As party labels replace sashes and fundraising becomes the talent portion of the competition, Louisiana’s elections more closely resemble beauty pageants than democratic exercises with each passing year, says Jeremy Alford.
“So it was only fitting recently when the Miss USA pageant, to be held in Baton Rouge on Sunday, ensnared four Louisiana politicians running for president, governor, lieutenant governor and Baton Rouge mayor,” Alford writes in his latest column. “Blame Donald Trump, a Republican presidential candidate and co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, for adding more pomp and pageantry to Louisiana’s politics.”
Trump tipped the first domino when referring to immigrants from Mexico and other nations as “killers and rapists” in an interview last month, notes Alford. In response, Univision yanked its Spanish-language coverage of the pageant and NBC severed its ties with the organization after an 11-year partnership. Hosts and judges jumped ship as well.
“That in turn created new questions about the financial incentives offered to Trump’s beauty pageant by the state and City of Baton Rouge,” Alford writes. “Government officials were expecting a three-hour promotional tourism video on a major network, not a derailing train fueled by uncertainty. Following a legislative session where tax giveaways and their true value were a hot topic, the possibility of headlines about taxpayer-funded incentives being wasted was an unwelcome guest. Especially with election season in full swing.”
Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne, who is running for governor to replace Jindal, has so far refused to pay the Miss Universe Organization $65,000 in tourism incentives from his office due to a lack of a national TV partner.
“Dardenne’s penny-pinching, good government brand is at play here and he has the standing to raise a stink. Whether he holds firm is another question,” Alford writes.
Meanwhile, Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden, who will be on the fall ballot as a candidate for lieutenant governor, is being judged as a replacement for Dardenne.
“Holden signed a contract with the Miss Universe Organization in April that pledged $200,000 in economic development incentives, but it did not include any benchmarks for or references to a television broadcast,” Alford writes. “There is a reference, though, to the Visit Baton Rouge contract in the city’s contract, which Baton Rouge Chief Administrative Officer William Daniel contends creates shared provisions.”
The pageant flap has also provided Metro Councilman John Delgado—who Alford says is expected to run for mayor—the opportunity to call on Baton Rouge officials to explore its legal options and suspend incentive payments. And it may also have implications for Gov. Bobby Jindal, who is running behind Trump so far in GOP primary polls in key states.
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.
