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With term limits on the horizon and his final regular session less than a year away, Senate President Page Cortez is pondering his next political move. Friends and longtime supporters are convinced that might include a run for lieutenant governor in 2023.

“That’s the only statewide office I have ever contemplated,” the Senate president said. “I enjoy the history and culture of Louisiana. I’m a former history teacher. I speak a little French. I’ve also seen both the economic side of that office, and what’s required to run it through working on the budget.”

But would Cortez, a Republican from Lafayette, actually run for lieutenant governor?

“For those who have encouraged me to run, I’ve always been quick to respond with a reminder that the speaker has suggested he may be running for it,” said Cortez, adding, “I’m still thinking through some things, and thinking about running for another office means getting your family’s support, too. So we’re having discussions about that. We haven’t made any decisions. I think sometimes you have to wait and weigh different factors. We’re still pretty far out.”

As for a timeline, Cortez said he wanted to get through the rest of the regular session and continue to meet with family and friends this summer.

Asked if he would ever run against Schexnayder, Cortez said, “That would weigh heavily on me.

The two of us have had such a good relationship. We still have another year left and there’s a lot we want to get done together.”

Schexnayder has made unmissable moves lately when it comes to the office.

The speaker for example, has pushed proposals during the ongoing session to increase funding for the lieutenant governors office and to give it control of the Capitol complex.

Cortez, meanwhile, has a quieter approach to governance. He originally arrived at the Capitol in 2008 as a state representative.

At the time, Cortez had built a name for himself back home as a coach and an educator.

With his wife, he also ran a successful furniture business.

One term in the House was enough for Cortez, though, and he upgraded to a Senate seat in 2012, replacing former Sen. Mike Michot.

In the Senate, Cortez carved out a policy niche for himself on transportation, eventually taking the chairmanship before positioning himself as president.

The past year has seen Cortez dipping back into his old policy bag and grabbing headlines for legislation to control speeding and enhance related fines on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge.

The president has also enjoyed a successful term on the fundraising front.

He has $435,000 in his campaign war chest and another $70,000 in his Acadiana Strong PAC. (In comparison, Schexnayder has $355,000 is his account and $141,000 in his leadership PAC.)

Of course, if anyone wants to run for lieutenant governor next year, incumbent Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser will have to step aside — and Nungesser is expected to do just that in 2023 when he runs for governor.

Others eyeing the lieutenant governor’s race include Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle, state Rep. Ray Garofalo of Chalmette, former state Sen. Elbert Guillory of Opelousas, television host Gary Rispone and Jefferson Parish Councilwoman Jennifer Van Vrancken.

Come next year, the race for lieutenant governor may be the most crowded election on the statewide ballot.

And why not? The job, after all, is a glorified marketing position, culture is on the daily to-do list and the gig is just one step away from the state’s premier elected post. (In the Constitutional line of succession, lieutenant governor is right underneath governor).

Then again, a great deal could still change in this race, especially with qualifying roughly 13 months away.

For more Louisiana political news, visit www. LaPolitics.com or follow Alford on Twitter @ LaPoliticsNow

This past Saturday, during the long Memorial Day Weekend, the Atchafalaya Basin had a unique activity that takes place annually starting around this time of year. Underneath the canopy of cypress and tupelo trees, the water popped and swirled as multitudes of fish gorged themselves on mayflies.

Scientists estimate that mayflies have been around some 300 million years, and that there are over 3,000 different species of them worldwide. Since I can’t conceptually wrap my head around either of these numbers, I’ll stick to the one species of mayfly I do know something about – the local one in our surrounding swamps and marshes.

It seems to me, God in His infinite wisdom created mayflies to basically be food for other creatures, particularly birds and fish. Essentially, adult mayflies live for only a few hours to maybe a couple of days if they’re lucky. And, during what’s known as a mayfly “hatch,” there are thousands upon thousands of them clinging to everything and anything they come in contact with.

In town this can be a real nuisance as they are attracted to outside lights at night, where the next day literally piles of them lay dead in driveways and parking lots needing to be swept up. However, in the Atchafalaya Basin after a night of mating, they hang onto trees and Spanish moss dying, ultimately falling into the water below where the fish gobble them up.

My wife and I watched and took advantage of this while fishing last weekend. It didn’t matter that we were using worms. The bluegills and red-ear sunfish we were fishing for were in a feeding frenzy. Anything that hit the water was immediately swallowed up. And not just the bream were active; the channel catfish were, too.

A couple of the catfish had bellies that bulged so large, they looked almost deformed. After performing a little post cleaning necropsy to look at their stomach content, we found them stuffed chock-a-block with mayflies.

Mayflies start to hatch in late May and continue to off and on throughout the summer and sometimes on into early fall when the weather is warm. They’re a docile creature that doesn’t bite, sting, or even eat in their adult stage. During an evening swarm, females will be grabbed by a male and mated with. Afterwards, she immediately drops to the water to deposit her eggs.

It’s the time when female mayflies are also most vulnerable, as they lie flat on the surface of the water. Fly fishermen for generations have tied flies that resemble the mayfly and have tried to mimic this cycle of life while fishing, often with great success.

For the regular angler who dunks a worm or drowns a cricket, the mayfly hatch is just another one of those natural things he watches for each year. Like an alarm clock, they alert him that it’s time to go fishing.

During our Saturday trip, we watched a couple of boats using their troll motors to navigate slowly around every cypress tree they came to. They were having a big time catching sac-a-lait.

After landing a couple of pretty fish, one of the anglers said loud enough for us and everyone close to him to hear, “Nothing to see here folks – nothing to see here!”

Of course, it was too late. We saw plenty!

