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New LSU teaguing by π-yush may be imminent; Raymond Lamonica rumored on way out as System general counsel

Posted in BESE, Commissions, Education, Governor's Office, Higher Education, House, Senate, Layoffs, Legislature, Legislators, LSU, OGB, Office of Group Benefits, Politicians, Regents, Teague, Transparency on September 4, 2012| 5 Comments »

Reports out of the State Capitol on Tuesday has yet another state employee about to become a victim of the ongoing Piyush Purge.

LouisianaVoice has learned of plans by the administration to fire LSU System Office General Counsel Raymond Lamonica.

If true, Lamonica would be the third LSU official to be teagued by Jindal in less than six months. System President John Lombardi was fired in April by the LSU Board of Supervisors acting on directions from the governor and last month, Dr. Fred Cerise, head of the LSU health care system similarly dismissed.

Reached at home Tuesday, Lamonica acknowledged that he had heard the reports but had no additional comment. “Not yet, anyway,” he added.

Lamonica was appointed as United States attorney for the middle district of Louisiana in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan. President Bill Clinton appointed L.J. Hymel to replace him in 1994. Prior to that, Lamonica worked as executive counsel to Gov. Dave Treen.

If the reports are accurate, Lamonica would be only the latest in a growing line of rank and file state employees, agency directors and cabinet secretaries who Jindal has either fired outright or, in the case of two legislators, demoted from committee assignments.

Besides members of board and commissions who are routinely replaced by governors with political allies and campaign contributors, Jindal has replaced, in order:

• March of 2008—Louisiana Highway Safety Commission Executive Director Jim Champagne, who opposed Jindal’s campaign promise to repeal the motorcycle helmet law;

• September of 2008—Department of Social Services Secretary Ann Williamson, after criticism of shelter conditions following Hurricane Gustav and problems with a post-storm food stamp program;

• June of 2009—Board of Elementary and Secondary Education member Tammie McDaniel, after she disagreed with some of the administration’s public education policies;

• October 2009—Melody Teague, a social services grant reviewer, after testifying in opposition to Jindal’s plan to streamline government;

• February 5, 2010—Department of Transportation and Development Secretary William Ankner, after a company that contributed $11,000 to Jindal’s campaign was awarded a $60 million highway contract despite not having the low bid;

• August 13, 2010—State Alcohol and Tobacco Control Secretary Murphy Painter, after being accused of sexual harassment and fired after rejecting a permit application to SMG, the New Orleans Superdome management company, that would allow Budweiser to erect a large tent and signage in Champions Square. Budweiser had offered $300,000 to the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District to sponsor the tent for tailgating parties at Saints home games;

• April of 2011—Office of Group Benefits (OGB) Director Tommy Teague (husband of Melody Teague), after failing to display sufficient enthusiasm over Jindal’s plans to privatize his agency;

• June of 2011—Tommy Teague’s successor Scott Kipper, after apparently irritating his boss, Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater over the number of OGB employees he would recommend to be laid off;

• March of 2012—Office of Elderly Affairs Executive Director Mary Manuel, after testifying she was never informed of Jindal’s plans to move her agency from the governor’s office to the Department of Health and Hospitals;

• March of 2012—State Rep. Harold Richie (D-Bogalusa), demoted from his vice-chairmanship of the House Committee on Insurance after voting against a tax rebate for those who donate money for scholarships (vouchers) to private and parochial schools;

• April of 2012—LSU System President John Lombardi, after publicly criticizing massive budget cuts imposed on higher education by Jindal;

• June of 2012—Secretary of Revenue Cynthia Bridges after it became obvious that an alternative fuel tax credit law signed by Jindal which granted tax credits for the purchase of certain fuel-efficient automobiles would cost the state upwards of $100 million;

• June of 2012—State Rep. Jim Morris (R-Oil City), was removed from his vice-chairmanship of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee after resisting efforts by Jindal to use one-time money to fund recurring expenses in the state’s General Budget;

• August of 2012—Dr. Fred Cerise, head of the LSU health care system, after criticizing Jindal budget cuts which gutted the LSU medical system of hundreds of millions of dollars.

