The architects and engineers behind the House of Representatives will often post vaccines and job openings internally before making a broader search for candidates. And that’s what they did last week, only for the elected job of House clerk. At the end of this term, Clerk Butch Speer will be retiring after holding the spot since 1984.
Some lawmakers have been eager to get the replacement process underway, fearing there wouldn’t be enough time to train the next clerk properly. But things being what they are in the Capitol, nothing is that straight-forward. Clerks are elected by members of the House, who individually reserve the right to nominate candidates.
The deadline for internal applications is Nov. 1, with a decision expected from the House leadership sometime before the 2019 regular session. The House Executive Committee, which former Rep. Greg Cromer was the chairman of, will be overseeing the presentations given by the candidates.
House Speaker Taylor Barras, R-New Iberia, says the idea is to let the chosen candidate shadow Speer in 2019, and then that individual would arrive to the 2020 organizational session with a sort of symbolic seal of approval.
“This really is the 2020 Legislature’s decision, but it feels irresponsible for this body not to make a recommendation,” says Barras. “Plus someone has to open the organizational session.”
The potential candidates are difficult to peg, although there has been plenty of chatter in the Capitol’s hallways. If there’s going to be a surprise, it may come in the form of a term-limited (or not) legislator looking for a new lease on life. There have been more than a few of those this term.
—Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has cut a robocall for Josh Guillory’s campaign against incumbent Congressman Clay Higgins in the 3rd District. The support of Giuliani, who appeared at a fundraiser for Guillory earlier this year, is in direct conflict with his current legal client, President Donald Trump, who has instead fully endorsed Higgins’ re-election. In the robocall, Giuliani does not explicitly mention Trump but focuses his attention on Guillory’s attributes.
“Josh is a conservative leader, veteran and a dedicated father. He’s exactly the kind of Republican we need fighting for us in Washington,” Giuliani says in the robocall. Democrats Mimi Methvin, Larry Rader, Rob Anderson and Verone Thomas are also running.
They Said It: “I’m tired of people stealing my money.” —Shreveport mayoral candidate Lee O. Savage, on corruption, in The Shreveport Times
Jeremy Alford publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter, or on Facebook. He can be reached at JJA@LaPolitics.com.