This week the Atchafalaya River stage at Morgan City will be somewhere around 4.5 feet and falling – perfect for bream fishing in the Basin and surrounding waters. Additionally, blue gills, red-ear sunfish (chinquapins) and long-ear sunfish are spawning right now.

When these conditions all come together at the same time your chances of filling an ice chest with panfish increases exponentially. This past Saturday, my spouse and I brought home 48 frying size panfish that included 8 channel catfish. It doesn’t get much better than that during a morning trip.

Bluegills and chinquapins don’t take a lot of fancy tackle. A small bobber, No. 6 perch hook, and split shot weight is all you need. For bait, worms and crickets are excellent, but when fish are feeding in a frenzy during and following a mayfly hatch, I’ve seen where a piece of corn will catch bream.

For those who like to use artificial bait, this past weekend I used a “poppa-chop” jig in an orange and chartreuse color to catch fish.

Though I didn’t try, I’m sure a 1/16th ounce H&H Pro Cajun Spin or 1/32nd ounce Johnson Beetle Spin would have done the trick as well.

With conditions like this all lined up to start the summer, there’s no better time to be fishing in the Atchafalaya Basin.

Morgan City banker R. Scott Melancon and his wife Cecilia are Nicholls State graduates. Their two sons attended the state’s flagship university.

“I tell them that it was the Nicholls State degrees that paid for the LSU degrees,” Melancon said.

That’s what Thursday night was all about at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City – celebrating the connection between St. Mary and Nicholls State.

The Colonel Caravan rolled in for an event hosted by the Atchafalaya Colonels, the local Nicholls alumni group. It was part pep rally, part PR event and part college reunion.

Melancon is on the advisory board for the Nicholls Business Department, of which he’s a fan.

“It’s a good small school – quality,” he said.

One of Thursday’s attractions was a talk by Nicholls State head football coach Tim Rebowe, who has turned the Colonels into Southland Conference contenders.

CPA Barry Dufrene likes the way Rebowe works.

“He tries to recruit talent from the area,” Dufrene said. “And that brings out the fans.”

Dufrene said he didn’t go to football games when he was a Nicholls student. But “you start going to the games and it’s a great atmosphere.”

He also likes the way Nicholls has made itself part of the community, including the training of teachers.

“It’s a great catalyst,” he said.

One talented player recruited by another Nicholls coach was Clarence Robinson, who is now the housing authority director for both Morgan City and Berwick. He gets credit from other local officials for straightening out both authorities.

Nicholls, Robinson said, “is my heart and soul.”

Robinson was a Nicholls State defensive back in the mid-Eighties under head coach Sonny Jackson. The team went 10-3 in 1986 and beat Appalachian State in the first round of the Division 1-AA playoffs before falling to eventual national champion Georgia Southern.

As Robinson spoke of his playing days, former teammate Keith Menard wandered over. Menard, recruited by Jackson from Rayne, remembered Jackson’s ability to find talent in south Louisiana.

“Sonny Jackson gave you every opportunity in the world,” Menard said.

Robinson remembers Nicholls for more than just football.

“It’s the best kept secret in Louisiana,” he said. “If you go back now and talk to the faculty that is still there, they’ll know who you are.”

Morgan City is the last Colonel Caravan stop of the year after New Orleans, Houma and Baton Rouge. Thursday's stop drew nearly 80 people, including state Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer, Berwick Mayor Duval Arthur, Councilwoman Colleen Askew of Berwick, Morgan City Councilmen Lou Tamporello and Tim Hymel, Morgan City Court Judge Kim Stansbury, Morgan City Chief Administrative Officer Charlie Solar and St. Mary School Board President Kenny Alfred.

They heard Rebowe talk about the Colonels’ upcoming season, which starts with six straight road games. The first will be Sept. 3 at South Alabama.

Rebowe joked at the top that he doesn’t want to talk about the transfer portal. But the question is tough to avoid after the loss of much-traveled Zachary product Lindsey Scott.

Scott, who passed for 3,767 yards in 18 games at Nicholls through 2021, entered the portal in January and transferred to Incarnate Word in San Antonio.

“College athletics is going crazy …,” Rebowe said. “It’s getting tougher and tougher to keep a team together.”

Nicholls will rely on the quarterback play of Kohen Granier, a 6-1, 200-pound senior from Destrehan, pushed by Leonard Kelly, a 6-1, 195-pounder from New Orleans.

The east St. Mary athletes on the spring 2022 Nicholls roster are Brooks Thomas, a redshirt-sophomore wide receiver, redshirt freshman defensive back Hugh Gregory Hamer, and sophomore tight end Nathan Hebb, all of Central Catholic; senior defensive lineman Deondre Diggs of Patterson; and redshirt freshman linebacker Hayden Seneca from Berwick.

Ora Lee Brashear Garner, 69, a resident and native of Morgan City, Louisiana, passed away on Thursday, May 12, 2022, at Ochsner Baptist in New Orleans.

Visitation will be observed on Saturday, June 4, 2022, at the Mt. Era Baptist Church, 406 Lawrence St., Morgan City, from 9 a.m. until funeral services at 11 a.m., with Minister Anthony Stewart officiating. Burial will follow funeral services in the Morgan City Cemetery.

She is survived by her devoted companion of 17 years, Michael Merrick of Morgan City; a daughter, Natasha Garner Francois (James Naverre) of Morgan City; three granddaughters, a grandson, one brother, Raymond (Gladys) Ruffin of Morgan City; two sisters, Suzette Brashear of Lafayette and Mary Pool Collins of Morgan City; stepmother Idela Brashear of Morgan City; three aunts; four uncles, and a host of other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her: son, mother, stepfather, father, two brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, a sister-in-law, two nephews and a niece.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Jones Funeral Home.