says this is a year for "grassroots rebuilding." But so too was last year, when the party failed to field a single major candidate for any statewide office, including governor. Rebuilding is certainly the order of the day for the Democratic Party across much of the South, where the party's fortunes are lower...
Unless Mitt Romney taps him as his running mate and wins, come next January Gov. Bobby Jindal will still have the job he says he wants. The oft-touted alternative—that Jindal would accept a Cabinet post under Romney—doesn’t fit his career trajectory. His having tasted supreme power probably spoils Jindal for working for someone else again. Also, doing so would divert him from seeking the job he really wants, eventually.
Gov. Bobby Jindal is back in Ohio today, campaigning for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Jindal spokeswoman Shannon Bates tells The Times-Picayune that the governor's trip includes an appearance at a fundraiser for Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat. Jindal, who is widely speculated to be among the top three candidates to run on the Romney ticket this fall, was expected to return to Baton Rouge today. Romney was in Baton Rouge Monday for a fundraiser that netted him $2 million from about 40 donors, each of whom forked over $50,000 to lunch with him. Jindal, who attended Monday's fundraiser, was in Ohio and Pennsylvania—two election battleground states—with the Romney campaign just two weeks ago at the same time that President Barack Obama was campaigning there. In his column today, Chris Cillizza of The...
Unless Mitt Romney taps him as his running mate and wins, Gov. Bobby Jindal will still have the job he says he wants. The oft-touted alternative, that Jindal would accept a Cabinet post under a President Romney, doesn't fit his career trajectory. His having tasted supreme power probably spoils Jindal for working for someone else again. Also, doing so would divert him from seeking the job he really wants, eventually.
Unless Mitt Romney taps him as his running mate and wins, Gov. Bobby Jindal will still have the job he says he wants. The oft-touted alternative, that Jindal would accept a Cabinet post under a President Romney, doesn't fit his career trajectory. His having tasted supreme power probably spoils Jindal for working for someone else again. Also, doing so would divert him from seeking the job he really wants, eventually. Given the governor's background, the federal department he would seem fit to run is Health and Human Services, which has "dead-end" written all over it. Even with a GOP-controlled Senate, the messy ordeal of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act with something that works better, if at all, would be fraught with controversy and pitfalls that would cry out for a fall guy: namely, the secretary. Besides, as powerful and high-profile as a Cabinet position may be, what is the future in it? Who was the last Cabinet secretary to be elected president? Answer: Herbert...
Louisiana Republicans who shelled out $50,000 to have lunch with presumptive GOP nominee for president Mitt Romney were not disappointed as they left the downtown City Club this afternoon shortly after 1 p.m.
Louisiana Republicans who shelled out $50,000 to have lunch with presumptive GOP nominee for president Mitt Romney were not disappointed as they left the downtown City Club this afternoon shortly after 1 p.m. "It was worth every thousand dollar," says Cajun Industries founder Lane Grigsby, one of the 40 who attended the two-hour luncheon with Romney and Gov. Bobby Jindal. "I have been so dejected by where our nation is headed. He gave us hope, and I believe we have a chance of taking our nation back." Grigsby and his wife, Bobbi, were among just a handful of Baton Rouge area Republicans at the event, which also included Eddie Rispone, CEO of Industrial Specialty Contractors and his wife, Linda; Kevin Couhig, CEO of Source Capital; and Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Coastal Conservation. Other notable GOP donors in attendance included Saints owner Rita Benson Leblanc, PHI CEO Al Gonsoulin, New Orleans banker Joseph Canizaro, and Bollinger Shipyards CEO Donald "Boysie"...
With Mitt Romney holding a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser at the City Club downtown today that Gov. Bobby Jindal is also expected to attend, political pundits will surely be considering the timing of Romney's Baton Rouge visit, whether it is coincidental or might mean the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is leaning toward selecting Jindal as his running mate. Even before today's fundraiser was announced, local political consultant and strategist Roy Fletcher said on 89.3 FM WRKF's The Jim Engster Show last week that he has raised the odds he's putting on Jindal as Romney's pick, from 50% to 60%. In an editorial Sunday, The Wall Street Journal says Jindal "carries some benefits" as Romney's pick but "remains a longshot." Jindal "has the kind of gubernatorial experience Mitt Romney admires and the 'American dream' narrative the Republican presidential candidate lacks," reads
High-rolling Republicans will shell out $50,000 a plate to have lunch with Mitt Romney next week. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee is scheduled to come Monday to Baton Rouge for a fundraiser luncheon at the City Club of Baton Rouge. GOP activist and Lockport businessman Boysie Bollinger, who helped arrange the event, expects at least two dozen supporters from around the state to attend, though he has not seen a final list and won't say who is already confirmed. "This came together relatively quickly—in the past two weeks," says Bollinger, who was with Romney last month in Park City, Utah. "We were talking about dates when he might be able to come down, and he offered to do it next week." This will be Romney's second campaign visit to Louisiana; earlier this year, he attended a fundraiser in Shreveport. Since that event was during the heart of the primary campaign, however, contributions were limited to $2,500. Now that Romney is the presumptive nominee,...
In 2010, St. Tammany Parish officials asked the state Bond Commission for an “emergency” tax renewal election. Their requested date fell on the Saturday before Christmas, current Secretary of State Tom Schedler says.
As election season kicks into high gear locally and nationally, all of the candidates—whether they're running to be our next mayor, Metro Council member, or president—will have to run on their record of performance, says Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. "Just as in a job interview, it's not only what the applicant says they can or will do, but what they have actually accomplished in their life" that matters, McCollister says in his latest column. "Sure, their new ideas and plans for the future are very important and should be discussed and debated, but what evidence do we have from their past that they know how to lead and execute to really get things done? Don't actions and results speak louder than words?" In the local mayoral race, crime is poised to take center stage as a major issue. On that front, McCollister says, both two-term incumbent Mayor Kip Holden and his top challenger, three-term Metro Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker, have a long...
Loupe elected mayor pro tem
Just minutes after the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council took the oath of office this morning, veteran District 3 Councilman Chandler Loupe was elected mayor pro tem. Though several council members were interested in the position, which became available when Mike Walker's term ended at the end of 2012, no one opposed Loupe's nomination by District 4 Councilman Scott Wilson. The election of Loupe as mayor pro tem—a job that entails running the council meetings and standing in for the mayor in his absence—might suggest more of the same in terms of the divisions that existed between Holden and the previous council, which was sharply divided along racial and political lines. But Loupe tells Daily Report he wants to work closely with the administration. "I think this council will work hard on their issues and do so with a good working relationship with our mayor and his administration," Loupe says. Councilwoman Tara Wicker, who was also vying for the position, is...
Holden to be sworn into office after midnight
Mayor Kip Holden will ring in the new year, quite literally, by taking the oath of office to begin his third term just minutes after midnight tonight. Holden's official inauguration will be Friday, but the mayor is putting his customary capstone on New Year's Eve celebrations tonight with a swearing-in ceremony at the new North Boulevard Town Square. "Most people don't realize that, according to the plan of government, the mayor must take office on Jan. 1," says Holden's political consultant, Rannah Gray, who is helping to plan the swearing in. "As [Holden] has done in his previous terms, he has decided to take the oath right away so he is ready to hit the ground running in the morning." The ceremony, which will be administered by local attorney and longtime Holden friend Leo Berggreen, will also cap the annual Historic Beauregard Town–Spanish Town New Year's Eve Celebration. Traditionally, that progressive party ends with the ringing of the bell on the State Capitol grounds.
Crowded house
While the new Metro Council is promising it will be more unified than the old one, its first order of business after the Jan. 3 inauguration—appointing a mayor pro tem— is shaping up to be a divisive one.
Despite a tough election season, Grigsby says he'll continue to stay active in politics
The 2012 election season wasn't a good one for Cajun Industries founder and GOP activist Lane Grigsby. He spent considerable money—he won't say how much—backing Mike Walker in the Baton Rouge mayor's race, William Morvant in the primary for the 5th District seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court, and John Michael Guidry in Saturday's Supreme Court runoff. All three lost. While Grigsby says he is disappointed, he is not discouraged. "I don't anticipate winning every time," he says. "I anticipate being on the right side." Grigsby believes a variety of factors were behind the losses of his three candidates. In the mayor's race, voters perceived Walker to be "one of the old guys who's been around forever. … He didn't offer anything new," Grigsby says. In the Supreme Court primary, Morvant's poor showing was due to the high number of sitting judges all competing for the same sliver of East Baton Rouge Parish voters. In the runoff, low voter turnout and Jeff Hughes' strong...