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What’s in a name? Apparently lots of contributions and choice appointments to state boards and commissions

Posted in Boards, Campaign Contributions, Commissions, Education, Ethics, Governor's Office, Higher Education, LSU, Politicians, Public Records, Regents on September 3, 2012| 6 Comments »

What is the difference between “Louisiana Believes” and Believe in Louisiana?

Basically, the former is a catchy slogan employed by the Louisiana Department of Education to promote a myriad of educational reforms initiated by Gov. π-yush Jindal while the latter is a 527 tax-exempt political organization about which precious little is known.

Believe in Louisiana appears to be little more than a tax-exempt propaganda machine for Jindal’s legislative package, particularly as it pertains to education. In fact, it would seem that not much originality went into coming up with the slogan “Louisiana Believes.”

The Academy of Training Schools, Nature’s Best, Progressive Buildings and Progressive Merchants, all located at the same address as several other businesses owned by Chester Lee Mallett of Iowa, combined to contribute $9,000 to Believe in Louisiana, founded by Baton Rouge Business Report Publisher Rolf McCollister.

McCollister was Jindal’s campaign chairman in his successful 2007 run for governor and served as chairperson of Jindal’s transition team. Julio Melara, president of the Baton Rouge Business Report, was appointed by Jindal to the Louisiana Stadium Exposition District (Louisiana Superdome) Board in February 2008, a month after Jindal first took office.

Mallet, for his part, was recently named by Jindal to the LSU Board of Supervisors.

Though not legally required to reveal the identities of its contributors, Believe in Louisiana, in a self-proclaimed nod toward transparency, lists more than 400 persons or organizations who contributed more than $1.6 million in 2008, 2009 and 2012.

Of that amount, some $512,000, or 32 percent, was contributed by persons or entities outside Louisiana. The largest such contribution was $225,000 by Advocates for School Choice of Washington, D.C.

Other major contributors to Believe in Louisiana include:

• Ashbritt, Inc. of Pompano Beach, Florida ($75,000);

• ABC Pelican PAC ($25,000);

• FVE Investments of Alexandria ($25,000);

• Louisiana Manufacturers PAC of Baton Rouge ($25,000);

Even more revealing, however, is the list of expenditures by Believe in Louisiana.

Of the $1.5 million spent by the organization, $1.3 million, or 86.7 percent, was spent out of state.

That’s 86.7 percent of all expenditures that an organization ironically calling itself Believe in Louisiana spent out of state.

How is it that an organization can refer to itself as Believe in Louisiana while keeping only 13.3 percent of its costs in-state?

The best explanation might lie in the fact that of that $1.3 million spent outside Louisiana’s borders, almost $1.2 million went to an outfit called OnMessage of Alexandria, Virginia, and Crofton, Maryland.

Last October, OnMessage announced that Timmy Teepell, Jindal’s re-election campaign manager and his former chief of staff, was joining the consulting firm as a partner and head of its new Southern office in Baton Rouge.

To date, OnMessage has no Baton Rouge address nor does it have a local telephone listing. Moreover, Teepell has maintained a high profile in the governor’s office on the fourth floor of the State Capitol and even retains a reserved parking spot in the Capitol rear parking lot.

From Nov. 15 through Dec. 31, 2011 (after Teepell left the governor’s office), Jindal’s campaign paid Teepell more than $50,600 in four separate payments.

During that same period, Jindal’s campaign paid OnMessage more than $110,000.

In March of this year, however, Believe in Louisiana paid OnMessage $456,551, ostensibly for such expenses as media production, media buys and polling and research.

Skeptics might be prone to wonder why nearly a half-million dollars in polling, research, media production and media buys would be necessary six months after Jindal’s re-election. But not us. We would certainly never suggest that this was a ruse to disguise payments to Teepell. The most ethical administration in Louisiana history would certainly never stoop to such tactics.

