When Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards is sworn into office on Jan. 11, the Democrat will be faced with a Republican-controlled Legislature. And at the same time, notes Jeremy Alford in his latest column, the very red House and Senate will be faced with a new, blue administration.
“One doesn’t shoulder more responsibility than the other in making this political duality work for the next four years,” writes Alford. “They’ll have to do it in concert, like flour and oil. However, there’s no doubting that Edwards is the most important ingredient in the roux right now.”
Alford says the governor-elect is going to have to let Republicans add their own ingredients to the 2016-2020 gumbo, and he’s made the first move by appointing Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne on Monday as his commissioner of administration.
“It’s not a flawless maneuver, as many Republicans are still hot and bothered that Dardenne crossed party lines after losing the gubernatorial primary to endorse Edwards,” Alford writes. “But Dardenne, a former GOP legislator, will be able to navigate his new budget director role better than most.”
Republican compromise in the Legislature on issues that fall to the center and left-of-center may start with the House backing Edwards’ choice for speaker: Rep. Walt Leger, a New Orleans Democrat.
“Leger fits into this bipartisan mold well, having voted the Democratic line, the Republican line and all of the other lines out there,” Alford writes. “There’s no doubting his party loyalty at the end of the day, but Republicans could do considerably worse if they’re trying to avoid a far-left leader.”
Across Memorial Hall, Alford says, Republican Senate President John Alario looks to be a lock to maintain his post. And Republicans still hold a majority in the House and the Senate, as they have since 2010.
“But Edwards proved this fall that Louisiana, at least on a specific case-by-case basis, might not be as red as once thought—or rather that voters want conservative leaders, regardless of their party,” Alford writes. “Now it’s up to Edwards to come up with a definition for ‘conservative Democrat,’ since it will be his governing style and not campaign rhetoric that fills in the blanks.
Whichever party fails to compromise may pay the ultimate price.”
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