2016 GOP presidential contenders, including Jindal, court mega-donors
A week after Election Day, Bobby Jindal was one of three Republican governors mentioned as 2016 presidential candidates—including John Kasich of Ohio and Bob McDonnell of Virginia—who stopped by the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino to meet privately with its owner Sheldon Adelson, a man who could single-handedly underwrite their White House ambitions, Politico reports. Planning a presidential campaign used to mean having coffee with county party chairs in their Iowa or New Hampshire living rooms. The courting of Adelson, a full four years out from 2016, demonstrates how super PAC sugar daddies have become the new must-have "asset" for White House wannabes. Indeed, prospective candidates from both parties are wasting little time schmoozing potential super PAC funders. Read the full story here.
FuturePAC won't make endorsement in state Supreme Court race
FuturePAC, BRAC's political action committee, is staying out of the runoff race on the Dec. 8 ballot between Democrat John Michael Guidry and Republican Jeff Hughes to fill the 5th District seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court. FuturePAC will not be making an endorsement in the race, a BRAC spokesperson confirms this morning. FuturePAC also did not make an endorsement in the race during the primarily earlier this month when a field of eight candidates were vying for the seat. "FuturePAC does not typically get involved in judicial races," says Lauren Songy Hatcher, BRAC's director of advertising and communications. In a move that surprised some, the four political action committees of influential business association LABI recently gave their endorsement to Guidry. In the primary, the LABI PACs were solidly behind Republican District Judge William Morvant, who got 11% of the vote. Guidry, 50, led the primary field with 27% of the vote. Hughes, 60, placed second with 21%.
Publisher: My endorsements for the Dec. 8 elections
Early voting is under way in Louisiana and continues through Saturday for runoff elections and other initiatives to be decided by voters on Dec. 8. In his latest column, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister lays out his endorsements for some of the choices on the ballot. "I have definite opinions about some of the races," writes McCollister. "I will let you draw your own conclusions about the others." The races McCollister discusses in his column include those for the Louisiana Supreme Court 5th District seat being vacated by retiring Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball, as well for the Court of Appeal, First Circuit; Metro Council, District 2; Metro Council, District 12; and City Court Judge, Division E. Click here to see all of McCollister's endorsements in the full column. Send your comments to
PAC men
It might have come as a surprise to some that the powerful PACs associated with LABI did not endorse Republican candidate Jeff Hughes in the runoff for the District 5 Louisiana Supreme Court race. Instead, LABI's PACs went with his Democratic opponent, Michael Guidry.
Regional races key
No candidates ran statewide on the Nov. 6 ballot, but the impacts of three regional races will be felt statewide—and one nationally, perhaps.
The times they are a-changin'
It is amazing to me how some people are blinded by the past and “the way we've always done it before.” They see the future in a rearview mirror. That's a dangerous way to drive—whether it's your business, government or education, including our flagship university, LSU. (Hopefully, that is in the process of changing for LSU.)
Clean Water and Land PAC money makes its way into Supreme Court race
Some of the biggest campaign spending in the Louisiana Supreme Court race recently—some $380,000 for 1st Circuit Judge Jeff Hughes—came from the third-party group Citizens for Clean Water and Land, a PAC formed last summer by trial attorneys with a stake in the outcome of oilfield legacy lawsuits. That's the same group that funded a high-profile TV ad campaign in September featuring Hays Town II and Jimmy Jenkins and their nonprofit group Save BR Water, which advocates tougher regulations for the municipal drinking water supply. Some have suggested the PAC teamed up with the nonprofit and its well-known founders to elevate its profile, give it legitimacy, and help it raise money to spend on Hughes in the November primary. But that wasn't the case, insists political consultant Roy Fletcher, who produced the commercials for the PAC. "The point of the [Save BR Water] ad campaign was to raise awareness about clean water," says Fletcher. "The point was not to raise money for...
Editor: Is the Red Stick turning blue?
When Democrat Kip Holden was elected mayor of East Baton Rouge Parish in 2004 on his third try, it was written off as something of a fluke, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball. "He was merely the benefactor of the 'anybody but Bobby [Simpson]' crusade," Ball writes in his latest column. And when Holden became the first mayoral candidate in parish history to win all 315 precincts in the 2008 election, Ball notes the landslide was declared a testament to Walter Monsour, "the mayor's get-it-done CAO and his conduit to the white, conservative business community." But Ball says there's a different explanation for the results of last week's election, in which Holden—absent Monsour and despite steadily declining popularity—was easily re-elected to a third and final term, with 60% of the vote. "The explanation, this time, was that many south Baton Rouge white voters decided four finite years of Kip was better than a potential dozen with Mike Walker, the...
So what happens next?
The national elections are over and President Barack Obama has won another four years. Some folks are elated, some angry, and others just dazed, wondering, What’s going to happen now?
Welcome to Bluestick?
The perception is that Baton Rouge, like the rest of Louisiana, is solidly red, but four years ago presidential candidate Barack Obama beat John McCain here, 50.5%-48.3%. More surprising is that President Obama, the archenemy of our governor and this region's petrochemical industry, did even better last week against challenger Mitt Romney, 51.8%-46.6%.
A third charm
If there was anything surprising about the outcome of the Baton Rouge mayor's race, it wasn't that incumbent Kip Holden was re-elected to a third term. Rather it was the wide margin with which Holden beat challenger Mike Walker. It wasn't even close, with the mayor receiving nearly 60% of the vote compared to Walker's 38%.
Election Day hangover
Louisiana's business community made no secret of the fact that it wasn't hoping for four more years.
Spending in 3rd District runoff could top $5 million
Republican U.S. Reps. Charles Boustany and Jeff Landry could end up spending more than $5 million total by the time a Dec. 8 runoff election decides who will represent Louisiana's 3rd District. "We could spend some really big bucks here," said Pearson Cross, head of the political science department at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "Both of these candidates will continue to spend, and we're going to hit that $5 million mark." By Oct. 17, Boustany had spent $2.6 million, and Landry had spent more than $1.2 million. Neither candidate drew the primary election majority needed to win outright on Tuesday. In the weeks leading up to the runoff, both candidates will work to raise more money. "It's a new election, so they're entitled to new contribution limits," says Bob Biersack, senior fellow at the Center for Responsive Politics, a research group that tracks campaign spending. Individuals can contribute up to $2,500 per election, and political action committees can give up to...
Hughes, Guidry set for contentious runoff for La. Supreme Court
One of the more closely watched contests in the Baton Rouge area was the race to fill the 5th District seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court, which is being vacated by retiring Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball. No fewer than eight candidates, including six sitting judges and two attorneys, spent millions collectively in a campaign that propelled judicial electioneering to new heights, or lows, depending on your perspective. "The thing that amazed me was how the candidates fell over each other basically promising how they would rule on issues," says Bob Mann, professor at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication. "They talked about how they are ideological conservatives or whatever. … It strikes me as a very unethical way to run for office." Voters were apparently less bothered than Mann. Arguably, the most ideological conservative in the crowded field, 1st Circuit Judge Jeff Hughes, finished a strong second in the race with 21% of the vote behind fellow Appellate Judge...
Speculation about Jindal presidential run in 2016 begins
If you thought Tuesday's election would be the end of the presidential speculation—at least for a little while—think again. It's only been a day since Republican challenger Mitt Romney was bested by President Barack Obama, and already the pundits and talking heads are yammering about who might be the Republican Party's next great presidential hope in 2016. And, in what should come as little surprise, Gov. Bobby Jindal's name is included in the mix. "The young and wonky governor of Louisiana coasted to a second term last year, and 2016 might finally mark a good opportunity for Jindal to take a run at higher office," reports the National Journal—which actually released its list of the "Top 10 Republican Presidential Contenders in 2016" while the votes were still being tallied on Tuesday. Jindal is No. 7 on the list, which you can see in its entirety
Council members hope to repair frayed relationship with Holden
Now that Mayor Kip Holden has easily won a third term with a solid mandate from the voters, will his relationship with the Metro Council improve? Metro Council members sure hope so. "My hope is that Kip will be able to utilize this time to really bridge the gap and make sure lines of communication are open," says District 10 Councilwoman Tara Wicker. "The mayor and I spoke briefly about the divide and how it's not healthy," says Councilman-elect Buddy Amoroso, who will succeed the term-limited Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker in District 8. "We didn't talk about whose fault it is. The main thing is we try to move forward." Adds District 4 Councilman Scott Wilson: "We've got to have better communication with the mayor. That is the most important thing. It hasn't been there." That all sounds good the day after an election. But it's easier said than done. As a practical matter, for instance, Amoroso and several white members on the racially divided council are interested in exploring the...
