In a recent speech to the Crowley Rotary recently, former Gov. Edwin Edwards voiced his support for the ongoing efforts to call another constitutional convention. The remarks surprised some, given his lack of clarity on the issue and his status as the political godfather of the current Constitution that was ratified in 1974. In an interview with LaPolitics, Edwards elaborated. “The Constitution needs to be changed, given the status of the budget and financials today,” he said. The former governor believes that statutory dedications are the largest obstacle. “When there is a mid-year deficit, the governor can only address higher education and health care and reduce their funds to balance the budget. That ought to be removed so he can look at all of the various budgets in order to balance the state budget.” Edwards added he favors of a convention to rewrite the entire Constitution. “I would prefer it if they looked at the whole document,” he said. What other issues need attention? Edwards mentioned the consolidation of the state’s higher education boards, an idea he pushed during the 1973-74 Constitutional Convention. “At the time, I was advocating for one board overall colleges, but there was a great deal of opposition from the areas with local colleges and I understood that,” he said. Edwards, who first ran for governor promising a convention, predicted the candidates for the same job in 2019 will again make it a central talking point. “If I were running for governor,” he said, “I would definitely campaign on rewriting the Constitution.”
—State Sen. Sharon Hewitt, R-Slidell, has been mentioned as a possible candidate for re-election as well as Senate president, secretary of state and governor. A first-term Republican from Slidell, Hewitt has chiseled a scrappy brand for herself in short order, and partly on the shoulders of a terse and well-publicized exchange with Gov. John Bel Edwards. She’s aggressive and has traveled far outside her Senate district to speak to Rotary Clubs and chambers of commerce. So what in the heck is Hewitt going to do? Is she running for statewide office? “Time will tell,” she said when asked, offering a non-answer to a question that’s pondered frequently in her absence. “Sen. Hewitt is doing everything that you should do if you are considering running for governor,” said St. Tammany consultant James Hartman, who has managed a race against the senator. “I think she would be a formidable candidate and a very effective chief executive for Louisiana.”
They Said It: “I’m beginning to feel like I’m a special session specialist.” —State Rep. Robert Johnson, D-Marksville, on his career options as the Legislature navigates its sixth special session of this term
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.
