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Did Nungesser use Plaquemines Parish 911 email list to hawk Piyush host at his January fundraiser? Did he get anything?

Posted in Campaign Contributions, Ethics, Governor's Office, Politicians, Public Records on July 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

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.

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Jindal appointees were veritable dynamos while serving in Legislature; classic examples of your tax dollars at work

Posted in Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Politicians on February 29, 2012| 3 Comments »

In the course of covering state government it is sometimes easy to overlook the good that elected officials do.

After having criticized the administration for hiring former legislators, some at six-figure salaries in the wake of the state’s financial plight, we got to reflecting that we may not have been entirely kind to ex-lawmakers fortunate enough to find themselves in the good graces of Gov. Bobby Jindal.

After all, why would state employees who are facing massive layoffs begrudge these former lawmakers the opportunity to fatten their retirement and benefit packages by going on the public dole as political appointees even as the governor shamelessly boasts of reducing the number of state employees?

And so far, we haven’t even mentioned the Jindal appointment of former St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis (term limited and lost his race for lieutenant governor) as the new Director of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) at $165,000 per year or his appointment of former St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro (who lost his re-election bid: did his constituents know something Jindal does not?) as the new Director of Hazard Mitigation and Recovery (whatever that may entail) at a tidy salary of $150,000 per year.

So, in the interest of fairness, we thought it a good idea to cite important legislation sponsored by these public servants while still in office.

Let’s start with former Rep. Noble Ellington of Winnsboro, who doubled his last year in office as national president of the American Legislative Exchange Council, that super-secret organization that spoon-feeds proposed legislation to lawmakers in all 50 states.

When his 24-year legislative career ended in January, he was quickly awarded a $150,000-a-year job as the second in command to Commissioner of Insurance and Jindal ally Jim Donelon. (We say ally because the governor generously contributed to Donelon’s re-election campaign last year.)

Here is a sample of legislation introduced by Ellington during his final three years in office:

(Note: HB stands for House Bill; SB for Senate Bill, HR for House Resolution and SR for Senate Resolution. HCR means House Concurrent Resolution and SCR Senate Concurrent Resolution. Resolutions, it should be noted, have no power of law.)

• HB—Creates the Louisiana Entrepreneurial Assistance and Development (LEAD) program for $37.5 million in venture capital tax credits;

• HR—Asks the federal government to refrain from regulating Internet Broadband services. (This was rendered moot when Jindal failed to apply for a federal grant to place broadband internet in rural areas of the state.);

• HCR—Commends a Louisiana Political Hall of Fame inductee;

• HR—Recognizes June 1, 2011, as 4-H Day at the capitol;

• HR—Commends House chaplain for his commitment;

• HB—Creates the Caldwell Parish Tourist Commission;

• HB—Allows a local sewerage district to increase per diem for the district’s board of supervisors;

• HB—Does the same for a local water district;

• HB—Phases in sales and use tax exemptions for certain manufacturers;

• HR—Commends a constituent on her 100th birthday;

• HR—Commends local constituent upon his selection as chairman of the National Propane Gas Association (Hank Hill, perhaps?);

• HB—Provides for the Economic Development Award program;

• HCR—requests the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) to designate a bridge in Harrisburg as the Veterans Memorial Bridge;

• HB—adds parishes with populations of between 10,000 and 11,000 (That seems awfully specific.) to requirement that tax assessors must pay premium costs of certain insurance coverage for employees.

Former State Rep. Jane Smith of Bossier City (defeated in her run for a Senate seat after being term-limited in the House, she landed on her feet with a $107,500-per-year position as deputy secretary in the Department of Revenue (to go with her $64,000 annual teaching retirement annual income) despite no prior experience or qualifications for the position:

• HB—Extends deadline for applying for tax credits under Louisiana Quality Jobs Program;

• HB—Authorizes the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to exempt the Recovery School District (RSD) from certain laws and regulations;

• HCR—Commends the Bossier High School basketball team for winning state championship;

• HR—Commends constituent for outstanding accomplishments;

• HCR—Asks Congress to maintain incentives for mid-level oil and gas exploration and production;

• HB—Provides tax credits for clean-burning motor vehicles;

• HB—Exempts gasoline sold on military installations from state gasoline tax;

• HB—Provides special homestead exemption assessment level for veterans who are disabled and 75 years of age or older;

• HCR—Commends constituent for outstanding accomplishments;