Baton Rouge voter turnout nearly 70%
Secretary of State Tom Schedler had predicted before Tuesday's election that voter turnout in Louisiana could top 70%, a feat that hadn't been achieved in about two decades. According to complete but unofficial results posted on Schedler's website this morning, Louisiana fell a bit short of that mark. With just shy of 2 million ballots cast, 67.2% of registered Louisiana voters went to the polls Tuesday. Turnout was higher in East Baton Rouge Parish, at 69.8%. And while Mitt Romney easily won Louisiana at large, President Barack Obama edged out his challenger in East Baton Rouge, 52% to 47%. In 2008, East Baton Rouge went for Obama over Republican challenger Sen. John McCain, 50% to 48%. Just a handful of Louisiana's 64 parishes saw Obama support eclipse that for Romney. Nowhere in the state did Obama perform better than in Orleans Parish, where voters sided with the president 80% to 18%. You can check out the complete results of the Louisiana vote, which still need to be made...
Louisiana Dems celebrate Obama victory in Baton Rouge
Members of the Louisiana Democratic Party celebrated President Barack Obama's re-election Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, The Times-Picayune reports, erupting into applause when Ohio's 18 electoral votes were called for the president. A "Relief, relief, relief" was what self-styled "campaign veteran" Nellie Gilbert says she felt when the major networks announced they were calling Ohio for Obama, pushing his electoral count over the needed 270 to win outright. "It's like you delivered that baby," Gilbert says. "It's finally out!" At the Democratic Victory Headquarters on Government Street, LSU Campus Democrats President Daniel Colvin says it was "amazing" to celebrate Obama's victory there with "like-minded individuals." Over 200 volunteers streamed in and out of the headquarters on Election Day, working in shifts to call voters in swing states like Florida and Ohio and to ensure polling places in Louisiana were open and operating smoothly. "Thank you for all your hard work,"...
Survey: 1 in 5 voters saying on social media how they voted
It used to be that asking someone whom they cast their vote for was akin to asking them how much money they make or what their waistline measures. It appears social media is changing that perception. According to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project released today, roughly 22% of registered voters are taking to Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites to tell their friends, families and followers how they voted. Members of the older generation, however, remain the most hesitant to share their vote. While 29% of voters under the age of 50 reported publicly sharing their vote somewhere online, just 17% of voters over 50 said the same. The study also found that people are using Facebook posts and tweets to convince others to vote for their candidates of choice. Around 30% of registered voters say they've been encouraged by family and friends to vote for either President Barack Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney via posts on social media sites in the...
Clues could come early in state-by-state election battle
The most expensive presidential race in American history now becomes the biggest show on television, a night with enough uncertainty that it could become a telethon lasting well into morning—and perhaps even longer. For the third time in the last four presidential campaigns, The New York Times reports, the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees headed into Election Day so close in the national polls that not even one of the major opinion surveys gave either President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney any lead of statistical significance. But presidential races are decided in the states, and the nation will get an answer to the opposing cases for victory that each candidate has made for so many months. It will finally know, as one of Obama's top aides has put it, "which side is bluffing" and whether battleground-state polls, which have given Obama a slim but consistent edge where it matters most, accurately foretold the outcome. As the night unfolds, clues to the...
Strong turnout creates long lines at the polls, bogs down Schedler's website
Voters in East Baton Rouge Parish who turned out to the polls early this morning were met with wait times that exceeded an hour in several precincts, while high usage of the Louisiana Secretary of State's website to find polling places and look up other voting information temporarily overwhelmed the site. Secretary of State Tom Schedler—who on Monday predicted Louisiana's turnout could exceed 70% this year—this morning issued a statement asking people to go easy on the "refresh" button when they're checking election results on his office's website. Schedler's office will post today's results at geauxvote.com, which he says can be overloaded when too many people try to repeatedly reload the page—which occurred this morning temporarily. The website appears to be back in operation as of press time. Office spokeswoman Meg Casper says voters can also get the information on the website by calling a...
Obama or Romney, U.S. economy set to improve
No matter who wins the presidential election tomorrow, the economy is on course to enjoy faster growth in the next four years as the headwinds that have held it back turn into tailwinds. As Bloomberg reports, consumers are spending more and saving less after reducing household debt to the lowest since 2003. Home prices are rebounding after falling more than 30% from their 2006 highs. And banks are increasing lending after boosting equity capital by more than $300 billion since 2009. "The die is cast for a much stronger recovery," says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Penn. He sees growth this year and next at about 2% before doubling to around 4% in both 2014 and 2015 as consumption, construction and hiring all pick up. The big proviso, according to Zandi and Yale University professor Ray Fair, is how either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney tackles the task of shrinking the $1.1 trillion federal-budget deficit. The Congressional Budget Office...
High turnout expected in La. for elections Tuesday
Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler says he's expecting a strong turnout on Election Day, especially after a record number of voters cast their ballots ahead of time during the weeklong early voting period. More than 340,000 people voted early, nearly 12% of Louisiana's 2.9 million registered voters. In the 2008 presidential election, Louisiana turnout was about 62%. Addressing the Baton Rouge Press Club today, Schedler predicted turnout this year could top 70%; he says voters should expect long lines at the polls. At the top of Tuesday's ticket is, of course, the contest between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. A number of congressional races and judgeships are on the ballot across the state, as well as nine proposed constitutional amendments. A seat on the state's utility regulatory agency, the Public Service Commission, is also up for grabs, along with an open Louisiana Supreme Court seat representing the Capital Region. In East Baton...
Violent, property crime 26% higher in B.R. than N.O., says anti-crime campaign
The "Fight, Not Fear" campaign that Baton Rouge businessman and political activist Lane Grigsby is bankrolling in an effort to move public support behind consolidating the Baton Rouge Police Department and East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office says both violent crime and property crime are 26% higher in Baton Rouge than in New Orleans. Innovative Advertising of Mandeville, which is managing Grigsby's campaign, based the percentages it released this morning on the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports for 2011, released Oct. 29. "The new FBI statistics prove that the situation in Baton Rouge is even worse than we initially thought," says campaign spokesman Jay Connaughton in a news release. The crime statistics show that Baton Rouge, with a population of 231,592, had 2,468 violent crimes and 64 murders in 2011. They also show that New Orleans, with a population of 346,974, had 2,748 violent crimes and 200 murders last year. At the same time, Baton Rouge had 12,666 property crimes; New Orleans had...
As green power debate continues, jobs dwindle
An eerie quiet has settled over the Walker Components plant in Denver, which assembles custom cables for a global wind turbine company. Orders are down from earlier in the year, and one-third of its employees have been laid off so far in 2012. "At the beginning of this year we just didn't feel we had enough time, and now we've got too much time on our hands," says one of its workers, 25-year-old Calvin Huddleston. "I really thought wind would be a sustainable business." The wind energy boom President Barack Obama touted as key to his energy strategy has hit a wall in an election-year dispute over taxpayer support for renewable energy. The government poured billions of dollars into renewable energy, hoping to unleash a wave of good-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs. But federal spending to support development of green energy has dropped sharply—75% since 2009—amid tea party criticism that it's wasteful. Congress's failure to extend past December the production tax...
LaPolitics by Maginnis: GOP opens barrage on Holden; Capital Outlay projects list on tap Monday
Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden's prospects to win a third term in the primary looked pretty good until a Republican barrage unloaded on him in the final weeks, with a strategy to peel Romney voters off of the two-term Democrat. An ad last week by Republican challenger and Metro Councilman Mike Walker started the offensive on a racial note, criticizing Holden for providing police protection to Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan when he spoke at Southern University in October. That ad was followed by a spot from the Republican Super PAC, based in Indiana, showing images of President Barack Obama and Holden with a voiceover saying the former has failed on the economy and the latter on crime. Finally, hitting close to home on Holden is a direct mail piece sent by a local GOP group that shows homes on the mayor's street with security bars on doors and windows. The ads have put Holden on the defensive in the final week, but he still has white support in south Baton Rouge neighborhoods...
Publisher: How I'm voting on Tuesday
Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister admits that narrowing down his endorsements for candidates on Tuesday's ballot "was a very tough task because there are many qualified candidates in some of the key races, especially in the race for (Louisiana) Supreme Court." Nonetheless, McCollister has made his picks, and he reveals them in his latest column. Here's a rundown of McCollister's endorsements for the races as they will appear on the ballot in East Baton Rouge Parish:
• President: Mitt Romney, Republican
• U.S. Representative, 6th District: Bill Cassidy, Republican
• Louisiana Supreme Court, 5th District: Bill Morvant, Republican
• Court of Appeals, 1st Circuit: Mike McDonald, Republican
• Public Service Commission: Scott Angelle, Republican
• Mayor-President: Kip Holden, Democrat
• Metro Council, District 6: Donna Collins-Lewis, Democrat
• Metro Council, District 10: Tara Wicker, Democrat
'Minor candidates' try to make major impact on mayoral race
According to the polls, the so-called minor candidates in the Baton Rouge mayor's race—landscape architect Gordon Mese and attorney Steve Myers—don't have much of a chance to force a runoff between Mayor Kip Holden and Councilman Mike Walker, much less make it into one themselves. But if Tuesday night's live, televised forum with all the mayoral candidates showed anything, it's that Mese and Myers are keeping the contest interesting.
