Louisiana Voice

Did Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser access parish computer emails to solicit attendance (read: contributions) at a January fundraiser following his unsuccessful challenge to Jay Dardenne for the state’s second-highest office last October?

A better question might well be did he receive any contributions at the Jan. 17 fundraiser at the Grand Oaks Mansion in New Orleans’ Mardi Gras World, co-hosted by Gov. Piyush Jindal?

LouisianaVoice has received a complaint that Nungesser may have solicited attendance (and contributions) via email addresses accessible only through the parish 9-1-1 call line for a fundraiser to pay off debts from his 2011 lieutenant governor’s race.

“The only way that I believe that Billy Nungesser could have accessed my email address would be through the 9-1-1 parish call line,” one Plaquemines Parish resident wrote. “Citizens can register to receive alerts if there’s a hurricane, an evacuation, a hazardous spill, ferry’s out, etc., but it should be off-limits to political fundraisers,” the writer said, adding, “but this IS Bobby Jindal’s Louisiana.”

That was in apparent reference to Jindal’s endorsement of Nungesser in last October’s race against Dardenne, won by Darden with 53.1 percent of the vote.

The emailed invitation said, “You’re invited to join Governor Bobby Jindal at a fundraiser for bill Nungesser Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (at) Grand Oaks Mansion in Mardi Gras World, 1380 Port of New Orleans Place, New Orleans.”

The invitation also said a “private patron party” would be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The bottom of the invitation offered potential donors the options of being a “Patron,” with four tickets as a member of the $5,000 “Host Committee” and attendance at the “private patron party,” a “Sponsor,” with two tickets for a $2,500 contribution, and an “Attendee” with one ticket in exchange for a $1,000 contribution.

Potential attendees were given the option of making their contributions (in advance) via American Express, Discover or Visa, with spaces provided for cardholders’ names, card numbers, expiration dates, security codes and cardholders’ signatures.

Even though the deadline on the invitation was given as Jan. 10, Nungesser’s email was sent three days later, on the 13th, an indication that advance reservations might not have been coming in as hoped, despite the attraction of the governor.

Before Nungesser’s email, the Plaquemines Parish resident who complained to LouisianaVoice said, “I got similar things promoting David Vitter (YUK), Bill Bubrig (who lost the race for Plaquemines Parish sheriff by 12.5 percentage points last November) and Jindal stuff, too. I am a registered Democrat. My email was not on any church list (that would be illegal, too, but we know that is going on) or any other community or political list likely to be accessed by Nungesser.”

The reference to church lists brings to mind Jindal’s visits to protestant churches in north Louisiana last year. An observer at one of those churches recalled seeing a clipboard being circulated during church services at a time when Jindal was giving his testimonial for church members to provide their names, telephone numbers and mailing and email addresses.

Not only was there an indication of slow RSVPs for the bash last January, there is also an even stronger indication that the event was a complete flop.

A check of Nungesser’s campaign finance reports shows that he received no contributions in all of 2012 and in fact, also received none in December of 2011, the month before the event.

In fact, the campaign finance report shows that he received only seven contributions of $500 or more in November, from Nov. 2 to Nov. 17, totaling only $16,500.

If he did receive any contributions as a result of his Jindal party in January, he neglected to file the legally-required campaign finance reports.

It wouldn’t be his first brush with authority—and ethics, however. In June of 2010, it was reported by Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera that Nungesser may have violated the parish charter and local law when he independently entered into two hurricane recovery contracts in 2007 without obtaining the parish council’s approval.

Nungesser was also cited in 2010 as owning an interest in a marina being expanded by BP to support its cleanup efforts from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.