• HCR—Recognizes Louisiana Society of Professional Surveyors Day at Capitol;

• HR—Commends constituent on 90th birthday;

Former State Sen. Troy Hebert of Jeanerette, who was term-limited, resigned in November of 2010 to accept Jindal’s appointment as Commissioner of the Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control Board at $107,00 per year. His legislative work seemed to concentrate on a running feud he had with a local district attorney:

• SB—Provided that the district attorney for the 16th Judicial District Court (JDC) could not pay for continuing legal education (CLE) courses for his assistants;

• SB—Would have created new judicial districts out of the 16th JDC;

• SB—Provided that if a “certain district attorney” left office voluntarily before the end of his term, his first assistant would be ineligible to run in the ensuing election;

• SB—Requested Legislative Auditor to conduct audit of 16th JDC;

• SB—Provides relative to distribution of revenues in the 16th JDC;

• SB—Constitutional Amendment to change term limits for “certain elected officials” and the percentage of vote required for eligibility to serve successive terms of office;

• SB—Allows the possession of firearms on certain public lands;

Former State Rep. Kay Katz of Monroe, term-limited and unable to run again, was appointed by Jindal to a $56,000-per-year job as a member of the Louisiana Tax Commission. At least her legislative resumé bore some relevance to taxes:

• HB—Exempts retirement income for those 65 or older from state individual income tax;

• HB—Increases individual income tax exemption on retirement income;

• HR—Directs the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to study privatization of certain psychiatric forensic facilities;

• HCR—Asks Congress to halt EPA regulation of carbon dioxide emissions;

• HCR—Asks Congress to postpone EPA regulation of greenhouse gas emissions;

• HR—Commends Louisiana Dental Association for achievements and designates Dentists’ Day at the Louisiana Legislature;

• HR—Commends dental hygienists for outstanding contributions to oral health and recognizes Dental Hygiene Day;

• HCR—Commends Neville High School football team for winning state championship;

• HCR—Commends Rudy Macklin on retirement of his basketball jersey number by LSU;

• HR—Recognizes Capitol Day for the Cure;

• HR—Commends the Louisiana Psychological Association and designates Louisiana Psychological Association Day at the Louisiana Legislature;

• HR—Commends Louisiana Occupational Therapy Association for achievements and designates Louisiana Occupational Therapy Association Dat at the Legislature;

• HR—Commends constituent for her election as president of Quota International.

Former Sen. Nick Gautreaux of Meaux resigned from the Senate in December 2010 to accept Jindal’s appointment as Commissioner of the Office of Motor Vehicles. (We were unable to learn his salary.) Already considered by some as arrogant, he sent an email to his employees that said that individuals “who continue to defy change will suffer the wrath of my management team.” At least that seems to fit the Jindal M.O. Some of his finer legislative efforts:

• SB—Calls for constitutional amendment to provide that no local tax may be passed unless one-third of registered voters cast ballots;

• SB—Phases out the tax on incomes of individuals, estates and trusts (filed in multiple years);

• SB—Calls for constitutional amendment to allow non-recurring revenues to be used to give tax refunds to anyone required to file a Louisiana individual income tax return (filed in multiple years);

• SB—Grants transferable tax credit up to $450,000 per system for construction or installation of certain energy systems;

• Former Rep. Henry “Tank” Powell of Ponchatoula, who has been out of office for four years now, was recently appointed by Jindal to the State Pardon Board at $36,000 per year. Some of his legislative pearls:

• HB—Provides for the powers of the Ponchatoula chief of police;

• HB—Provides for appointments to the Crab Task Force;

• HCR—Recognizes American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Month;

• HCR—Commends the Patient Relations Section of the LSU Health Care Services Division;

• HB—Increases crab gear license fees and dedicates the increase to the enhancement of the crab industry;

• HB—Allows the Hammond city marshal to use fees to defray office expenses;

• HB—Creates the Louisiana Aquatic Chelonian Research and Promotion Board.