Legislators leave crisis to governor
Their responses are in—or not—and our state legislators have spoken: They will leave solving the current health care crisis to Gov. Bobby Jindal rather than take responsibility for it themselves. A solid majority of the House, 66, and a supermajority of the Senate, 30, did not sign the petition for a special session to deal with the sudden loss of federal Medicaid dollars and with the governor's plan to close a mental health hospital and to gut public hospitals, turning some into glorified outpatient clinics.
Holden leading mayoral race in campaign dollars raised
With just a week before Election Day and the final campaign finance reports having been submitted, Democratic Mayor Kip Holden is winning the race for campaign cash and has nearly three times as much in his war chest as his main opponent, Republican Metro Councilman Mike Walker.
Holden leading mayoral race in campaign dollars raised
With just a week before Election Day and the final campaign finance reports having been submitted, Democratic Mayor Kip Holden is winning the race for campaign cash and has nearly three times as much in his war chest as his main opponent, Republican Metro Councilman Mike Walker. Between Sept. 28 and Oct. 17—the period covered in the latest campaign finance reports—Holden raised nearly $85,000, compared to Walker's $38,000, and has a total of more than $326,000 to spend in the final days of the campaign, while Walker has $133,000. Holden also far outspent Walker during the three-week reporting period, shelling out nearly $176,000 on campaign ads to Walker's $38,000. However, the reporting period does not include spending as of last week, which was when Walker began airing a high-profile and controversial TV ad about a Baton Rouge Police escort for Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan. Reports also show that candidate Steve Myers, no party affiliation, has $124,500 to...
LSU study: Obama's social media dominance doesn't necessarily signify voter support
In our increasingly digital world, pundits and talking heads have discussed at length the social media presence of President Barack Obama and his GOP challenger Mitt Romney in their respective campaigns for the White House. While the Obama campaign has been widely declared the "winner" when it comes to social media use and popularity, a new study released by the LSU Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs shows all those tweets and Facebook posts won't necessarily translate into more votes for Obama—even among those younger voters who are key to winning the election and are being heavily courted online by both candidates. "There is no statistically significant difference between Obama and Romney support among likely voters between 18 and 34 who use social networking as a source of political news," reads the study's executive summary. "Even when heavy users of social media and those who 'like,' 'follow' or 'view' are assessed, there is no meaningful difference in support across...
Candidate endorsements for Nov. 6
An important Election Day that will determine the direction for the next four years for our nation, city-parish and judicial system looms in just a week. There are many items on the ballot, and I certainly hope each voter will inform themselves and vote. It is hard to complain about the outcome if one doesn't participate in the process.
Holden accuses Walker of playing race card in Farrakhan ad
Mayor Kip Holden and several others today accused Metro Councilman and mayoral candidate Mike Walker of trying to divide the community along racial lines with a recent campaign ad. "We are building a city and a region with a national reputation," says Holden, who convened a press conference downtown this afternoon to discuss the "tone" of the mayoral race. "This commercial has the potential to stain our reputation." Holden is referring to an attack ad that claims Holden authorized the use of taxpayer funds to provide a police escort for Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan during a recent visit to Southern University. Motivational speaker, author and former LSU basketball coach Dale Brown spoke at today's press conference, saying he asked to appear because he's fed up with negative campaigns that seek to "pull somebody apart." Asked for comment following the press conference, Walker issued...
Baton Rouge's Judicial Election Plan challenged in new suit
The system for electing City Court judges in Baton Rouge dilutes black voting strength and violates the U.S. Constitution and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That's according to a lawsuit filed last week in federal district court by three local attorneys, who say the system "is tantamount to an apartheid judicial election system in favor of White judicial candidates running for City Court." One of those attorneys, Joel Porter, is a black attorney running for City Court judge. The suit names Gov. Bobby Jindal, Attorney General Buddy Caldwell and Secretary of State Tom Schedler, and takes aim at the city's 1993 Judicial Election Plan, which was crafted by the state Legislature and creates two majority-black districts and three white ones. At the time, the 60-40 split reflected the population of the city, which was then 60% white, 40% black. Since then, the population has shifted, and black voters now compose 54% of the population, compared to white voters' 38%; but the Judicial Election...
Holden campaign hits back at Walker ad focusing on Farrakhan visit
Baton Rouge Police Chief Dewayne White is taking responsibility for overseeing an incident that has spawned one of the most sensational ads of the political season: "Limoing Louie." The spot, paid for by Mike Walker's campaign, takes Mayor Kip Holden to task for a police escort that Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan received when he spoke earlier this month at Southern University. "The Mayor-President had no prior knowledge of Minister Farrakhan's scheduled visit … nor did I consult with the Mayor when security arrangements were coordinated," White writes in an email, adding that no overtime dollars were used. Walker's ad shows Farrakhan speaking at Southern and thanking the mayor, the police chief and the city police for meeting his flight in New Orleans and "shepherding" him to Baton Rouge. It concludes with the tag line: "Mayor, our police and taxes are for fighting crime, not limoing Louie." In response, Holden's campaign says the ad is misleading: that it takes a...
Early voting for Nov. 6 election begins Tuesday
With just two weeks left before Election Day, early voting begins today in Louisiana for the Nov. 6 election, which includes the presidential race, six congressional races, judgeships, local contests—including mayoral and Metro Council races in East Baton Rouge Parish—and nine proposed amendments to the state constitution. Voters seeking to cast their ballots in advance of Election Day can vote early today through Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.—except on Sunday—at their parish registrar of voters' office or other designated locations. Secretary of State Tom Schedler says he anticipates high voter turnout for the election and is encouraging people to vote early to avoid long lines on Election Day. In East Baton Rouge Parish, there are four locations at which you can cast an early ballot: City Hall, 222 St. Louis St., Room 201; 10500 Coursey Blvd., Room 203; Louisiana State Archives, 3851 Essen Lane; and 2250 Main St. in Baker. You can see the list...
Obama, Romney to debate U.S. foreign policy tonight amid turmoil abroad
For months, the one reliable constant for President Barack Obama was the public's approval of his handling of foreign policy and terrorism. Al-Qaida was on the run, he would say. The war in Iraq was over. Bin Laden was dead. Crowds cheered and national polls showed a majority in the country stood with him. But with just 15 days left before Election Day, the landscape has changed; and as Obama and Republican rival Mitt Romney take their seats at their third, final and foreign policy–focused debate tonight in Boca Raton, Fla., the president will be facing headwinds from abroad instead of the breezes that once had been at his back. Libya. Uncertainty in a post–Arab Spring world. Iran's nuclear intentions. U.S. casualties at the hands of Afghan security forces. Europe's continued struggles with its economic and financial crisis. A conflagration in Syria. Amid these mounting challenges, Obama will hear Romney charge him with exhibiting timid leadership. At the same time,...
Editor: Sleepwalking into Election Day
With fewer than three weeks now remaining until the Nov. 6 election, Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball has seen enough—or not enough—to declare the local mayoral race the most boring in the modern history of Baton Rouge. "Be honest: Is anyone at all excited about this election—other than the candidates themselves and those who will handsomely profit if their guy is in office?" Ball asks in his latest column. While Mayor Kip Holden and his main challenger, Metro Councilman Mike Walker, have been content to squabble over a few well-worn issues including crime and infrastructure, Ball says, long-shot candidates Gordon Mese and Steve Myers haven't been able to inject any excitement into the race. "This race is such a who-cares affair that the campaign contribution haul of all four candidates combined is less than the $800,000-plus [Business Report Publisher] Rolfe McCollister single-handedly raised in his 2000 primary run for mayor," Ball notes.
Mayor's race generating little excitement from donors, voters
Back in the summer of 2008, Metro Council member Mike Walker counted Mayor Kip Holden among his closest political allies. "I love Kip Holden to death," Walker said at the time, in reference to the mayor's proposed $900 million bond issue. "I'm glad he has the courage to present this bond issue." These days, the love is nowhere to be found, and Walker—the main challenger in the mayor's bid for a third term—is taking on his former friend in one campaign forum after another, attacking Holden's record on crime, crime and, well, crime. "The No. 1 responsibility of all public officials is public safety," Walker said at a forum in late September. "Mayor Holden has forgotten that." That Walker and Holden's relationship has devolved so dramatically in such a relatively short amount of time is one of the more interesting aspects of the 2012 Baton Rouge mayor's race. The other is that the lackluster political contest has been such a sleeper—focusing on few issues, attracting...
