Someone around the State Capitol should invest in name tags, because they would certainly make a killing during the new term that begins next week.
While there will be 18 new senators and 46 rookie representatives, lawmakers will not be only fresh faces.
Within Gov. John Bel Edwards’ administration you’ll find a few new names as well, writes Jeremy Alford in his new opinion piece. Dr. Rebekah Gee, for example, will be vacating her post as Edwards’ health secretary at the end of the month.
Prior to Gee, and just since November, Erin Monroe Wesley left her position as Edwards’ special counsel and Jennifer Steele left her job as Medicaid director. Maj. Gen. Glenn Curtis, head of the Louisiana National Guard, likewise has announced his retirement.
Curtis will be replaced by Brig. Gen. Keith Waddell, currently the major general’s chief of staff. A national search is being conducted to replace Steele, but Gee’s replacement process will be watched with great interest.
Over at LSU, F. King Alexander served his final day as president on Dec. 31, and is headed to Oregon State University to take on the same job there. The new president will be selected by the LSU Board of Supervisors, which is appointed by the governor.
What the Edwards administration is going through is normal—there are traditionally some staffing and personnel changes from one term to the next. The real question is whether more resignations are on the way. Read Alford’s full column, in which he details some of the speculations being made at the State Capitol, and what all the new faces could mean for Louisiana.
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
