Louisiana Voice

State Sen. Karen Carter Peterson should certainly know better, so the only reasonable assumption is that she just doesn’t care.

The 5^th District state senator and former head of the Louisiana Democratic Party – and a lawyer, at that – has not only placed Tulane University’s tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) non-profit in jeopardy, in the process, she has exposed herself to legal liability from a possible lawsuit from the university.

Carter Peterson is pitted against fellow State Sen. Troy Carter of the state’s 7^th District in next Saturday’s runoff election to decide who will succeed former U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond who resigned to become a senior advisor to President Joe Biden.

Besides collecting per diem and mileage payments for 20 of last year’s 24 days of the Louisiana legislative session which she did not attend, she now has plastered a post of the green Tulane University logo on a promotional ad for a two-hour phone bank to benefit her campaign. Beneath the Tulane shield were the words in white typeface on a blue background, “Tulane for KCP” with the words below that line in smaller print: “Phonebank like our city depends on it.” In the bottom right corner of the illustration is a photo of Carter Peterson.

The use of the Tulane colors and logo are an infringement on the school’s copyright of the image and also puts Tulane in a delicate position because 501(c)(3) non-profits are supposed to be non-political. The endorsement of any candidate in any political race could theoretically endanger its non-profit status, though that is not likely to happen since Tulane did not give Carter Peterson permission to use its logo.

Michael Strecker, executive director of Public Relations for Tulane, responding to an inquiry, sent the following email to LouisianaVoice:

“As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Tulane University is prohibited by federal law from endorsing any candidate for elected office. It has not offered an endorsement to either candidate in Louisiana’s 2^nd congressional district race; nor has it given permission to either candidate to use its name, “TU” shield, wordmark or any other graphic representation of Tulane University in their campaign communications. Tulane has sent Sen. Peterson a letter underscoring this.”

Asked to make a copy of the letter available, Strecker wrote back that he was unable to do so, explaining, “This letter was addressed to Sen. Peterson and her campaign. It was not sent as an open letter.”

It’s not the first time Carter Peterson has played a little dirty in this campaign. In a recent MAILER sent to voters in the 2^nd Congressional District, she attempted to tie her opponent, Sen. Troy Carter, chairman of the Legislative Democratic Caucus, to Donald Trump – something of a reach, at best.

In that mailer, she pasted a photo of Trump next to one of Troy Carter, prompting him to angrily sputter, “There’s nothing you will find in anything I’ve ever done to support any of the foolishness that my opponent is desperately trying to spread.”

The operative word in Carter Peterson’s latest tactics would indeed appear to be “desperate.”