Cassidy 'would be so honored to be a senator'
Technically, U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, still has an election to win to hang on to his seat in Congress. But with victory against two lesser-known opponents all but assured, Cassidy can afford to entertain the idea of running for the U.S. Senate against Democrat Mary Landrieu in 2014. "Absolutely, I would consider it," he says. "I'm an American. To be asked to run for Senate, wouldn't that be an incredible honor?" Which is not to say he's necessarily running. Doing so requires four things, he says: family approval, a victory in his next election, money in the bank, and support from "serious people," including big donors and grassroots organizers, who could help him win. "We've been working hard so the people in this district know that we have policy," he says, including work on Medicaid reform, relief for victims of the Stanford Ponzi scheme and dyslexia education. "You build that sort of reputation so that if another opportunity comes along, people look at your track...
Endorsements
The following is a list of endorsements for candidates in the East Baton Rouge Parish mayoral, Public Service Commission District 2 and Louisiana Supreme Court 5th District races, as submitted to Daily Report. If your association or organization has an endorsement in one of these races you'd like to share, please email it to ssanoski@businessreport.com.
The underdogs
Facing two bloodthirsty opponents who command hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, boast lengthy political careers and enjoy a regular public stage as mayor and mayor pro tem is a daunting enough prospect for any would-be candidate.
Split decision
Back in the summer of 2008, Metro Council member Mike Walker counted Mayor Kip Holden among his closest political allies. “I love Kip Holden to death,” Walker said at the time, in reference to the mayor's proposed $900 million bond issue. “I'm glad he has the courage to present this bond issue.”
Seeing red
Editor's note: Ed Roy, R-Lafayette, has since dropped out of the District 2 race for Public Service Commission.
If ever there were any doubts about the state of the Louisiana Democratic Party, consider the District 2 race for Public Service Commission.
Constitutional amendments
Election Day is Nov. 6, and I hope you are ready to vote. There are local, state and national decisions each of us must make, and you should examine the issues and the candidates as the outcomes will impact you and your business.
Wake me when it's over
Three weeks remain before voters cast their vote for mayor, yet one fact is undeniably clear: This is the most boring mayoral campaign in the modern history of Baton Rouge.
Courting power
It sounds like the opening lines of another lawyer joke: Six sitting judges are running for one seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court. A poll comes out, and guess who's leading?
Bellwether race
While the mayor's race isn't turning out to be terribly exciting or full of surprises, the Metro Council races are proving even less riveting. Six of the 12 seats are already filled—because either the incumbent or the replacement for the term-limited incumbent was unopposed. Even in those districts where incumbents do face challengers, the current office holders are strongly favored.
Campaign finance reports rolling in before today's deadline
It's exactly four weeks until Election Day, and the latest campaign finance reports, due at midnight, have been coming in all day. In the local mayoral race, Mayor Kip Holden leads Metro Councilman Mike Walker handily, with a total of $750,000—$161,500 of which has been raised during the most recent reporting period—and $417,000 cash on hand. To date, Walker has raised $412,000, $80,000 during the most recent reporting period. He has about $125,000 available to spend in the final weeks of the race, though donations from a fundraiser with top GOP elected officials in New Orleans next week is not included in this report. In the hotly contested race for Louisiana Supreme Court, local attorney Mary Olive Pierson leads the crowded field, with more than $289,000 raised so far, including $77,000 in contributions. She has about $75,000 cash on hand. Other reports show 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jeff Hughes with $284,000 raised and $284,000 cash on hand; 19th Judicial...
To 'unfriend' or ignore, in a season of political ranting on Facebook
When the political ranting of your Facebook friends get wonkier or more diabolical than defending Big Bird or calling for open hunting season on the PBS icon, it can be tempting to "unfriend" them. But to do so is akin to social-media shunning of the worst sort, says Mary Ellen Slayter, a member of the local social media association, BRSocME, and founder of Reputation Capital. She advises against the unfriending for political reasons. "I think it's aggressive"—and the same goes for unfriending friends with numerous wall posts of babies or puppies, says Slayter, a former career-advice columnist for young workers at The Washington Post. "My No. 1 rule is: you can't call people names," Slayter says. "As long as people are talking about facts, I let them have at it." Only racist posts by an old acquaintance has justified an unfriending for Slayter. Be that as it may, Southeastern Louisiana University Communication Professor Joseph Burns says election season can spur many...
Editor: Mayoral candidates turning a blind eye to rising poverty
It hasn't been hard for Mayor Kip Holden and chief rival Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker to find areas of disagreement during this mayoral campaign. "At forum after endless forum, it's bluntly clear to anyone paying the least bit of attention that these two share little in common when it comes to solving the problems of this parish or in their visions for the future of Baton Rouge," says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball in his latest column. Combating crime, downtown investment and economic development are popular issues the candidates have discussed at great length—putting their differences on display time and time again. "Yet Walker and Holden are in agreement on one point: a willingness to ignore the escalating poverty rate in this parish, a rate that, according to the Census Bureau, is now estimated to be at 20.1%," Ball says. "Think about that: One out of every five East Baton Rouge residents is living in poverty. Even worse is incorporated Baton Rouge, where the...
Louisiana GOP pols line up N.O. fundraiser for Walker
While the lackluster Baton Rouge mayor's race has been relatively short on spending so far by either Mayor Kip Holden or Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker—collectively the candidates have raised only $700,000 or so—that may soon change. An influential group of Republican lawmakers and GOP party officials will be passing the hat for Walker later this month at a pricey fundraiser in downtown New Orleans. U.S. Sen. David Vitter, Congressmen Bill Cassidy and Steve Scalise, and La. Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere are hosting the Oct. 17 event, which costs $500 per couple. For a special host committee reception, the price is $1,000 per individual. "Clearly this shows that serious money can be raised," says political consultant Roy Fletcher, who is producing Walker's paid campaign ads. "Mike is the conservative and they want to be with him." Though candidates for public office seldom look gift horses in the mouth, the invitation for Walker's reception makes clear that not...
Ignorance is not bliss
During this mayoral campaign, incumbent Kip Holden and chief rival Mike Walker have had zero problem finding areas of disagreement. At forum after endless forum, it's bluntly clear to anyone paying the least bit of attention that these two share little in common when it comes to solving the problems of this parish or in their visions for the future of Baton Rouge.
Wicker talks long-term mayoral aspirations
Metro Councilmember Tara Wicker makes no bones about her political aspirations. "I would absolutely love to be mayor of this city," says Wicker, the District 11 councilwoman. "My dream is to help create a city where my five children can live when they grow up. If that means getting into a mayor's race so that I can create that city, I will do it." But not this time. Wicker says she decided against throwing her hat in the ring this fall—after giving serious thought to the race—because the contest between Mayor Kip Holden and Councilman Mike Walker was too bloody and contentious before it even began, and she didn't think it was in her best political interest to get involved in it. "Their fight is a fight that is more about the individuals than the community, and I didn't think that was the kind of race I want to be involved in," she says. "That and the fact that I want to finish what I started in my district." —Stephanie Riegel
Editor: To beat Holden, Walker needs a runoff
If Mike Walker is to become the next mayor of Baton Rouge, says Business Report Executive Editor JR Ball, two things must happen. "First, incumbent Kip Holden can't win the race outright (50%-plus) in the Nov. 6 primary; and, second, voters in south Baton Rouge must turn out in significant numbers and push the 'x' button for the current mayor pro tem in the Dec. 8 runoff," Ball writes in his latest column. "It's as simple as that—and it's Walker's only legitimate shot at preventing Holden from winning a third term as the head of the parish and its signature city." Holden is hardly the darling that he was with voters in 2008, when he easily won re-election with 71% of the primary vote and became the first mayoral candidate to capture all 314 parish precincts, Ball acknowledges. But despite the fact that his popularity has been slowly fading—in both the black and white communities—ever since, Ball says: "Holden is still the incumbent, he's still popular with...
Walker's lone shot
If Mike Walker is to become the next mayor of Baton Rouge, two things must happen: First, incumbent Kip Holden can't win the race outright (50%-plus) in the Nov. 6 primary; and, second, voters in south Baton Rouge must turn out in significant numbers and push the “x” button for the current mayor pro tem in the Dec. 8 runoff.
The race from hell
The front cover of the Nov. 5, 1991, issue of Business Report is not subtle. There are head shots of Republican David Duke and Democrat Edwin Edwards, with a big red X over Duke's face. “Business faces disaster,” the headline warns.
Pollster: Holden's support shrinking among whites
Support for Mayor Kip Holden's re-election among whites has fallen to only about 29% of likely voters, says pollster Bernie Pinsonat, who addressed the Baton Rouge Press Club this afternoon. Holden's approval rating among whites at times has been as high as 60% or better, Pinsonat says. "Crime is absolutely wearing him out," he says. Pinsonat stopped short of predicting that Holden will lose the election, remarking only that the race is closer than many observers might have predicted several months ago. Holden still polls better than the "very unpopular" Metro Council at large, although Pinsonat notes people may be happier with their own representative than with the council as a whole. The parish is becoming "a lot more fractionalized," he says, as shown by deep divisions over issues such as the downtown library, the transit tax and breakaway school districts. The "downtown crowd" is unpopular with a large segment of the parish population, while some people who live in the city of...