Contributors to Believe in Louisiana who also contributed to Jindal’s political campaigns—with their corresponding contributions to Jindal’s political campaigns in parentheses are as follows:

• Allen Dickson of Shreveport: $5,000 ($77,000 by Dickson, family members and his wholesale pharmaceutical company);

• Aubrey Temple of Deridder: $5,000 ($15,000);

• Bob Perry of Houston: $50,000 ($15,000);

• Brentwood Health Management of Shreveport: $5,000 ($15,000);

• Brookwood Properties of Baton Rouge: $5,000 ($5,000);

• Centene Management Co. of St. Louis: $50,000 ($5,000);

• Central Management of Winnfield: $42,000 ($5,000);

• Dave Roberts of Prairieville: $10,000 ($10,000);

• David Voelker of New Orleans: $25,000 ($50,000 by Voelker, family members and Voelker’s companies;

• E.G. Beebe of Ridgeland, Mississippi: $20,000 ($20,000);

• Edward Diefenthal of Metairie: $100,000 ($30,000 by Diefenthal, his wife and his company, The Woodvine Group);

• Florida Marine of Mandeville: $10,000 ($5,000);

• Gary Chouest of Cut-Off: $20,000 ($91,500 by Chouest, family members and various businesses;

• Donald Bollinger of Lockport: $125,000 ($62,850 by Bollinger, family members and various businesses;

• Joseph Canizaro of New Orleans: $100,000 ($45,000);

• Keith Van Meter of New Orleans: $10,000 ($17,000);

• Lane Grigsby of Baton Rouge: $10,000 ($7,000);

• Lee Domingue of Baton Rouge: $100,000 ($7,000 from Domingue and his business, AppOne);

• Madden Contracting of Minden: $25,000 ($37,500);

• Nexion Health in 13 different locations: $3,250 ($71,000);

• Phyllis Taylor of New Orleans: $50,000 ($15,000);

• Robert Yarborough of Baton Rouge: $7,700 ($33,584);

• Rolfe McCollister of Baton Rouge: $4,100 ($21,000);

• Ryan Corp. or Dallas: $50,000 ($25,000);

• Southern Recycling of New Orleans: $10,000 ($25,000);

• USAA of San Antonio: $25,000 ($10,000);

• Bill Dore of Lake Charles: $100,000 ($25,000).

• Amedisys Medical Services of Baton Rouge: $25,000 ($11,000);

Besides the contributions to both Believe in Louisiana and contributions to Jindal’s campaigns, some of the contributors, professional associates or family members have been rewarded with plum committee and board appointments. These include:

• Lee Mallett, LSU Board of Supervisors;

• Yarborough, LSU Board of Supervisors;

• Charlotte Bollinger of Lockport, Board of Regents for Higher Education;

• Paul Dickson of Shreveport, University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors;

• Dave Roberts, Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (Superdome) Board;

• Julio Melara of Baton Rouge, president of the Baton Rouge Business Report, Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District Board;

• Bill Windham of Bossier City, Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District Board;

• Aubrey Temple of Deridder, Coastal Protection and Restoration Financing Corp.

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Notable quotables (in their own words)

Posted in BESE, Boards, Ethics, Governor's Office, Higher Education, LSU, Notable Quotables, Politicians, Revenue on August 17, 2012| 3 Comments »

“In terms of salary, we can’t pay what he was making in the private sector. We were able to get him for less.”

–Gov. Piyush Jindal, in a rare interview (by telephone), on the hiring of former executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission and former executive counsel Tim Barfield to be the new secretary of the Department of Revenue at a salary of $250,000 per year.

“This young lady does not have as much experience as other candidates in the packet that is in front of me.”

–Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) member Carolyn Hill, on the selection of Heather Cope of Seattle as the new BESE executive director–a candidate whose strength is the correct use of hyphens.

“This is a travesty.”

–BESE member Lottie Beebe, on the selection of Cope.

“I thought at the end of the day this was the best candidate.”

–BESE member Chas Roemer, sounding like Piyush Jindal with his “at the end of the day.”

“We are bringing forth who we think is the strongest candidate.”

–BESE President Penny Dastugue (of the BESE walking quorums), on the decision to hire Cope.

“That’s Nuts! There will be a national search. I have their (the LSU Board of Supervisors) commitment.”

–LSU Interim President Bill Jenkins, on speculation that the fix was in for the appointment of Department of Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret as the permanent successor to fired LSU President John Lombardi, leaving unanswered the question of whether or not a commitment from a board heavy with Jindal appointees carries any meaning.

