Former U.S. Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao expects Gov. Jeff Landry to endorse his campaign for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
He is running against Michael Hollis and Ellie Schroder, fellow Republicans who are making their first bid for public office, though neither is a stranger to politics.
Cao already serves on BESE, after Landry appointed him following the resignation of Paul Hollis, Michael Hollis’ brother. Schroder is the wife of former Treasurer John Schroder and a member of the Republican State Central Committee.
“I received the appointment on January 6th and I started the campaign a week after that,” Cao says. “I am running as the incumbent.”
Cao first tasted politics as an advocate for the New Orleans-area Vietnamese community. His first try for office came in 2007, when he ran for the state House of Representatives and finished fifth in a six-candidate field.
“I was a novice,” he says of that first race. “I didn’t have any money, so I was not able to put together a campaign team.”
But the next year, he had a group of volunteers who wanted to defeat then-Congressman Bill Jefferson, who was embroiled in a bribery scandal after investigators found $90,000 in cash in his freezer. Cao notched the upset, providing one of the few bright spots for Republicans in 2008, though he lost reelection to Cedric Richmond in 2010. (Read more about those elections in LaPolitics.)
This time, veteran consultant Karen Carvin Shachat, who has worked on four successful bids for New Orleans mayor and for Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng’s race, is managing his campaign. Cao says he supports Gov. Landry’s education agenda, including doubling funding for the LA GATOR program.
Cao has been a vocal supporter of school choice and charter schools since his days in Congress, where he secured funding for the land that became home to the New Orleans Military & Maritime Academy, he says. He served on the school’s board, and says it should be a model for many other schools across the state.
“They take in very ordinary kids, but through their system of duty, personal responsibility and commitment, they have transformed these kids into amazing young adults,” he says.
Workforce development also would be a big emphasis for him at BESE, Cao adds.
When the White House picked Paul Hollis to lead the U.S. Mint, Michael Hollis mused that he might be a good fit to replace him on the board, but didn’t think very much about it. But he says his brother and other folks in the school choice movement encouraged him to consider a run. He decided to do so during qualifying week and signed up on that Friday.
Hollis is the son of state Sen. Ken Hollis, who died in 2010. Asked what he learned about politics from his father, Michael Hollis says he always admired that his dad tried to do what he felt was right, even if it wasn’t the politically expedient thing to do.
“He was a Republican back when Republicans weren’t cool,” but was still willing to buck the party line when he thought it was warranted, Hollis says.
Along with his father’s influence, he credits participating in student government with sparking his interest in politics. Asked how he will distinguish himself from his Republican competitors, he says he will stress his business and economic development experience, which includes running his family’s group benefits business for 10 years and working for the predecessor of GNO Inc.
Hollis says he wants BESE to continue on the path that it’s on, which includes cutting back on testing requirements so teachers don’t have to teach to the test. He also supports Landry’s effort to increase funding for LA GATOR.
“Money should follow the students,” he says. “We need to make sure that those schools are accredited.”
He says Zach Kilshaw of East Baton Rouge Parish is running his campaign. Kilshaw consulted on Sid Edwards’ successful run for mayor-president in EBR.
Schroder says she was approached to run for BESE a few years ago when Jim Garvey was leaving office, but the timing wasn’t right due to her husband’s political career.
She was very active behind the scenes in that career, which even included handling his campaign finances before he ran statewide. Now, it’s her turn to run, and she’s married to her lead consultant.
“Basically, it’s John and I,” she says of her campaign. “We’ve always been a team in everything we’ve done.”
Schroder has a background in education, as a teacher and an administrator. She also obtained a residential contractor license and ran her own construction company, though she says she has stepped away from that business.
Schroder says she isn’t sure whether she is for or against increasing funding for LA GATOR because she has not had a chance to dig into the concerns that Senate President Cameron Henry and others have expressed. She says she would emphasize school safety and workforce development at BESE.
“We need to have our high school kids ready [for work], and not all of them will go to college,” Schroder says.
She also would like to conduct a “policy audit” to see if any of the state’s education regulations are outdated or do not contribute to student success.
Cao, Hollis and Schroder will face each other in the Republican primary in the Republican-leaning BESE District 1 that is scheduled for May 16.
Angela Hershey was the only Democrat to qualify, so she advanced to the general election. Hershey did not respond to an email seeking an interview for this story.