Publisher: Rice was right on at the RNC
Speaking about the pursuit of the American dream at the Republican National Convention last week, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "Ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement. We have never believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well. … Ours has been a belief in opportunity." Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says Rice's view—and that of the Republican party—stands in stark contrast to that of President Barack Obama's and the Democratic party. "Rice addressed our values, our opportunities, our challenges and the leadership they require," McCollister writes in his new column. "Her views are not about race or gender, but about the belief in individual freedoms and pursuit of happiness for all." McCollister says Rice's address articulated some of the differences between Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney that voters should keep in mind as they go to the polls this fall. "The essence of...
Party pooper
Baton Rouge entrepreneur Charlie Davis is only 36, but already he's a Republican lifer. Davis ran for chairman of the College Republican National Committee in 1997. He served as president of the 2010 Southern Republican Leadership Conference, as an elected member of the party's state Central Committee, and as director of the Republican Party of Louisiana.
3 leading PSC candidates set first forum in B.R.
The election for the Public Service Commission open seat is still more than two months away—the primary is in November, not October—but the campaigns are beginning to take shape. Earlier this week, Scott Angelle picked up endorsements from the presidents of six parishes—including Terrebonne, Lafourche, St. Martin, St. Mary, Iberville and West Baton Rouge—and next week the three candidates will square off in their first face-to-face Candidates Forum, sponsored by the East Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce. The event is scheduled to be held Tuesday at Café Americain, 7521 Jefferson Hwy. "Because of our system of not having party primaries, the race will be held later than usual, but you're going to start to see it heat up in the next couple of weeks," predicts pollster Bernie Pinsonat. The Candidate Forum is set to begin at noon on Thursday. A reception will precede at 11:30 a.m. It is open to all chamber members, business owners and their guests. Cost for lunch...
Myers as mayor: Improve property tax collection
In attending Metro Council meetings the past six months, Steve Myers says he kept waiting for a highly qualified candidate to enter the mayoral race. "But nobody else stepped up," says Myers, co-founder of Tiger Rag and a real estate broker who last year set out to organize the Baton Rouge Independent Landlords Organization. Just before the deadline late Friday, Myers qualified to run in the mayoral race on the Nov. 6 ballot. He faces incumbent Mayor Kip Holden, term-limited Metro Councilman Mike Walker, and Garden District businessman Gordon Mese, whose campaign slogan is "Mese Against the Machine." Myers says he believes Walker and Holden will cancel each other out in voters' minds with their increasingly nasty rhetoric. He also figures that the absence of a campaign presence before Friday may work in his favor, leaving him looking like a fresh alternative. "My goal is to be a good candidate," Myers says. Besides crime and traffic, Myers says he would focus on eliminating...
Political season kicks off
On the day before qualifying began for this fall's political races, Democratic consultant Michael Beychok said Mayor Kip Holden's reelection looks like a slam dunk.
LABI advantage
Endorsements don't necessarily deliver votes, but they do help raise money, which is why the endorsement of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry is proving to be so important in the hotly contested race for the Louisiana Supreme Court seat. The contest has so many announced candidates—seven by last count—none has had much success in passing the hat. Earlier this month, 19th Judicial District Judge Bill Morvant got a leg up on the competition when LABI threw its official support behind him. Such a blow did fellow contestant Jeff Hughes consider LABI's selection of Morvant, the First Circuit Court of Appeal judge asked LABI to reconsider its evaluation of him, noting in a letter, “With the support of LABI, I can win the race.”
Ethics board reviews campaign finance rules
The state Board of Ethics has been looking at revising how candidates running for office spend their campaign contributions. The Campaign Finances Rules committee says it's in the process of reviewing a new set of recommendations regarding campaign finance rules. Once a draft of recommendations has been compiled, the committee will present the full board with the recommendations for consideration. Scott Schneider, chairman of the committee, says its members began looking at revisions for the current rules because the board noticed a number of cases where campaign funds seemed to be used for purely personal reasons. Louisiana has traditionally had few restrictions on how candidates can spend their campaign funds. On the table for consideration are campaign funds used by candidates for sports tickets, clothing and travel expenses.
Selders jumps into race to challenge Wicker
Larry Selders has qualified to run against incumbent Tara Wicker for the District 10 seat on the Metro Council. Selders, a BREC commissioner, says his campaign began a few weeks ago. "As the City Council representative for District 10, I plan to focus on the Plank [Road] to Scenic [Highway] and Thomas Delpit corridors as centers of investment," Selders says in a news release. "For too long these areas have been neglected while investments happen around them." Selders is Wicker's lone challenger thus far. Today is the last day for candidates to qualify. You can keep up-to-date with all those qualifying for races at the secretary of state's website here. Meanwhile, The Times-Picayune reports Thursday was a slow day at the secretary of state's office, with only four new candidates qualifying for multiparish races on the Nov. 6 ballot. One notable qualifier, however, was a second challenger to Baton Rouge...
EBR GOP endorses Walker for mayor
In full campaign mode and having just received the endorsement of the Republican Party of East Baton Rouge Parish, mayoral candidate Mike Walker gave a fiery luncheon speech today at Café Americain that hammered home his platform of reducing crime while touching on other key issues. Besides tackling crime, Walker told the monthly Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon that he wants to limit mayoral leadership to two terms. "If you can't get it done in eight years or have somebody set up to come in behind you, then you can't get it done," Walker says. Mayor Kip Holden, a Democrat, is running for his third and final term. Walker also promoted himself as a servant to small business, which he says is stymied by governmental red tape. "All we do is throw small obstacles in your way," he says. Walker also explained to those gathered how as mayor he'd fight crime through improving education. —Adam Pearson
State GOP to stay out of Boustany/Landry race
The Republican Party of Louisiana won't endorse candidates in the Nov. 6 election for races that have two or more GOP contenders seeking the same office. That includes the most high-profile Republican battle in Louisiana: the race between U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany of Lafayette and U.S. Rep. Jeff Landry of New Iberia. The two men were forced into the same district when Louisiana lost a congressional seat. State Republican Party Chairman Roger Villere tells The Times-Picayune that party officials like both Boustany and Landry and won't get involved in that race or others with at least two Republican candidates. Villere says the party will get involved in the Dec. 8 runoff if a Republican is up against a Democratic opponent.
Edwards announces Metro Council re-election bid
Metro Councilwoman Ronnie Edwards says she's running for re-election to a second term as representative of District 5. "I look forward to continuing to work with the community to pursue greater improvements in infrastructure and neighborhood revitalization, basic services and smart growth initiatives, economic and small business development," Edwards says in a prepared statement. Edwards says she has established a track record of achieving "major accomplishments" during her first term, including "a 125% increase in civic participation, over $150 million invested in new housing construction, $187 million in dedicated street, bridge, sewer improvements and infrastructure repairs." She also says progress has been made on blight removal in her district and points to two newly constructed elementary schools as evidence of it. Thus far, no candidates have announced a challenge to Edwards for the seat. Qualifying ends Friday. For Edwards' full biography and information on legislation she...
LaPolitics by Maginnis: PSC race heats up, while Supreme Court candidate field remains crowded
Scott Angelle may have finally silenced those complaining that he can't make up his mind, as he made some major moves this week. First, on Tuesday, he was appointed to the LSU Board of Supervisors; on Wednesday, he resigned as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources; then on Thursday, he jumped headlong into the Public Service Commission race against Rep. Erich Ponti of Baton Rouge and former Lafayette Parish Councilman Ed Roy. All three men are Republicans. Angelle leaves the DNR as the agency grapples with its response to the bizarre phenomenon of an enormous sinkhole that has swallowed trees and earth in Assumption Parish following mysterious reports of natural gas bubbling in nearby Bayou Corne. Local media outlets reported Thursday that the suspected cause of the bubbles and the 422-foot-deep hole is the failure of a nearby salt cavern that DNR officials knew had structural problems as early as January 2011.
'Cajun Justice' reality show may be short-lived
The A&E reality show Cajun Justice may not be returning after the season finale airs next week. The show, which follows the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, is airing its final episode of the season Aug. 16. The show was taped when Vernon Bourgeois was sheriff. Bourgeois did not seek a second term and was replaced by former longtime sheriff Jerry Larpenter, who says he doesn't want to see the show return. Larpenter tells The (Houma) Courier that the show was "ridiculous and disrespectful." He says he spoke with producers before taking office last month but has not talked to them since. Larpenter served as sheriff for 22 years, but didn't seek re-election in 2007, choosing instead to run for parish president. Though he lost that race, voters re-elected him to the sheriff's post last year. Read the full story here.
