Gov.-elect John Bel Edwards has offered outgoing Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne a position in his administration, an offer Dardenne says he is carefully considering.
In an exclusive interview Wednesday on The Clay Young Show podcast, Dardenne says, “Since the election we have spoken and he has talked to me about being involved and I am considering that right now.”
Dardenne, a Republican, wouldn’t say what position is on the table, though his name has quietly swirled about political circles as a potential for the top job—Commissioner of Administration. With a 14-year career in the Louisiana Legislature, including eight years as chairman of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, Dardenne would be a natural for the job.
He would also be a Republican in a Democratic administration. Dardenne, who ran against Edwards in the gubernatorial primary and crossed party lines to endorse him in the runoff, says nothing was offered him in return for the endorsement. He says he met with Edwards after the primary and that Edwards said he would appreciate Dardenne’s endorsement but that the request didn’t come with a promise of any sort of payback.
“I decided on my own I was going to do it and then I met with him and talked to him several times before I did,” Dardenne told Young. “I also wanted to talk to him about some substantive issues on which I knew we differed. He explained to me his intent was to govern much as I would have governed and I was satisfied he was going to do that.”
Regardless of whether Dardenne decides to accept a position in the Edwards administration, he told Young—as he has told others publicly—he will not run for mayor of Baton Rouge or for the U.S. Senate seat that David Vitter will be vacating in 2016.
“I am not running for mayor or any other position. This was the job I wanted to do,” Dardenne said. “I want people to understand I am not trying to be coy. I am not going to run. I want to make that clear.”
Listen here to the full podcast.
—Stephanie Riegel
