Bossier jurors' acts spur flood of challengers

A review of races this fall in Bossier Parish government shows an expected electoral quietude among executives, but perhaps having the chickens coming home to roost for many of the incumbents on the Police Jury.

Parishes have four elective executive offices up for grabs, but there will be next to no drama in Bossier for these. The incumbent assessor, clerk of court, and coroner drew no challengers, letting all three cruise to reelection. Republican Sheriff Julian Whittington did receive a challenge from political unknown Republican Chris Green, a former deputy who would seem to have little chance for the upset.

The Jury contests are another matter. In 2019, eight incumbents walked back into office, with District 2 Republican Glenn Benton being the only incumbent to receive a challenge. This time he avoided one, along with Democrat Jimmy Cochran (unchallenged in District 7 since 1999) and Republicans Doug Rimmer (unchallenged since 2011 in District 8) and Tom Salzer (never challenged since being the only one to qualify for a special election for District 11 in 2017) while the other eight incumbents all filed for reelection against opposition.

Set LA gov field pushes Landry, Wilson to front

Qualifying for this fall’s Louisiana governor’s race went off as expected – predictably since to make a serious effort once must start campaigning months in advance of the due date. So, where do things stand?

Among the 16 candidates were a retread here and there among the several significant ones, the latter being Republicans state Sen. Sharon Hewitt, Atty. Gen. Jeff Landry, state Rep. Richard Nelson, Treasurer John Schroder, and past top gubernatorial appointee Stephen Waguespack; Democrat and recent cabinet member Shawn Wilson, and independent lawyer Hunter Lundy. They gained this distinction by having large enough campaign war chests – in Lundy’s case, mostly self-financed – with at least occasional media references to their candidacies.

Although clearly Landry by this metric is in a class of his own. Having spent millions already and with over $9 million available, that banked figure means Hewitt has in her account 3.8 percent of that total, Nelson has 3 percent, Schroder has 24 percent, Waguespack has 24.2 percent, Wilson has 6.5 percent, and Lundy has 23 percent. That is, all together the significant candidates have 84.5 percent of Landry’s total.

Against type, LA leads in one area of policy

It’s nice to see Louisiana out in front of state policy for once, courtesy of a legislator who has served less time than just about anybody else in Baton Rouge.

Fashionable, with good reason, is the listing of ways in which the state is behind the curve of many of its brethren. While its neighbors cut taxes in significant ways, put some brakes on spending growth prior to this year, and slap restraints on unaccountable bureaucracy in education and other areas, Louisiana made no progress in these areas, mainly because of an obstinate leftist throwback governor in Democrat John Bel Edwards and also weak-kneed so-called conservative leadership in the Legislature.

But the state has pioneered policy in restricting minors’ access to overly sexualized material. Act 436 by Republican state Sen. Heather Cloud, which received much attention and a begrudging assent from Edwards, has libraries create cataloguing and patron borrowing systems that give parents greater control over their children’s media consumption. While measures in several other states address operating funds for libraries as tools to gain compliance with procedures such as these, Louisiana’s is unique in as it leaves operating funds alone and instead would impair the borrowing ability of parish authorities if they don’t comply.

BC term limits resistance invites losing war

Amid the manufactured controversy over an expression of the people’s will in Bossier City to impose term limits on their elected officials, several of its city councilors are trying to win a battle that likely will cause them to lose a war where ultimately Republican Mayor Tommy Chandler picks up the win.

Trying to thwart the wishes of the citizens who organized and signed petitions are Republican Councilors Jeff Free, Vince Maggio, and David Montgomery, Democrat Bubba Williams, and no party Jeff Darby. All except Maggio never again could serve as councilors if the proposition installing a three-term limit succeeds. Along with that is a companion that limits the mayor to lifetime three terms as well.

These five voted down a request to add an agenda item to last week’s Council meeting that could have fulfilled one of the two compulsory Council actions in the wake of a successfully certified petition to amend the charter: a vote whether to make such amendments. Chandler sponsored that, but too late to make it on the agenda without a vote.

Strong LA gov canard distracts from real reforms

What a few candidates for Louisiana governor, as well as state politicians and the public must understand, is that any perception that the state’s chief executive has a lot of power that needs clipping really means curbing the formal powers of all of state government.

Because it is a stubborn fiction that Louisiana’s governor has a vast set of powers granted him by the Constitution. Instead, as the latest if a bit dated (2009) version of a long-running assessment of relative gubernatorial powers among the 50 states reveals, the Bayou State’s chief executive at best comes in among the middle of the pack. Among other things, term limits, widely dispersed executive powers with many out of his hands entirely, limited budgetary authority, and an elected judiciary circumscribe his ability to make policy in an extensive and unconstrained fashion.

Thus, when at a recent gubernatorial candidate forum Republicans state Rep. Richard Nelson, Treasurer John Schroder, and former gubernatorial chief of staff Stephen Waguespack all said they would try to circumscribe the power of the office, they traded on a canard. Nelson and Waguespack mentioned the state’s fiscal system that places too much emphasis on centralized revenue sources and redistribution to local governments, while Schroder targeted a related issue, the governor’s ability to veto state capital outlay funds to local governments as an enticement for legislator cooperation with his agenda.