Angelle announces candidacy for Public Service Commission seat
A day after announcing his resignation as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources—a position he held more than eight years—Scott Angelle this morning confirms to Daily Report that he's entering the race for the Public Service Commission District 2 seat. "Obviously, I've chosen to devote much of my adult life to public service, and I think there's an opportunity for me to expand my role. On the PSC, I believe I can bring about more opportunities to create an environment that is conducive to creating jobs and growing our economy," says Angelle, a Republican. "I am confident I can do more good for the people of Louisiana." Angelle's announcement also comes a day after Baton Rouge Republican Rep. Erich Ponti announced his candidacy for the PSC seat that's being vacated by Jimmy Field, who is retiring at the end of his fifth term on Dec. 31. Ponti says he has approximately $280,000 in ready cash for the race, close to $170,000 of which he has raised...
Ponti jumps into race for vacant PSC seat
Baton Rouge Republican Rep. Erich Ponti announced this morning he's running for the District 2 seat on the Public Service Commission that's being vacated by Jimmy Field, who is retiring at the end of his fifth term on Dec. 31. Ponti, also a general contractor, says he sees the PSC as a place where his "conservative principles can serve ratepayers and help strengthen our economy." Ponti says he has approximately $280,000 in ready cash for the race, close to $170,000 of which he has raised since early June. Many prominent Louisiana politicians—including former Govs. Huey Long, John McKeithen and Kathleen Blanco—have used the five-member, independent regulatory agency as a stepping-stone in their careers. Also announced as a candidate for the vacant PSC seat on the Nov. 6 ballot is Lafayette businessman Ed Roy. The recently redrawn District 2 covers the parishes of Lafayette, St. Mary, St. Martin, Terrebonne, Lafourche, East Feliciana, West Feliciana and Point Coupee as well...
News Alert: Mayer quits mayor's race; field now three
Businessman Jim Mayer has sent an email to supporters announcing his withdrawal from the upcoming mayor's race. He is giving up his long-shot bid, he writes, to focus his energy on helping LSU, the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the medical school survive "devastating" budget cuts. Mayer does not explain in his email how he intends to accomplish his new goal. The decision, which comes less than a week after Republican John Conroy left the race, reduces the field to three announced candidates: incumbent Kip Holden, term-limited Metro Council member Mike Walker and business owner Gordon Mese. Qualifying for candidates does not begin until Aug. 15, but it increasingly appears the race will be a two-person showdown between Holden and Walker. —JR Ball
Jindal's national presence enlarged as Romney prepares to pick VP
With presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney expected to announce his pick for a running mate sometime in the next week or two, speculation about who will get the nod is hitting fever pitch. Gov. Bobby Jindal has been considered to be among those on Romney's short list for months now. In recent weeks, Jindal has been traveling outside of Louisiana—on the campaign trail alongside and on behalf of Romney—about as much as he's been in the state. Political observers are predicting that by spending an inordinate amount of his time campaigning for Romney, Jindal is setting himself up for national office, although it might not be this year. "Win or lose, he's going to come out of this looking good," says Pearson Cross, head of the Political Science Department at the...
Survey: First-time voters in 2008 less likely to vote for Obama
The LSU Public Policy Research Lab recently conducted a study that surveyed first-time voters in 2008 and found that 82.5% of those who voted for President Barack Obama are less likely than other Obama voters—90%—to think he deserves re-election. The PPRL survey also found that 82.2% of 2008 first-time voters are less likely than other voters—93.3%—to say they will definitely be voting in 2012, and that 71.9% of 2008 first-time voters are less likely than other 2008 Obama voters—90.4%— to say the president will be better than GOP candidate Mitt Romney at improving the economy. The study was supported by the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs and housed within the Manship School of Mass Communication. "This unique insight into President Obama's base offers a sneak peek into how his key constituency's loyalty has fared in the four years since he stepped into office," says PPRL Director Kirby Goidel. "This is the only survey to identify 2008...
Maginnis: Shaw's Bernhard may consider run for governor
Right after the question of the future of the Shaw Group in Louisiana is, What's next for its retiring chairman and CEO, Jim Bernhard? Louisiana politics, perhaps, according to one source who tells LaPolitics the Democrat might jump into the Public Service Commission election this fall. From there, several political sources agree, the logical step would be to run for governor in 2015. Bernhard did not return a phone call for comment. Should Bernhard take that path, he would be the dream candidate for state Democrats, now on the brink of electoral despair. The open PSC seat would be a natural fit, with his record of building a pipe fabrication company into an energy and construction engineering giant. As a potential candidate for governor in 2015, he would offer unquestioned job creation credentials. Bernhard is not exactly idle. Still Shaw chairman and CEO, he has to guide the public company through the completion of the acquisition by Dutch firm CB&I in January. After that,...
'Fiscal cliff' looms as debate over pre-Election Day layoff notices heats up
The deep federal spending cuts scheduled to take effect at the start of next year may trigger dismissal notices for tens of thousands of employees of government contractors, analysts say, and the notices may start going out mere days before the presidential election, says The Washington Post. By law, all but the smallest companies must notify their workforce at least 60 days in advance when they know of specific job cuts that are likely to happen. Obama administration officials say that the threat of layoffs is overblown and that Republicans are playing up the possibility rather than trying to head it off. The Labor Department said Monday that it would be "inappropriate" for contractors to send out large-scale dismissal notices, because it is unclear whether the federal cuts will occur and how they would be carried out. Republicans reacted with fury, saying it is the White House that is playing politics. "The president is focused on preventing advance notice to American...
Louisiana dominated by reliably Republican supporters
Like other Gulf Coast states, Louisiana has flipped, politically speaking, from blue to red over the past 20 years. The most recent FiveThirtyEight projections of The New York Times give Mitt Romney a 99.7% chance of carrying the state. Republican presidential candidates have carried Louisiana easily since George W. Bush first won the presidency in 2000. In 2008, Louisiana was one of four Republican states in the country to vote more in favor of U.S. Sen. John McCain (58.6 percent) than Bush in 2004 (56.8 percent). But while Louisiana votes consistently with the Deep South, its conservative engine is made up of slightly different parts, some of which, when viewed in isolation, falsely appear to make Louisiana more pink, or purple, than red. Of the roughly 2.9 million registered voters in the state, 1.4 million are registered as Democrats, while about 789,000 are registered Republicans and another 694,000 registered as "other." Even if every "other" voter sided with...
Mayor's race heats up with Walker radio ads
The mayor's race heats up this week, as mayoral challenger Mike Walker unveils a new series of campaign spots that take aim at Mayor Kip Holden for being at the National Urban League convention last week while several violent crimes were taking place in the city. The one-minute ads, which will air on a variety of local radio stations as part of a $15,000 media buy, do not capitalize on the high-profile crimes per se, according to media consultant Roy Fletcher, who produced the spots. Rather, the ads are "framed around the notion that he and Obama were speaking to the Urban League while all this was going on," Fletcher says. "The problem is, the guy doesn't deal with it. He doesn't deal with what's going on. That's Mike's point." Crime has been Walker's main focus thus far in the campaign. Earlier this summer he ran a series of radio ads that also focused on crime. The new commercials, which begin tomorrow, are more heavy-hitting and pointed in their criticism, says Fletcher. "It's...
Cracking jokes and slamming Obama, Jindal delivers for Romney in Iowa
As diners in the small town of Newton, Iowa, dug into loose-meat sandwiches at a Maid-Rite restaurant Thursday, Gov. Bobby Jindal worked his way along the counter telling them why they should vote for Mitt Romney, The Indianapolis Star reports. "Every year we've borrowed more than a trillion dollars," Jindal told about 25 invited townspeople and a few random patrons. "My little girl came home from school the other day … and she had a button on. It said: 'Please, don't anybody tell President Obama what comes after a trillion.' " The diners, eating a round of sandwiches on the campaign's tab, burst into laughter. Jindal was one of several big-name Republicans stumping for Romney in Iowa while the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is oversees. In one interview, Jindal was asked if he's just a shiny, look-at-me object meant to deflect attention from Romney's real choice as running mate, who will likely be revealed in August. "I'm flattered that you would describe me as...
La. officials dispute report on overseas voting
State officials are disputing a national report released Wednesday that called Louisiana's programs for overseas and military voters 'inadequate' and gives it among the lowest marks in the country. Conducted by the Verified Voting Foundation, the Rutgers Law School Constitutional Litigation Clinic and Common Cause, the report says hackers could pose a problem for Louisiana because it lets overseas voters return their ballots by fax and does not provide backup paper ballots at polling places, opening the system up to cyberattacks. "They're not going to be happy with anything we do because their agenda is paper ballots," first assistant secretary of state Kyle Ardoin tells The (Lafayette) Advertiser. "They don't know our system and they don't want to know our system because we don't use paper ballots." Ardoin says he finds the report interesting considering the Pew Center of the States "recognized us as a model state for integrity of elections. We'll look at best practices...