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On-LSU-presidents-revenue-secretary-and-the-proper-use-of-hyphens: it’s-just-another-day-in-the-Piyush-World-of-Oz

Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, BESE, Boards, Governor's Office, Higher Education, LSU, Politicians, Regents, Revenue, Transparency, Vouchers on August 17, 2012| 12 Comments »

Baton Rouge has always been a city rife with favoritism and appointments bordering on the outrageous and absurd. But now, with a new level of exorbitant salaries pitted against wholesale layoffs of rank and file employees during Piyush Jindal’s administration, the intensity of rumors, hyphens, retreads and big salaries from the “do more with less” governor has been ramped up a notch.

You may wish to sit down to prepare yourself for what may well be the most astounding appointment in Jindal’s tenure—one that should have every LSU alumnus and every LSU professor and instructor, active and retired, metaphorically storming the Governor’s Mansion with torches and pitchforks.

The object of their outrage, however, won’t be there of course.

But before we get too far into the latest developments surrounding the world’s largest state monument to corruption and excess (that would be the 24-story State Capitol building), we are going to go out on a limb and predict that the latest boy genius, State Superintendent of Education John White, is going to realize just how inept and unqualified he is for his job and will be gone by this time next year.

He has quickly become Boy Blunder to Jindal’s Batty Man.

Meanwhile, the Jindalista continues to pillage the state with layoffs, cutbacks, sell-offs and closures, all the while continuing to add to the already top-heavy administrative payroll with more appointments at ever-dizzying salaries.

Jindal apparently is making his appointments these days by remote control because he is rarely in Louisiana to attend to pressing state business.

The latest example of Jindal’s spot-on imitation of Nero was the announcement on Thursday, Aug. 16, that Jindal has been given a speaking role at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, later this month.

It’s odd to the point of being downright bizarre that on the 35th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, the Republican Party would carry out such a public suicide attempt. The obvious question has to be: What the hell were they thinking? Doesn’t anyone in a decision-making position remember that dreadful 2009 response to President Obama’s State of the Union address?

Now Comedy Central and Youtube will have two separate clips to (pick one) amuse/embarrass/nauseate us.

We can almost hear him now as he blathers on to bored, drunk, or in at least one case, womanizing delegates: “Two things…,” “At the end of the day…,” “Three things…”

Meanwhile, Rome, aka Louisiana, continues to burn at the altar of spurned federal grants, Medicaid and higher education cutbacks and the tragicomedy now known as school vouchers…er, scholarships.

So, how has the state’s Émigré Executive addressed these problems?

For one, he dredges up former staff member Jim Barfield to appoint as the new Secretary of Revenue at more than double the salary of former Secretary Cynthia Bridges who was forced out for doing her job after Jindal signed an alternative fuel tax credit that threatened to break the bank even further.

Then, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), led by Wondering Woman Penny Dastugue and Chas Roemer, appointed Heather Cope, who appears to be even younger and, if possible, more unqualified than White, to the post of BESE executive director.

But more important than either of these is the rumored appointment of current Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED) Steve Moret as LSU president/chancellor.

The fix is reportedly in already for Moret’s appointment to replace former LSU President John Lombardi who was fired in April at Jindal’s behest (despite any protestations to the contrary) after being openly critical of budgetary cutbacks to higher education.

Interim President Bill Jenkins, of course, denies the report, but what else could he be expected to do? He didn’t get the call to come back after Lombardi’s firing because of any independent streak of his own. Jindal, as is well known by now, simply does not tolerate independence, candor or free thinking on the part of subordinates.

Jindal already had a solid majority on the LSU Board of Supervisors—quite possibly one of the more politically-charged and possibly the most controversial board in state government—when it voted to fire Lombardi in April. Now he has solidified that majority with the appointments last month of Scott Ballard of Covington and Lee Mallett of Iowa to the board.

Ballard’s company, WOW Franchising, parent company of WOW Café & Winery, contributed $5,000 to Jindal’s campaign in 2007.

Mallett had separate contributions of $5,000 each in 2003 and 2006 and five of his companies contributed another $20,000 between 2007 and 2011.

Moret was appointed head of Economic Development when Jindal took office in January of 2008 and has presided over the giveaway of $5 billion a year in corporate tax incentives and exemptions that have been putting the state deeper into the fiscal abyss with each passing year.

Before coming to LED, Moret had a lackluster tenure as president and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, though at the time of Moret’s appointment, Jindal’s spindoctors lauded his accomplishments at the chamber.

Like Jindal, Moret is an alumnus of the McKinsey Group, a Washington, D.C., think tank that consults with governments and corporations worldwide.

