Call it the silent Democratic primary as Congressman Charlie Melancon and Shaw Group chairman Jim Bernhard continue to talk about who should step aside for the other in next year’s U.S. Senate race. Sources have described the conversations proceeding on “very good terms,” but so far they have been inconclusive. One source said, “Both of them have their own polls that say they would do better” in a challenge to U.S. Sen. David Vitter. Though Melancon has not made an official announcement, he is pressing ahead with fundraising, particularly on a national level, with the aid of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
— Compared to the stink caused last year by the governor’s veto of 30% of legislators’ pet projects, this time he nixed only 10% of a smaller pot of items for lawmakers. The governor’s 53 spending vetoes nullified $3.46 million of the $34 million in member amendments added to the supplemental appropriations bill. Last year, he red-lined $16 million of $53 million, or 30% of local projects. Legislators say they were more careful this year in submitting projects that followed the governor’s criteria for funding non-governmental organizations. Yet, a number of items vetoed were similar enough to others that were allowed that legislators claimed retribution from Jindal, a charge he has denied.
— Nine members have been selected for the commission to recommend how to restructure higher education, but the governor’s naming of his appointees already has caused a stir in the university community. For his two picks, the governor chose the chairmen of the LSU and the Southern Boards of Supervisors: Blake Chatelain and Tony Clayton. The Board of Regents, which will administer the commission, has one board seat and named two others, as set out in the statute. That leaves the University of Louisiana System and the community college system without official representation. The governor giving LSU and Southern seats surprised some legislators and college officials, who expected a “non-partisan” board, in the words of one. Their concern is that when school or program mergers are discussed, Chatelain and Clayton will be inclined to protect their systems’ turf.
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