Former State Rep. M.J. “Mert” Smiley, who is the tax assessor-elect for Ascension Parish, but who won’t take office until January of 2013, was also appointed to a $36,000-per-year position on the pardon board by Jindal. More than anything else, Smiley is noted for asking in a legislative committee meeting if a state agency could order employees not to leave for other jobs. Among his legislative passions:

• HB would allow a municipality to retain its classification as a village even if population changes of less than 200 would otherwise classify it as a town;

• HB—Allows minors at least 16 years of age to donate blood with parental consent;

• HB—Merges the Fertilizer Commission and the Louisiana Feed Commission;

• HCR—Commends constituent for outstanding accomplishments;

• HCR—Commends retiring parish school superintendent;

• HCR—Commends a church pastor in Smiley’s home district;

• HB—Transfers the state motorcycle safety, awareness and operator training program from the Department of Education to Public Safety and Corrections;

• HR—Commends the Gonzales Boat Club on its 50th anniversary;

• HR—Commends local constituent on her 95th birthday.

There you have it. Never let it be said that we are hesitant to show what these appointees have contributed to the continued well-being of the citizens of Louisiana.

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Notable Quotables (in their own words)

Posted in Governor's Office, Jobs, Notable Quotables, Politicians, Transparency on February 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“The bottom line is the governor appoints people who support his agenda for moving the state forward, not the other way around.”

–Jindal spokesman Frank Collins, explaining why Gov. Bobby Jindal chooses political loyalty over qualifications in making political appointments.

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Cockroaches and politicians: you can’t get rid of either one; an up close examination of some recent political patronage

Posted in Governor's Office, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, Politicians, Transparency on February 8, 2012| 6 Comments »

The obvious similarity between a cockroach and a career politician is that you can never get rid of either one.

Take Noble Ellington, for example.

Or Jane Smith.

Or Ricky Hardy.

Or Henry “Tank” Powell.

Or M.J. “Mert” Smiley.

Or what seems like the entire Teepell family or anyone connected to Timmy Teepell.

If the supporters of Piyush Jindal don’t realize that he is every bit the political opportunist that any of his predecessors were, that his political morals are no better than any other Louisiana politician who ever got himself elected, then there is little to no hope for this state.

We’ll get back to the governor’s appointees but first let’s take a look at the $150,000 man with no qualifications and no experience.

Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon on Tuesday announced that Ellington, who spent 24 years in the state legislature, flip-flopping from state senator to state representative as term limits dictated, joined the department as its number-two man last week at a salary of $150,000 per year.

Ellington served on the Louisiana House Insurance Committee for the past four years, “but that is the extent of his insurance involvement to my knowledge,” said Donelon.

Let that soak in: “That is the extent of his insurance involvement.”

Let this soak in as well: $150,000 per year to serve as the second in command of the state’s sprawling Insurance Department.

For the thousands of state civil service who may find themselves having to work longer to qualify for retirement and who may have to take a five-year average earnings as the formula on which to base retirement income if Jindal’s retirement legislation package passes, let this soak in, too:

You can take comfort in the knowledge that Ellington will draw a much fatter state retirement now that he’s drawing $150 thou per year as opposed to his 24-year legislative salary because $150,000 as a base for the next four years will pretty much set him up for life.

It’s no coincidence that Ellington landed on his feet this way after opting not to seek re-election last fall. He is the national immediate past president of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and he hosted ALEC’s national convention in New Orleans last August.

ALEC, you might remember, is the national organization funded largely by the Koch brothers as well as a host of national corporation that boasts of its membership about a third of state legislators from all 50 states that sets the agenda for state legislation from prison privatization to charter schools to suspension of state employee pay raises to privatization of state employee health insurance, group benefits, risk management, Medicaid, the abolishment of state civil service and/or state employee unions and anything else that can cost state employees their jobs.

Cockroaches.

Finally, you can let these pearls of wisdom from Donelon regarding Ellington’s hiring soak in: “I’m very pleased that Noble made himself available for more public service.”

Wait. What? What self-serving politician has ever not made himself available for more public service, especially at $150,000 per year?

Donelon went on to say, “He brings a wealth of experience from his service in the legislature. I especially appreciate his expertise in issues affecting rural parts of the state.”

Really?

Okay, first of all, Donelon admitted that Ellington had little to no experience in the insurance field other than having served on the House Insurance Committee and then he turns right around to say he brings “a wealth of experience” to the table. What a crock. And exactly what expertise in issues affecting rural areas is applicable to the State Insurance Department?

Well, to be fair to Donelon’s possible motive, on Oct. 11, 2011, Ellington contributed $1,000 to Donelon’s re-election campaign.

Not that Donelon is alone is doling out political patronage.

Let’s take a look at some of the recent appointments by Piyush, the man who would counsel us to “do more with less.”