One of McKinsey’s more notable contributions was working with Allstate Insurance to train the company in the best way to deny claims stemming from losses suffered by Gulf Coast residents in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

That should square up pretty well with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) anyway.

Other than those two entries on his curriculum vitae, Moret has little else to qualify him to lead the state’s flagship university. But hey, who needs an academic mind at the helm of a large university?

Such an appointment would further lower the school’s esteem, already pummeled by draconian budget cuts that forced tuition increases and threaten the very existence of the LSU School of Medicine and state teaching hospitals while reducing the position of president to nothing more than political puppet status—even more so than it already is—and heap ridicule on the state in general and LSU in particular.

Oh, well, there’s always football.

The LSU board will be on retreat Saturday (a legally-questionable procedure in that it appears to violate the state’s open meeting law—specific personnel matters certainly may discussed in executive session, but political bodies, including the LSU board, must first convene in public session and then vote to go into executive session) to discuss combining the jobs of president and chancellor.

Jenkins, responding to reports that the decision had already been made to select Moret, snapped, “That’s nuts!” he said, “irrational” that the board would pay a consultant and go through the motions of a national search if the decision were already made.

You could almost envision Jindal’s arm extending from Jenkins’ backside but you could still see Piyush’s lips moving.

Barfield worked as president and chief operating officer for the Shaw Group until becoming Jindal’s first secretary of the Louisiana Workforce Commission (formerly the Department of Labor) before being brought in to serve briefly as Jindal’s executive counsel.

While serving as secretary of the workforce commission, he helped Jindal to fight off legislators’ attempts to overturn Jindal’s rejection of $98 million in federal stimulus money for unemployment benefits–the first of hundreds of millions in federal dollars rejected by MIA Piyush.

Barfield left the administration in January of 2010 to become the chief development officer for Amedisys, a home health and hospice care company. Three months later, on March 17, he and Amedisys each contributed $5,000 to Jindal’s campaign and last December the company contributed another $1,000.

Barfield’s salary will be $250,000 a year, more than twice the $124,000 being paid Bridges and $83,000 more than the $167,000 per year he was earning in his last job in the administration. That $83,000 bump, by itself, could pay the salaries of a couple of laid-off state employees.

Because state law prohibits a cabinet member appointed while the legislature is not in session from making more than his or her predecessor, Jindal simply “created” through slick political subterfuge the position of executive counsel for the Department of Revenue and set the salary at $126,000 in addition to the $124,000 that was paid Bridges.

How’s that for transparency, openness and accountability?

But it does pose three intriguing questions:

• Since Barfield will now be his own legal counsel, does he have a fool for a client?

• Is the proposal to combine the positions of LSU president and chancellor being put on the table for the same reason as creating the position of executive counsel for Barfield—to double the salary for the new appointee to be named by Jindal’s rubber-stamp proxy, the LSU Board?

• And finally, is there any level to which this governor will not stoop to get what he wants, even to the point of circumventing the law?

BESE, meanwhile, apparently was unable to find anyone in Louisiana qualified for its executive director’s post despite Jindal’s oft-expressed desire to “keep the best and brightest in Louisiana.”

Heather Cope comes to us from Seattle, the same place where Jindal reached out and touched Bruce Greenstein for the position of secretary of Health and Hospitals.

Cope brings a boatload of qualifications, none of which would appear to apply to her new post. She reportedly has a desire to expose the problems in education, which led her to work for an education think tank, the prestigious League of Education Voters, which calls itself an advocate of systemic changes in public schools. Ever heard of it? Didn’t think so.

She also enjoys “immersing herself in foreign cultures (domestic and international).” So what, exactly would qualify as a “domestic” foreign culture? Other passions include watching historical dramas, quoting Monty Python sketches and giving lessons to co-workers on the proper use of hyphens.

The only thing missing to wrap up the Miss Congeniality title was world peace but there apparently was enough there to qualify her for a salary of $125,000 per year.

Most of the cabinet level positions pay more than the state’s top elected officials, including Jindal, receive in salary.

