It took a while but we have an update on Chance McNeely, the 26-year-old who recently made the quantum leap from a policy analyst for the governor’s office to Assistant Secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of Environmental Compliance.
Before we get to that, however, let’s review a couple of items.
What’s it been, five years now that state classified employees have gone without a pay raise?
And didn’t the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) recently raise premiums and reduce benefits, all because Gov. Bobby Jindal manipulated premiums to help cover gaping holes in his state budget, thereby reducing the OGB reserve fund from more than $500 million to something like half that amount?
And hasn’t Jindal issued two expenditure freezes and two hiring freezes within the past 12 months, even specifying that no agency could “use employee transfers, promotions, reallocations or the creation of new positions” in order to circumvent the freezes?
So how is it that Chance McNeely, with a degree in agricultural business and all of four years’ experience (three of those as a legislative assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives. And just what does a legislative assistant do in Washington?), is deemed to be qualified to oversee something as critical as environmental compliance?
As this is being written, there is a federal trial ongoing in Baton Rouge over leaks of toxic chemicals at a DuPont chemical plant in Ascension Parish. But it’s a whistleblower suit, not one initiated by any regulatory agency. And does anyone remember the 1978 death of a truck driver at Bayou Sorrel? That happened when the driver exited his truck and was overcome by lethal chemical fumes.
Most of the state’s environmental issues are situated in South Louisiana, primarily along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans—the corridor that has been dubbed, deservedly so, as Cancer Alley.
But North Louisiana is not immune. The most controversial issue in the state right now is that proposed open tray burn of 15 million pounds of M6 artillery shell propellant at Camp Minden. Experts say cancer-causing emissions could be spread from Shreveport to Monroe.
We don’t know Chance McNeely, but it is the position of LouisianaVoice that given our track record in protecting Louisiana’s air and water, the job of environmental compliance should be entrusted to (a) someone with an environmental background and (b) someone with vastly more experience.
And the position most certainly should not have been handed to someone who purportedly is planning to walk away come next September in favor of entering law school.
But, adding insult to injury, McNeely’s salary, according to State Civil Service records, just increased by a whopping 57 percent—from $65,000 per year to $102,000.
This for someone who has worked in the governor’s office as a policy analyst (we don’t know what that entails, either) for all of nine months when there are thousands of state employees who have been working for decades for much less than half that.
And DEQ Secretary Peggy Hatch can stand on top of the State Capitol and proclaim (as she already has, but not from atop the Capitol) that McNeely was her first choice for the job, but we aren’t buying it for one nano-second. She hired McNeely at Jindal’s specific instructions and was given her talking points as well.
If, as she claims, it was her idea to recruit someone with no experience for a position as important as environmental compliance for the entire State of Louisiana, then we contend she is no more qualified for her position than he.
But again, we know whose decision it was to make this horribly ill-advised move. And if the citizens of Louisiana were not already aware of how Jindal has turned his back on this state in favor of his own self-promotion, then this move should underscore it.
It’s the biggest slap in the face of the state’s four million citizens since, well, since 1996 when Gov. Mike Foster appointed a 24-year-old named Bobby Jindal as head of the Department of Health and Hospitals.
Louisiana Voice 
More material for your book on Jindal. Is it going to be a trilogy? There is certainly enough corruption, ineptitude, vindictiveness, abandonment of post, and on and on. Maybe you could get Ken Burns interested in a 12- part documentary as a tie-in.
Wow. This dude has 4 years’ experience in another field. And people worry about affirmative action?
Why not put share buttons on your page! It would expand your reach exponentially. Some suggestions; facebook twitter, google+, tumblr, pinterest. Good luck! Date: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:44:04 +0000 To: jnluv50@hotmail.com
Because everything Jindal does relates to his crazy quest for the WH, this is relevant. A Gravis Iowa poll released today doesn’t even mention the word “Jindal.” Ten candidates were on the list. Either Jindal didn’t place within the first ten spots, or Gravis figured it was not even worth including Jindal in the poll.
There is no place where Jindal has kissed more a$$ than Iowa. This does not bode well for him, to say the least.
Forgive the cliché, but it looks like Jindal may be finding out he has thrown the state of Louisiana under the bus for nothing. It’s like what Carol King sings, “But it’s too late baby, yes, it’s too late…”
Take small comfort. Recent history has shown us he and his cronies will land cushy jobs somewhere. And we should all be very concerned
about Jindal Deluxe replacing him next year.
I’m sure faux news has a place for him. And Vitter the diaper boy is a really scary prospect.
“It’s the biggest slap in the face of the state’s four million citizens since, well, since 1996 when Gov. Mike Foster appointed a 24-year-old named Bobby Jindal as head of the Department of Health and Hospitals.”
True, sadly, so very true.
So, who is Boy Chance related to, and how much did his family “contribute” to Jindal to buy Lil Chance a nice job?
A check of persons named McNeely who contributed to Jindal turned up only three contributions of $500 each. Not even Jindal can bought that cheaply, so we’re as perplexed as you as to what McNeely’s connections might be.
Could McNeely have contributed to Jindal’s wife’s charity?
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/d-chance-mcneely/15/1a6/12a
https://www.linkedin.com/pub/d-chance-mcneely/15/1a6/12a
http://www.legistorm.com/person/Darren_Chance_McNeely/154144.html
This is the second link I intended to post rather than duplicating the first. This one shows who he worked for in Congress.
Among those experienced, including me, at DEQ, staff were dumbfounded by Peggy Hatch’s ascent to Secretary at the department. Mostly she was promoted into positions by men who wanted someone too dim to threaten them as well as being a person who is easily controlled. There was a reason many called the phone on her desk the “[insert past secretary’s name] Hotline” as she made no big decisions without a call from him. She’s been in over head for many years, but that actually makes her attractive to the powers that be. Guaranteed she had nothing to do with this appointment except for obsequious comments.
(Real name withheld for obvious reasons)
Wow, from $65,000, to $102,000. Quite a promotion and his duties at that position are somewhat sketchy—if are any at all. Neither the EPA or the DEQ, brought a scientist or scientific data to the meeting at LSU-S yesterday to discuss the M6 open tray burn at Camp Minden. Fleming and Vitter sent a representative even though both are very busy drumming up more contributors to their respective next political campaigns. Jindal, of course, is in his usual place: anywhere but Louisiana. NO one administrating the agencies has a degree in anything resembling environmental science. its cronyism at its worst and it needs to be stopped….