Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser has made it his mission to be visible through travel, but is he traveling too much?
The Advertiser reports that Nungesser has spent roughly $27,300 on travel from the day he took office in January 2016 through the month of March.
Travel was 1.2% of Nungesser’s total budget during his first year in office. The share is not unusual for his position, although it’s more than what his predecessor, Jay Dardenne, spent on trips.
Travel for others in the Louisiana Office of Tourism totals about $162,000 for the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Some say the money would be better spent on things like state parks—which are in danger of closing due to lack of funds. Nungesser, however, says he’s proud of the time he’s spent traveling for his position. He sees it as his way of “bringing more people to the table,” which to him is worth every penny.
“Last year I gave 186 speeches,” he tells The Advertiser. “So far (in June) I’ve done 210. … It’s hard to say no to these people who love and have passion for what they do. People who felt they were not involved is some decisions now have a seat at the table.”
The state office spent $18,195.02 on travel for Nungesser last year, before his trips this spring to Washington, D.C., and Paris.
Dardenne, meanwhile, took 13 out-of-state trips and traveled outside of the country three times from 2012 to 2015, according to the Lieutenant Governor’s Office.
In 14 months, Nungesser has spent two-thirds of the amount Jay Dardenne spent in three years, according to these figures. From 2012 to 2015, Dardenne’s travel cost about $37,360. His expenses ranged from less than $100 on a trip to Alexandria to $6,300 for Brussels and Paris.