• Former State Rep. Jane Smith of Bossier City, ineligible for re-election because of term-limits and defeated in her own effort to flip-flop to the Senate, nevertheless landed a $107,500 per year position as deputy secretary of the Department of Revenue. Her qualifications for such a sensitive position were never enumerated.

• Former Reps. Ricky Hardy of Lafayette, who lost his re-election bid last fall, Henry “Tank” Powell of Ponchatoula, and M.J. “Mert” Smiley of St. Amant, were all appointed to part time positions as members of the State Pardon Board at $36,000 each.

It was Smiley who last spring, during the hearing on a $6.8 million amendment to the $68 million contract with F.A. Richard & Associates, the company that took over the privatization of the Office of Risk Management (ORM), who uttered one of the most bizarre questions to come out of any legislative hearing.

Hearing of the problem of ORM’s retaining employees who were leaving the agency for other jobs in anticipation of the phased-in privatization of the agency, Smiley asked ORM Assistant Director Patti Gonzales, “Isn’t there some way you can force them to stay?”

No, Mr. Smiley, not since the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

Smiley, by the way, will serve for only a year. It seems that after leaving the legislature, he ran for Ascension Parish tax assessor and somehow got himself elected but won’t take office until January of 2013. In the meantime, he needed a job and of course his impeccable qualifications made him the natural choice. For one year.

Cockroaches.

Other recent Jindal appointees:

• Former St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis, term-limited, bless his heart, was named director of the Governor’s Office on Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP), a political patronage black hole;

• Former St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro, who lost his re-election bid, had no need to worry because Jindal simply created a new position. He was appointed to lead the state’s hazard mitigation efforts in which capacity he will oversee programs that distribute money for elevating homes and making other improvements to residences and public infrastructure;

• Matt Parker, brother-in-law of Jindal’s former chief of staff and present political adviser Timmy Teepell, was hired as Jindal’s intergovernmental affairs director;

• Taylor Teepell, Timmy Teepell’s brother, was named as Jindal’s deputy legislative affairs director. Before that, he was director of the state Republican Party’s Victory Fund;

• Melissa Henderson Mann, Timmy Teepell’s former executive assistant, was named as the new legislative liaison for the Department of Transportation and Development.

Frank Collins, Jindal’s spokesman (paid in the capacity of some suitable title, we’re certain), assured all that the hiring and appointment decisions were made strictly on the basis of merit. Each and every one, he said, had the qualifications and experience needed for their new positions.

To borrow a phrase from an old friend, please Mr. Collins. Don’t urinate on our heads and try to tell us it’s raining.

Cockroaches.

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OGB sale proposal included in Executive Budget to be presented to joint legislative committee next Thursday

Posted in ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Budget, House, Senate, Legislature, Legislators, OGB, Office of Group Benefits, Politicians, Transparency on February 3, 2012| 8 Comments »

Don’t say we didn’t warn you.

As recently as Jan. 31—less than a week ago—we told you that Gov. Bobby Jindal is following the playbook of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) almost to the letter.

That playbook includes a section entitled “Tools to Control Costs and Improve Government Efficiency.” Among the “tools” it recommended were:

• Adopt a state hiring freeze;

• Reform state pensions;

• Delay automatic pay increases (we wondered where legislators came up with the term “automatic” in freezing merit increases a couple of years back);

• Embrace the expanded use of privatization and competitive contracting.

Each of these has already been done or is in the process of being done.

Next Thursday, the administration will present the governor’s Executive Budget for Fiscal Year 2012-2013. Included in the budget will be the proposed sale of the Office of Group Benefits (OGB) for $189 million, to become effective Jan. 1, 2013.

The committee meeting is scheduled to be held at 9:30 a.m. in House Committee Room 5.

The $189 million apparently is the price tag derived by Morgan Keegan, the Memphis banking firm that stands to reap a $750,000 bonus over and above the $150,000 for assessing OGB’s value if it is successful in negotiating the OGB sale at the $189 million price.

Morgan Keegan was itself only recently sold after being fined $210 million nearly two years ago by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misrepresenting critical information to investors.

Whoever ultimately purchases OGB will take with them the $500 million surplus now carried on the OGB books which the new operators will use to pay claims.

LouisianaVoice has also learned that once the sale of OGB is successfully negotiated and the agency is taken over by private industry, premiums will rise by approximately 10 percent.

There are other proposed changes coming that we can tell you about next week.

We can tell you this much, though: It ain’t gonna be pretty.

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