Strike should spur LA film tax credit reform

A stroke of good luck for Louisiana taxpayers, the strike by writers and actors of motion picture and television productions can be leveraged even more for the state’s citizens to avoid the bad consequences of its poorly-conceived Motion Picture Investors Tax Credit.

First writers, then actors began the strike starting over three months ago. This brought largely to a halt an already slowing production of movies and series, whether shown in theaters, on broadcast television, cable television, streaming over the Internet, or in podcast form, although some films in progress actor members have been allowed to complete. Anticipation of a strike as early as late last year had prompted ratcheting down production, so as not to have things interrupted if a strike occurred. To work with a network or major studio (which comprise most of the business; for example, the top ten studios in movie box office receipts for last year collected seven-eighths of all revenues), writers and actors must be a member of their respective unions.

The main issue in both cases is revenue-sharing. The rapid growth in streaming particularly has exposed that prior compensation models didn’t account for this, leading members to demand a greater share of the pie from that. Both also want more control over the use of artificial intelligence in story writing and actor likenesses. Writers additionally want retainer pay for stretches that they don’t work.

Sketchy school rule needs change, if not ending

While voters may have little chance to assess Board of Elementary and Secondary Education members’ decision about awarding high school diplomas to students who don’t pass state exams to graduate, they will be able to comment on the emergent policy – for however long it lasts.

This spring, BESE narrowly approved an appeals policy for such students without exceptionalities, who otherwise wouldn’t graduate. All three of Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards’ appointees, who highly unlikely will return next year, plus Republican Holly Boffy and Democrats Kira Orange Jones, who face term limits, and Preston Castille voted in favor. Thus, only District 8 voters will have the chance to hold a member accountable, as Castille has given no indication he won’t run for reelection.

Most states don’t have end-of-studies exams students must pass to graduate, and of those that do they have an appeals process. These tests in Louisiana apply only to English, mathematics, and one of biology or (starting in academic year 2024) civics.

BESE elections to affect reform momentum

With high-profile statewide and legislative election on tap this fall, Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education contests have flown somewhat under the radar, but whose outcomes will determine whether education reforms continue to advance.

Eight of the 11 slots are up for four-year terms, with the remaining three members chosen by the governor in coterminous fashion. Shaping BESE for the first time is term limits of three, which started counting beginning with the results of 2011 elections and will dispatch Republicans James Garvey and Holly Boffy and Democrat Kira Orange Jones. Additionally, GOP rookie member Ashley Ellis will defer. All other incumbents appear to be running for reelection.

Republican state Rep. Lance Harris has raised his hand to replace Ellis, with her blessing. Harris has an extensive track record in legislating on education issues, and very much in line with expanding school choice and accountability. His HB 98 this past regular session would have created a money-follow-the-student system that in large degree would replicate the open enrollment model used in Orleans Parish schools, plus create flexibility for families to embrace nonpublic education.

Cassidy endorsement says more about himself

Forget the record haul of campaign cash, the polling numbers consistently making him the front runner, or the avalanche of endorsements that Republican Atty. Gen. Jeff Landry has racked up in his quest to become the state’s next governor. The most significant indicator of impending success in his campaign just flashed while telling us more about another state politician.

This week, GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy gave his official seal of approval to Landry’s bid. In a social media post, he cited clamor for Landry helming the state and policy congruence on issues of flood insurance pricing, coastal restoration, and access to mental health services as his reasons for choosing Landry over four other decently-funded Republicans, all of whom trail Landry badly in donation amounts and polling numbers.

A high-profile blessing can’t hurt Landry’s prospects, although at first glance it seems like an odd paring. Landry has become known, and popular in Louisiana, because of his unapologetic conservatism that he invokes in head-on clashes with Democrats and liberals from which not only does he not shy away, but he instigates when provoked, such as the series of legal actions he has helped to launch against a number of Democrat Pres. Joe Biden actions, emulating similar challenges to executive overreach committed by Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards. In most of these legal conflicts, Landry’s side has prevailed.

BC posers avoiding voting against term limits

Careers are on the line as various Bossier City officials try to spin their way out making their opposition to term limits look anything but, with the clock working against them and a City Council meeting looming this week.

At its last meeting, the Council, led by graybeard councilors Republicans David Montgomery and Jeff Free, Democrat Bubba Williams, and no party Jeff Darby plus GOP rookie Vince Maggio, refused to tee up an ordinance to place a three-term limit, proactively and retroactively, on city elected officials on the next-available statewide ballot for charter amending. All but Maggio, if such a ballot item succeeded, could not serve ever again as a councilor.

Instead, they approved a resolution by City Attorney Charles Jacobs to seek outside counsel, using taxpayer dollars, to judge whether the procedure to amend the charter is valid. As part of the process, Republican Mayor Tommy Chandler indicated that he “recommended” the resolution, rather than marking “noted.”