Louisiana Voice

Try for a moment to imagine that:

• You were born in England of Indian parents, moved to Louisiana at the age of 10 with your parents and twin brother;
• You graduated from the prestigious Louisiana School for Math, Science & and the Arts and the LSU School of Dentistry;
• You’ve practiced dentistry for the past 16 years in Monroe;
• You have devoted your entire adult life to serving those less fortunate;
• The Dean of the LSU School of Dentistry recommended you for a seat on the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry;
• You were appointed to the board by the governor of the State of Louisiana in January 2019;
• Three months later, you learned your appointment had been abruptly rescinded because the incumbent board member pitched a hissy fit and called in political favors.

If your name is Dr. Jeetendra S. Patel, you don’t have to imagine because that scenario is all too real to him.

Along the way, he has learned several valuable lessons they don’t teach in high school civics classes:

• Power is bestowed upon those who best know how to abuse it;
• Once in possession of that power, they are quite reluctant to relinquish it;
• Not everything in politics is done above-board—far from it;
• Without the right connections, there are no slam-dunks;
• There are many avenues to obtaining power but conniving, back-stabbing, deception, treachery and outright lies are the preferred methods.
• Power is never achieved for the purpose of doing good; it is for one purpose only: crushing your opponents, both perceived and real;
• The simultaneous possession of power and idealism are incompatible;

But, hey! That’s the new reality. You study hard, make good grades, do well in college, work hard, provide for your family, help the underprivileged, get involved in your kids’ schools, cheer for your favorite team and then see you idealism, your dreams smashed against the cold, hard rocks of political favoritism, back-room deals, good ol’ boy cronyism, and big-money politics.

In short, your American Dream has morphed into an American nightmare—and you never saw it coming.

That’s the story—the disillusionment, really—of Dr. Jeetendra S. Patel.

In an April 12 (Friday) email to State Sen. Francis Thompson (D-Delhi), Patel wrote:

The Louisiana State Board of Dentistry has been in the hot seat the last several years. The board needs diversity and some fresh faces. On Monday, October 1st, 2018, I was nominated to be on the board and to represent Electoral District 4. Dr. Richard Willis (who has already served a 5-year term) and Dr. Robert Spatafora were also nominated. These nominations were submitted to the Governor. On January 18th, 2019, I was appointed to the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry by the Governor. As of today, I have been on the state board almost 3 months and have already participated in the first meeting of 2019 as well as reviewed a board complaint case against a dentist. I have had the pleasure of meeting all the board members.

Unfortunately, I found out from a colleague today that I will not be confirmed by the Senate. Please help me understand why this is the case. I have been practicing dentistry in Monroe for 16 years and have attended most Northeast Louisiana Dental Association (NELDA) meetings since 2003. On September 18th, 2018, Dr. Willis sent an email out to all practicing dentists in our district stating that there would be a nominating meeting for the District 4 vacancy (a vacancy that did not exist). The meeting was to be held at his practice/office. How is this fair?  He had all his friends, most of whom were older dentists, come to the meeting.  A few of the dentists present don’t even practice dentistry anymore and I have never seen them at a meeting. Most of the dentists that came to his office usually are not present at our association meetings. Dr. Willis also had all 3 of his dental partners present. Nowhere in the bylaws, is there a ballot vote required. I questioned Dr. Willis that night about this unfairness in voting and his words were that’s what we are going to do.

This whole situation was handled poorly and with bias. Our first NELDA meeting of 2019 was held at The Taste of India on Thursday, January 17^th. Dr. Willis was present that evening and was to give a state board report to all dentists who were present. When he found out that I was going to be appointed the next day, he stormed out of the restaurant and never gave his report. To make matters worse, he had one of his associates call me the following week to see if I would step down from the board. On Monday, April 1st, 2019, an anonymous email went out to all 4th district dentists asking for a new vote on the state board member appointment. This was a survey that any person could vote on. To make matters worse, the email stated that “At our recent legislature dinner, our local legislators requested a new vote on the state board member appointment.” The very next day, the Alternate Director to the LDA and the President of NELDA, sent out an email stating that this was not discussed.

So, basically, here’s what we have:

• Willis has completed a five-year term on the board;
• By law, the governor’s office solicits three names for nomination to succeed him;
• The names of Patel, Willis and a third dentist were submitted;
• Patel was selected from the three and nominated to the board—and has even attended a board meeting;
• Willis didn’t want to go;
• Willis tries an end-run around the governor’s office to call a new vote, a vote which state regulations do not allow;
• An anonymous email was sent out (apparently on Willis’s behalf) announcing that a new vote had been requested by area legislators. This time, unlike the first, anyone who had a body temperature of approximately 98.6⁰ would be eligible to vote;
• Those in attendance of a meeting at which Willis walked out say no such discussion was ever held;
• Patel’s nomination, nevertheless, was yanked and now Willis is scheduled for Senate confirmation within the next few days.

The words ruthless come to mind here.

And unless Gov. Edwards intervenes in this power play and reinstates Patel, this could become a campaign issue. It’s at least the second such case of a board appointment suddenly being rescinded by the governor’s office and if this is indicative of a trend, it’s an ugly one.

Many state boards in general and the Louisiana State Board of Dentistry and the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners in particular have become tight little cliques and outsiders need not apply.

It’s far past time that once and for all, the unequivocal point needs to be driven home that the memberships of these boards are not for personal enrichment or to destroy competition, but to serve the citizens of the State of Louisiana.

That point has been lost somewhere along the way.