Voters want Romney to run alongside a moderate
As the 2012 race toward the White House begins to heat up, speculation about presumptive GOP candidate Mitt Romney's forthcoming pick for a running mate has run rampant. And whenever the topic comes up, Gov. Bobby Jindal's name seems to be somewhere in the conversation—with some making their case for him and others against him. A recent survey conducted by LSU's Public Policy Research Lab offers some insight and guidance into what type of candidate would net Romney the biggest gains with voters. In short, picking a moderate candidate would net Romney the largest gain in support. Choosing a religious conservative would be the least popular choice among voters, the survey says. "In selecting a vice-president, Mitt Romney faces an interesting dilemma—pick a religious conservative to mobilize his Republican base or pick a moderate to appeal to independent and potential crossover voters," says PPRL Director Kirby Goidel. "Our data show pretty convincingly that Romney's biggest...
La. overseas voting system among worst in U.S.
A new report analyzing states' programs for overseas and military voters gives Louisiana and Delaware the lowest marks in the country, and says The Bayou State is among a half dozen that are least prepared for problems and most susceptible to cyberattacks. The report was released today by Common Cause, Rutgers Law School and the Verified Voting Foundation. It calls Louisiana's plan "inadequate," and says hackers could pose a problem for the state because it's among 24 that lets overseas voters return their ballots using the Internet, email or fax. Louisiana is also faulted in the report for not providing backup paper ballots at polling places. Elections Commissioner Angie Rogers tells USA Today that the state cannot afford the cost of backup ballots—more than $150,000 — and instead ensures that each polling place has at least two machines in case one breaks down. Secretary of State Tom Schedler, meanwhile, says Internet voting is not ready yet in the state, which...
Obama lands in N.O. as state Democrats struggle
President Barack Obama arrives in New Orleans today to help kick off the National Urban League annual conference. But as The Times-Picayune notes, Obama is landing in a state where his party, less than a month before the qualifying deadline, has yet to find a congressional candidate for any district outside the black-majority seat held by Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans. In short, while the president may have plenty of admirers in New Orleans—as well as across Louisiana and the Deep South—he doesn't have a whole lot of political allies. State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson, D-New Orleans, who seized control of the Democratic party from Buddy Leach in April, says this is a year for "grassroots rebuilding." But so too was last year, when the party failed to field a single major candidate for any statewide office, including governor. Rebuilding is certainly the order of the day for the Democratic Party across much of the South, where the party's fortunes are lower...
A Romney cabinet post is not right for Jindal
Unless Mitt Romney taps him as his running mate and wins, come next January Gov. Bobby Jindal will still have the job he says he wants. The oft-touted alternative—that Jindal would accept a Cabinet post under Romney—doesn’t fit his career trajectory. His having tasted supreme power probably spoils Jindal for working for someone else again. Also, doing so would divert him from seeking the job he really wants, eventually.
Jindal stumping today in Ohio for Romney campaign
Gov. Bobby Jindal is back in Ohio today, campaigning for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. Jindal spokeswoman Shannon Bates tells The Times-Picayune that the governor's trip includes an appearance at a fundraiser for Ohio state Treasurer Josh Mandel, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat. Jindal, who is widely speculated to be among the top three candidates to run on the Romney ticket this fall, was expected to return to Baton Rouge today. Romney was in Baton Rouge Monday for a fundraiser that netted him $2 million from about 40 donors, each of whom forked over $50,000 to lunch with him. Jindal, who attended Monday's fundraiser, was in Ohio and Pennsylvania—two election battleground states—with the Romney campaign just two weeks ago at the same time that President Barack Obama was campaigning there. In his column today, Chris Cillizza of The...
Cabinet position no place for Jindal
Unless Mitt Romney taps him as his running mate and wins, Gov. Bobby Jindal will still have the job he says he wants. The oft-touted alternative, that Jindal would accept a Cabinet post under a President Romney, doesn't fit his career trajectory. His having tasted supreme power probably spoils Jindal for working for someone else again. Also, doing so would divert him from seeking the job he really wants, eventually.
Maginnis: Cabinet position no place for Jindal
Unless Mitt Romney taps him as his running mate and wins, Gov. Bobby Jindal will still have the job he says he wants. The oft-touted alternative, that Jindal would accept a Cabinet post under a President Romney, doesn't fit his career trajectory. His having tasted supreme power probably spoils Jindal for working for someone else again. Also, doing so would divert him from seeking the job he really wants, eventually. Given the governor's background, the federal department he would seem fit to run is Health and Human Services, which has "dead-end" written all over it. Even with a GOP-controlled Senate, the messy ordeal of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act with something that works better, if at all, would be fraught with controversy and pitfalls that would cry out for a fall guy: namely, the secretary. Besides, as powerful and high-profile as a Cabinet position may be, what is the future in it? Who was the last Cabinet secretary to be elected president? Answer: Herbert...
Lunch with Romney 'worth every thousand dollar,' attendee says
Louisiana Republicans who shelled out $50,000 to have lunch with presumptive GOP nominee for president Mitt Romney were not disappointed as they left the downtown City Club this afternoon shortly after 1 p.m.
Romney raises $2 million at B.R. fundraiser
Louisiana Republicans who shelled out $50,000 to have lunch with presumptive GOP nominee for president Mitt Romney were not disappointed as they left the downtown City Club this afternoon shortly after 1 p.m. "It was worth every thousand dollar," says Cajun Industries founder Lane Grigsby, one of the 40 who attended the two-hour luncheon with Romney and Gov. Bobby Jindal. "I have been so dejected by where our nation is headed. He gave us hope, and I believe we have a chance of taking our nation back." Grigsby and his wife, Bobbi, were among just a handful of Baton Rouge area Republicans at the event, which also included Eddie Rispone, CEO of Industrial Specialty Contractors and his wife, Linda; Kevin Couhig, CEO of Source Capital; and Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Coastal Conservation. Other notable GOP donors in attendance included Saints owner Rita Benson Leblanc, PHI CEO Al Gonsoulin, New Orleans banker Joseph Canizaro, and Bollinger Shipyards CEO Donald "Boysie"...
Romney's B.R. visit stirs more speculation about Jindal
With Mitt Romney holding a $50,000-a-plate fundraiser at the City Club downtown today that Gov. Bobby Jindal is also expected to attend, political pundits will surely be considering the timing of Romney's Baton Rouge visit, whether it is coincidental or might mean the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is leaning toward selecting Jindal as his running mate. Even before today's fundraiser was announced, local political consultant and strategist Roy Fletcher said on 89.3 FM WRKF's The Jim Engster Show last week that he has raised the odds he's putting on Jindal as Romney's pick, from 50% to 60%. In an editorial Sunday, The Wall Street Journal says Jindal "carries some benefits" as Romney's pick but "remains a longshot." Jindal "has the kind of gubernatorial experience Mitt Romney admires and the 'American dream' narrative the Republican presidential candidate lacks," reads
Romney lines up big Baton Rouge fundraiser
High-rolling Republicans will shell out $50,000 a plate to have lunch with Mitt Romney next week. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee is scheduled to come Monday to Baton Rouge for a fundraiser luncheon at the City Club of Baton Rouge. GOP activist and Lockport businessman Boysie Bollinger, who helped arrange the event, expects at least two dozen supporters from around the state to attend, though he has not seen a final list and won't say who is already confirmed. "This came together relatively quickly—in the past two weeks," says Bollinger, who was with Romney last month in Park City, Utah. "We were talking about dates when he might be able to come down, and he offered to do it next week." This will be Romney's second campaign visit to Louisiana; earlier this year, he attended a fundraiser in Shreveport. Since that event was during the heart of the primary campaign, however, contributions were limited to $2,500. Now that Romney is the presumptive nominee,...
Election overkill
In 2010, St. Tammany Parish officials asked the state Bond Commission for an “emergency” tax renewal election. Their requested date fell on the Saturday before Christmas, current Secretary of State Tom Schedler says.
Publisher: At the polls, records will trump rhetoric
As election season kicks into high gear locally and nationally, all of the candidates—whether they're running to be our next mayor, Metro Council member, or president—will have to run on their record of performance, says Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister. "Just as in a job interview, it's not only what the applicant says they can or will do, but what they have actually accomplished in their life" that matters, McCollister says in his latest column. "Sure, their new ideas and plans for the future are very important and should be discussed and debated, but what evidence do we have from their past that they know how to lead and execute to really get things done? Don't actions and results speak louder than words?" In the local mayoral race, crime is poised to take center stage as a major issue. On that front, McCollister says, both two-term incumbent Mayor Kip Holden and his top challenger, three-term Metro Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker, have a long...