A $756 million federal grant program to elevate homes has been a drag on Gov. Bobby Jindal, says John Maginnis. Maginnis says the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program has been beset with delays, disorganization, claims of unfairness and, ultimately, allegations of graft directed at a state official. Following scolding editorials, Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater launched a wide investigation and placed one official on leave for reportedly taking gifts, and Jindal announced an executive order to crack down on shoddy contractors. But Maginnis says those actions came too late. If “Jindal did have a substantial opponent today, he or she would have a big club to whack him with, by calling into question his administration’s image of ethics, competence and empathy for ordinary citizens,” Maginnis says. Read the full column here.
(John Maginnis publishes LaPolitics Weekly, a newsletter on Louisiana politics, at LaPolitics.com.)