A quick review of a partial list of cabinet level salaries in the Piyush Jindal administration as reported by the Baton Rouge Advocate:

• Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret: $320,000;
• Department of Health and Hospitals Secretary Bruce Greenstein: $236,000;
• Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater: $204,400;
• Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Peggy Hatch: $137,200;
• Louisiana Workforce Development Executive Director Curt Eysink: $137,000;
• Department of Corrections Secretary Jimmy LeBlanc: $136,700.
• Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham: $123,600.

And that doesn’t include the secretaries of Natural Resources, Department of Transportation and Development, Veterans Affairs, Commissioner of Higher Education, Superintendent of Education and all those former legislators (including two cabinet level positions—Veterans Affairs and Wildlife and Fisheries) appointed to all those six-figure income positions.

The more things change, the more they remain the same.

Laissez les bon temps rouler.

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Remember, ‘it’s not who you know but what you know’ in choosing board and committee members for most ethical, transparent and accountable administration in America

Posted in Boards, Campaign Contributions, Commissions, Economy, Education, Ethics, Governor's Office, Higher Education, Louisiana Purchase, LSU, Politicians, Public Records, Regents on August 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

For one who insists—to the point of banality—that he has the job he wants, Gov. Piyush Jindal certainly spends a minimal amount of time doing it.

He also is the same Piyush Jindal who insisted that his appointments would be made on the basis of “what you know, not who you know.”

When you examine his appointments against campaign contributions, that second proclamation quickly takes on the same empty ring as the first. But those contributions do go a long way in explaining how he got that job that he loves so much.

Remember, Jindal also said the bulk of his contributions were in amounts of $100 or less. What he did not explain was that he was the talking about the number of contributions, not the amounts. The large contributions—$500 to $5,000—easily eclipsed the amounts given by small donors.

But extensive research by Capitol News Service shows that the high rollers, the big money backers, tended to garner highly desirable appointments to important boards and commissions—and in some cases, high-paying state jobs.

Appointees to six major boards or commissions produced more than $963,000 in campaign contributions to Jindal, according to campaign finance records.

So much for “what you know, not who you know.”

Those boards/commissions include:

• The LSU Board of Supervisors, possibly one of the more political of all the boards;
• The State Board of Regents for Higher Education;
• University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors;
• State Board of Commerce and Industry;
• Louisiana Economic Development Corp. Board;
• Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (Superdome) Board.

Following are some examples of Jindal’s appointments and their contributions, dating from his 2003 campaign for governor to July 31, 2012:

LSU Board of Supervisors

• Chester Lee Mallet, Lake Charles—$30,000 in personal contributions and contributions from five separate corporations;
• Scott Ballard, Covington—$5,000 from his company, WOW Café & Winery Franchising;
• Jack Lawton Jr., Lake Charles—$26,000 from Lawton, his company and family members;
• Robert “Bobby” Yarborough, Baton Rouge—$15,000;
• Garrett “Hank” Danos, Larose—$18,500 from Danos, his company and family members;
• Ray Lasseigne, Bossier City—$17,232 from Lasseigne and his company, TMR Exploration;
• Ben Mount, Lake Charles—$1,000 from his wife, then-State Sen. Willie Mount;
• James E. Moore of Monroe—$21,500 from Moore and his company, the Marriott Courtyard of Monroe;
• R. Blake Chatelain of Alexandria—$28,000 from Chatelain and his wife.

Louisiana Board of Regents for Higher Education

• Raymond J. Brandt of Metairie—$5,000
• Roy O. Martin of Alexandria—$17,000 from Martin, family members and his business, Roy O. Martin Lumber Co.;
• William “Bill” Fenstermaker of Lafayette—$20,500 from Fenstermaker and C.H. Fenstermaker & Associates;
• Chris Gorman of Shreveport—$20,000 from Gorman and his company, Tango Transport;
• Joe Farr of Monroe—$5,000;
• Ed Antie of Lafayette—$10,500 from Antie and his company, Network USA (Antie withdrew his nomination when it became clear he would not be confirmed by the Legislature because of a contract one of his companies had with the Regents—a conflict of interests.)
• Robert Bruno of New Orleans—$5,000;
• Charlotte Bollinger of Lockport—$52,850 from Ms. Bollinger, various other family members and seven different companies run by the Bollinger family;
• W. Clinton Raspberry Jr., of Shreveport—$10,000 through his two companies, W. Clinton Raspberry, Jr., Investments, and Crestview Woods Timber and Minerals;
• Roland Toups of Baton Rouge—$9,500;
• Joseph C. Wiley of Gonzales–$7,125 from Wiley and his company, the Excel Group.

