Louisiana Politics: Treasurer race starts and ends with money
In order to obtain the privilege of becoming the state’s next chief steward of taxpayer money, the candidates for treasurer will have to first spend money from donors.
As of last, week three GOP war chests were holding $1.1 million combined, according to finance reports filed with the Louisiana Ethics Administration. The latest accounting reveals the spending and fundraising that took place between April 8 and July 6.
Former state Rep. John Schroder is at the front of the clash for cash with $638,000 in his campaign kitty.
The Covington native has so far invested $186,000 of his own money into the bid, which is a loan that could be repaid in full without altering Schroder’s fundraising lead.
The closest within reach is former commissioner of administration Angele Davis of Baton Rouge, who has $315,000 in the bank. She was the last major candidate to enter the race, and has so far been able to raise funds at a faster rate than her competitors — when her shortened timeline is taken into account.
State Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, falls next in line with $201,000 in cash on hand. But his campaign did finish this most recent reporting period on a high note if another set of numbers are reviewed. Riser out-raised everyone in the field during the April-to-July round, bringing in $164,000 to Davis’ $108,000 and Schroder’s $112,000.
Among the three top contenders, Davis has the fewest expenditures reported in terms of showcasing staff and campaign operations. That will change on the next ethics deadline, though; last week saw Davis fill out her staff with handful of campaign veterans. Both Riser and Schroder are fully staffed up as well.
A notable staffing expense for Riser went to former state Rep. Lenar Whitney of Houma, who received $500 on June 13 as a “campaign worker.” Whitney has since become a candidate for the open Public Service Commission seat, which stretches across Acadiana, into Baton Rouge and as far south as the Terrebonne-Lafourche coastline.
State Rep. Julie Stokes, R-Kenner was expected to qualify and raised money for the race during the last reporting period. But she withdrew from the contest upon learning that she was facing an intense treatment regime for breast cancer. Had she qualified, it’s possible that Stokes would have ended up reporting $442,000 in the bank.
But after repaying a $250,000 loan earlier this month that she had previously made to her campaign, Stokes was actually left with $192,000 in the bank after raising $82,000 during the most recent period. A campaign spokesperson said roughly $100,000 in pledges went uncollected after Stokes received the sobering news from her physician.
New Orleans attorney Derrick Edwards, the only Democrat in the race for treasurer, did not file a report, nor did three other candidates who qualified.
House chairs seem set
At one point during this year’s trio of legislative sessions, few knew what the future held for some of the caucus and delegation chairmen in the state House.
But now there’s a clearer picture.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Reynolds of Minden now intends to finish his term as the minority leader after announcing about a month ago that he was stepping down. Enough caucus members managed to convince him to stick it out.
Meanwhile, the question of who will become the Democratic Caucus’ next vice chairman has been answered. Rep. Sam Jenkins of Shreveport has been elected to take the place of Sen. Ed Price of Gonzales, who was elected to the upper chamber in May.
Rep. Joe Bouie of New Orleans, the chairman of the Black Caucus, will serve until December, which is when it’s expected that Rep. Randal Gaines of LaPlace will be selected as his replacement.
Political History:
The shortest session ever
In roughly two weeks we’ll be able to give a nod to the 58th anniversary (Aug. 10, 1959) of the shortest session ever held by the Louisiana Legislature.
It lasted less than an hour.
Lawmakers had been called into the special session by late Gov. Earl K. Long and it was supposed to last 12 days. But lawmakers were growing weary of Long’s antics, which by that time included a stint in a Texas mental hospital.
Rather than going along with the governor’s agenda, the House voted first to adjourn. The Senate did the same, only the upper chamber also got an earful from Long, who at one point screamed, “If I was ever crazy, then I’m still crazy.”
In an interview with the Associated Press, Long played down the defeat.
“Maybe it’s a good thing,” he said. “It might be the difference in life or death to me. It’ll give me a chance to get a little better.”
Long’s administration had drafted 21 bills to be debated, including one that would have made it more difficult to check certain individuals into mental hospitals.
Yet that wasn’t Long’s only session mishap as governor. Nineteen years earlier, he had issued a call for a special session that never happened because most of the Legislature never showed up.
They said it
“Army is going to beat Navy.”
—Gov. John Bel Edwards, a West Point graduate, on his live call-in radio show last week
“At this point the right thing to do for Congress is take a deep breath.”
—Edwards, discussing federal health care policy
For more Louisiana political news, visit www.LaPolitics.com or follow Jeremy Alford on Twitter @LaPoliticsNow.