Four former governors of Louisiana—Edwin Edwards, Buddy Roemer, Mike Foster and Kathleen Blanco—reminisced today on the challenges they faced as leaders of the state and shared their thoughts on how future governors and legislatures can work together. The four also defended their own respective terms in office as guest speakers at the 50th anniversary celebration for the Council for a Better Louisiana, held at the Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center.
Gov. Blanco says she undoubtedly faced the biggest crisis with Hurricane Katrina inundating New Orleans in 2005. The Democratic governor says she still reels when recalling the political game she had to play with the White House to get aid to Louisiana while at the same time Mississippi, with its Republican governor, Haley Barbour, was being well-funded following the storm.
“It made me tougher to know that I could go up against the president,” Blanco says of her dealings with former President George W. Bush.
At the same time, Blanco recalls the criticism she received for focusing on reopening the Superdome for the 2006 New Orleans Saints season, which, she adds, kept owner Tom Benson from moving the team to San Antonio.
“It was electrifying to be there in the city,” Blanco says of that first home game, when the Saints beat the Atlanta Falcons on national TV. “It was more than a football game.”
Gov. Buddy Roemer recollected the “almost overwhelming” crisis under way when he took office in 1988 during the oil and gas bust. Unemployment in the state was at 13.8%, Louisiana had the lowest bond rating of all 50 states, and teacher pay ranked 50th. However, Roemer says he worked to increase teacher pay by 30%, improved the bond rating and balanced the budget.
“It’s not about politics, it’s about saving a state,” Roemer says of his bipartisan efforts while in office and his hope that future governors and legislatures can work together.
Gov. Mike Foster recalled when, during his first term, in 1997, the Mississippi River nearly overflowed its banks at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, almost necessitating the evacuation of inmates.
Gov. Edwin Edwards was, as usual, frank about the aftermath of his four terms: “My crisis came after I was governor,” he said to large laughs.
Edwards describes the governor as the “central focus of power” in Louisiana. Foster and Blanco say they worry about the encroachment of partisanship in state politics. Roemer talked of a need for more legislative independence.
The governors largely stayed away from the controversies revolving around Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration, but agreed that having two or three political parties in power is good for the state as long as they work together.