University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors

• E. Gerald Hebert of Kenner—$16,000;
• Jimmie “Beau” Martin, Jr., of Cut Off—$19,278 from Martin and his company, B&J Martin, Inc.;
• Carl Shelter of Lake Charles—$6,000;
• Jimmy Faircloth of Alexandria—$25,000 from Faircloth and his law firm (Faircloth was later appointed Jindal’s executive counsel);
• John LeTard of Zachary—$5,000;
• Andre Coudrain of Hammond—$30,000 from Coudrain and his law firm;
• Edward J. Crawford, III, of Shreveport—$11,000 from Edward Crawford, Edward J Crawford, III, of the same address, and Edward J Crawford, IV;
• Greg Hamer, Sr., of Morgan City—$16,750;
• Paul Dickson of Shreveport—$39,000 from Dickson and his pharmaceutical company.

Louisiana State Board of Commerce and Industry

• Richard Lipsey of Baton Rouge—$28,000 from Lipsey, his wife and his company, Lipsey Properties;
• R.K. Mehrotra of Baton Rouge—$6,000;
• Kevin Langley of Baton Rouge—$14,000;
• Millie Atkins of Monroe—$13,000 from CenturyTel, for whom she is employed as a corporate communication associate;
• Lance B. Belcher of Baton Rouge—$20,000 from Belcher and three of his companies;
• Bryan L. Bossier, Sr., of Woodworth—$33,500 from Bossier, his wife, Phillip Bossier of the same address and two of his companies;
• Gorgon Burges of Amite—$9,000;
• Mark Delesdernier, Jr., of New Orleans—$5,500 from Delesdernier and Fiver Marine Services, for whom he serves as chief executive officer;
• P. Andre Fruge of Lafayette—$1,000;
• Richard A. Gonsoulin of Houma—$31,000 from Gonsoulin, family members and his company, Lebeouf Brothers Towing;
• Ronnie Harris of Gretna—$1,000;
• Jerry N. Jones of Shreveport—$11,000 from Jones and his law firm;
• William V. “Bill” King of Lake Charles—$10,000;
• Marty A. Mayer, Jr., of Covington—$5,000 from his company, Stirling Properties;
• Stephen Moret of Baton Rouge, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Economic Development—$2,000;
• Gale Potts Roque of Natchitoches—$5,000 from Mac-Re, LLC, for whom she is employed as government relations and property manager;
• Charles J. Soprano of Alexandria—$13,000;
• Greg Walker of Baton Rouge—$6,000.

Louisiana Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors

• Mike Saucier of Covington—$7,000 from Saucier and his company, Gulf States Real Estate;
• Rob Stuart, Jr., of Baton Rouge—$11,000;
• Harry Avant of Shreveport—$5,000;
• A.J. Roy, III, of Marksville—$8,750;
• Thomas A. Cotten of Baton Rouge—$500;

Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (Superdome) Board of Commissioners

• Robert Bruno of New Orleans—$28,500 from Bruno, his wife and his law firm;
• Davie Chozen of Lake Charles—$18,238 from Chozen and his company, Chozen Business Services;
• Tim Coulon of Harvey—$7,500 from Coulon’s political campaign and Coulon Consultants;
• Ron Forman of New Orleans—$2,000;
• Julio Melara of Baton Rouge—$25,500 from Melara and Rolfe McCollister, Jr.; Melara is president and McCollister is publisher of the Baton Rouge Business Report;
• William C. “Bill” Windham of Bossier City—$25,000 from William and Carol Windham;
• William Henry Shane, Jr., of Kenner—$21,000 from Shane and his architectural firm;
• Mike Polito of Baton Rouge—$20,000 contributed through three of his companies;
• Dave Roberts of Baton Rouge—$10,000;
• John Amato of New Orleans—$15,000 from Amato and his wife;
• Peter Egan of Covington—$19,400 from Egan and five of his companies;
• Ed Markle of New Orleans—$17,000 from Edward and Gloria Markle and two of his companies.

There are many others but space does not permit running all at one time. We will have follow-up stories detailing other major contributors who received appointments from Jindal.

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