Independence Day, 2024

This column publishes every Sunday through Thursday around noon U.S. Central Time (maybe even after sundown on busy days, or maybe before noon if things work out, or even sometimes on the weekend if there's big news) except whenever a significant national holiday falls on the Monday through Friday associated with the otherwise-usual publication on the previous day (unless it is Thanksgiving Day, Independence Day, Christmas, or New Year's Day when it is the day on which the holiday is observed by the U.S. government). In my opinion, in addition to these are also Easter Sunday, Memorial Day and Veterans' Day.

With Wednesday, Jul. 4 being Independence Day, I invite you to explore the links connected to this page.

Political shuffling to benefit Court, maybe NSU

The political musical chairs that may commence with a new Northwestern State University presidency in the near future could lead, with voters ratification, to a quality lineup in the state’s Supreme Court – but at the cost of refreshing a questionable tendency in governance of Louisiana’s higher education institutions.

At the end of May, NSU Pres. Marcus Jones announced he accepted an offer to be kicked upstairs in the University of Louisiana System. The ULS just prior to statewide elections last fall swiftly moved to put former Grambling State University Pres. Rick Gallot into the system presidency, but then hit the brakes when Republican incoming Gov. Jeff Landry asked to meet with Gallot prior to any final contract offering.

Landry has no control over such a hiring decision. But he does have control over appointments to the ULS Board of Supervisors, almost half of whom come up for that at then end of the year, and most of them before Landry’s term is up (and all of them if he serves another). While because of the political allegiances of some they will not return, many have a decent chance of reappointment and not acquiescing might have mooted that.

LA must support efforts to bring EPA in line

Either by legal action or election results, the run of politicization of science that has marked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s regulatory regime on emissions looks to wither away, bringing relief to a major Louisiana industrial concern punished for political reasons.

As of the middle of last week, things weren’t looking great for Denka Performance Elastomers in LaPlace, the country’s only producer of neoprene. For over a decade, Denka and its predecessor have been in the crosshairs of the EPA that alleges production of neoprene emits too high levels of chloroprene that supposedly causes cancer. The EPA has tried to impose emission strict standards even as the company has instigated a huge decrease in these amounts.

That battle escalated in a rule proposed in April and made final in May that broadly changes the emission regime, but specifically for Denka creates a level that the company has said is impossible to meet by an Oct. 15 deadline. It has gone to court to suspend this implementation.

Next Ellis term may feature choppy waters

Fresh off a successful four years and convincing reelection, Monroe independent Mayor Friday Ellis looks to face a different – and possibly less tractable – set of challenges through 2028.

This week, he took the oath for a second term, along with new terms for Republican Councilors Doug Harvey and Gretchen Ezernack and Democrat Juanita Woods. In 2020, Ellis, who is white, shocked the political world when in a city with black voting majority and Democrat voting majority as a novice candidate he defeated black long time mayor Democrat Jamie Mayo.

Proving this no fluke, he overcame Mayo again earlier this year, more than doubling up on him with 63 percent of the vote, an improvement of about 10 percent in the rematch. Ellis credited his victory to taking largely a service-oriented approach deemphasizing ideology that focused on attention to constituents, which seemed to resonate among black voters as he captured at least a quarter of the vote in a number of supermajority black precincts.

Consequential election frees Bossier legislators

Persecuted in past years, if not attacked for reelection purposes, Bossier Parish-based legislators saw their efforts flourish this year.

The 2023 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature brought adversity for the likes of Republicans state Sen. (then Rep.) Alan Seabaugh, Raymond Crews, and Dodie Horton, as well as GOP state Rep. Danny McCormick who prior to reapportionment that took effect this year also represented parts of the parish. That’s as they advocated reining in spending, favoring the use of surplus dollars to pay down unfunded accrued liabilities and other measures to stabilize state finances, which meant leaving in place a spending cap.

By contrast, Democrat former Gov. John Bel Edwards wanted to lard up the budget as much as possible in an attempt to bake in larger government prior to his departure at year’s end, knowing as soon as he left office his legacy of bloated government and redistribution to favored special interests would start to crumble. He found willing allies in a legislative Republican leadership of House former Speaker Clay Schexnayder – himself running for higher office where higher spending could leverage him more campaign support – and Sen. former Pres. Page Cortez who wanted to spread largesse to legislators, many of whom were running for election.