An unprecedented statewide election season nearly devoid of Democrats began civilly enough with a debate between the Republican secretary of state candidates, incumbent Tom Schedler and Speaker of the House Jim Tucker. The discourse was rougher in the lieutenant governor’s race, as Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser used the Internet and an endorsement to get in his first licks at incumbent Jay Dardenne. At the debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Louisiana, Schedler and Tucker agreed that the main function of the office, conducting elections, is going well; but they differed on how they would improve corporate records and museums. They jabbed at each other over more cutting issues that have nothing to do with the office: Tucker’s support of the aborted 2008 legislative pay raise and Schedler’s having two homestead exemptions for three years. They both want to restore the $870,000 cut from museum budgets last session, and both want to make the corporate records division more supportive of new businesses. Schedler said it was up to the Legislature to provide more funding, while Tucker promised to “scrub the budget” to come up with the money.
— With Gov. Bobby Jindal having committed to serve out a second term and with Louisiana turning from purple to bright red, the handicapping among Republicans has begun for the 2014 Senate race. Sen. Mary Landrieu, the last Deep South Democrat in the Senate, says she is running for re-election. Two have previously declared their willingness to challenge her: Congressman Jeff Landry and BESE member Chas Roemer. Also said to be interested are three more congressmen: Bill Cassidy, John Fleming and Steve Scalise.
They said it: “We’re killing the rodents of the house to let the pests thrive.” —Southern University professor Ghanashyam Joshi, on school policy not to let faculty members rescind their agreements to accept furloughs after one-third of the faculty refused to do so, in The Advocate
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at Lapolitics.com).
