WDSU

175px
New Orleans, Louisiana
Branding	WDSU (general) WDSU News (newscasts)
Slogan	On Your Side
Channels	Digital: 43 (UHF) Virtual: 6 (PSIP)
Subchannels	Me-TV
Affiliations	NBC Me-TV (DT2)
Owner	Hearst Television (New Orleans Hearst Television, Inc.)
First air date	December 18, 1948
Call letters' meaning	DeSoto Hotel (station's former location) Joseph Uhalt (founder of WDSU radio)
Former channel number(s)	Analog: 6 (VHF, 1948–2009)
Former affiliations	DuMont (secondary, 1948–1955) CBS (secondary, 1948–1957) ABC (secondary, 1948–1957)NTA Film Network(Secondary,1957-1961)6.2:NBC Weather Plus(March2008-December31st,2008)NOAA Weather Radio(Late Dec.2008-Early 2009;March 31st,2012-April1st,2012)The Local AccuWeather Channel(2009-March31st,2012)
Transmitter power	1000 kW
Height	230 m
Facility ID	71357
Transmitter coordinates	29°57′0.1″N 89°57′27.6″W / 29.950028°N 89.957667°W / 29.950028; -89.957667
Website	WDSU.com MeTVNewOrleans.com

WDSU, virtual channel 6, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. It is owned by Hearst Television, which in turn is wholly owned by the Hearst Corporation. It broadcasts on UHF digital channel 43. Its transmitter is located in Chalmette, Louisiana; while its studios are located in downtown New Orleans.

The station's current tagline is "6 On Your Side." On cable, WDSU is carried on Cox Communications channel 7 in standard definition and digital channel 1007 in high definition in the New Orleans market.

Digital Television[link]

Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers display WDSU's virtual channel as "6".

WDSU broadcasts Me-TV on channel 6.2. Channel 6.2 can be seen on digital cable channel 108 for Cox Communications customers in the New Orleans viewing area, on channel 115 for Charter Communications customers on the Northshore, and on channel 136 for Charter Communications customers on the Southshore.

Digital retransmission disputes[link]

In October 2006, a dispute between WDSU's owner, Hearst-Argyle, and Cox Communications caused WDSU's HDTV signal to be pulled from New Orleans area cable TV systems.^[1] As a result, no high-definition television content was available from WDSU via any medium (over the air, cable, or satellite), forcing New Orleans viewers looking for high-definition NBC programming to attempt to pull in a signal from Baton Rouge affiliate WVLA. In April 2007, WDSU-DT was added to DirecTV's lineup, after which local cable carriers one-by-one began to add it also.

On September 27, 2007, Cox Communications and Hearst-Argyle announced an agreement to restore WDSU-DT to Cox's New Orleans area cable systems [2]; WDSU-DT and WDSU's WeatherPlus channel were added to Cox's channel lineup the next day.[3]

History[link]

WDSU-TV signed on the air on Saturday, December 18, 1948 as the first television station in Louisiana. It was owned by New Orleans businessman Edgar B. Stern, Jr. along with WDSU radio (1280 AM, now WODT; and 93.3 FM, now WQUE-FM).

The station initially carried programming from NBC, CBS, ABC and DuMont. Even after WJMR-TV on channel 61 (now Fox affiliate WVUE on channel 8) signed on in 1953 as a primary CBS and secondary ABC affiliate, WDSU continued to "cherry-pick" a few of the higher-rated CBS and ABC programs until 1957, when WWL-TV signed on as a full-time CBS affiliate. At that time, WJMR took the ABC affiliation full-time, leaving WDSU as an exclusive NBC affiliate. It lost DuMont when that network ceased operations in 1956.

WDSU's long time French Quarter location, seen shortly before their move in 1996

The radio station was originally located at the DeSoto Hotel (now Le Pavillon Hotel) on Baronne Street; the "DS" in the name was said to refer to the DeSoto. WDSU-TV began operations in the Hibernia Bank Building, at that time the tallest building in New Orleans. It moved into the historic Brulatour Mansion on Royal Street in the French Quarter in April 1950. At that point, Stern reorganized his broadcast holdings as the Royal Street Corporation. The transmitter site remained at the Hibernia Bank Building until 1955 when the new transmitter facilities were completed in Chalmette, Louisiana, where the tower remains today.

In the 1950s, WDSU-TV became the springboard for the career of Dick Van Dyke, first as a single comedian and later as emcee of a comedy program.^[2]

WDSU was the ratings leader in New Orleans for over a quarter century, largely because of its strong commitment to local coverage. It originated the first live broadcasts of the Sugar Bowl and Mardi Gras, and was the first area station to have extensive local coverage of a hurricane.

Royal Street merged with Cosmos Broadcasting of Columbia, South Carolina in 1972. Cosmos had to sell off the radio stations because it was over the Federal Communications Commission's ownership limit of the time. Cosmos eliminated much of the local flavor that had been the station's hallmark, opting to concentrate on its already strong news operation (it had been saluted by Time as a news pioneer in 1966). By the early 1980s, rival WWL-TV had overtaken WDSU as the ratings leader. WDSU has been a solid runner-up to WWL for most of the last quarter-century, though in recent years it has had to fend off a strong challenge from a resurgent WVUE.

Today, WDSU generally clears NBC's entire lineup; however, in the early 1980s, the station sustained local criticism when it preempted Late Night with David Letterman in favor of Thicke of the Night, a notorious syndicated talk show flop, along with carrying films in late night instead of the short-lived NBC News Overnight.^[3] When Letterman returned, the station aired the show later than the network-mandated timeslot, instead airing reruns of The Love Boat.

WDSU building on Howard Avenue

Cosmos sold WDSU to Pulitzer in 1989. Pulitzer sold its entire television division, including WDSU, to Hearst-Argyle Television (predecessor to the present-day Hearst Television) in 1999. The station moved into a new facility on Howard Avenue and Baronne Street in March 1996.

WDSU became the first station in the market to provide color telecasts in 1955, and the first New Orleans station with its own doppler weather radar in the 1990s (Super Doppler 6000).

On November 11, 2006, after a remarkable 51 years in New Orleans broadcast television—nearly all of them with WDSU—anchor and former news director Alec Gifford officially announced his retirement. His retirement became effective in December 2006.^[4] WDSU looked back on six decades of broadcasting on December 18, 2008.^[5]

The station contracts with Cumulus Media's New Orleans FM cluster (KKND, KMEZ, WRKN and WMTI) to provide additional channels of audio simulcasting during hurricane coverage.

WDSU also airs any ESPN Monday Night Football games the New Orleans Saints play (Hearst holds a 20% interest in ESPN) and have added analysis from former Saints coach Jim E. Mora.

Hurricane Katrina[link]

WDSU's New Orleans studios ceased operations around 9:30 pm Sunday, August 28, 2005, allowing staff at the station to take shelter. At that point, WDSU broadcasts began originating from sister Hearst-Argyle station WAPT-TV, the ABC affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi, to which some WDSU on-air staff had already evacuated. Sister station WESH, the NBC affiliate in Orlando, Florida, also originated some on-air weather content. In the immediate weeks following the hurricane, WDSU's news content originated from WAPT with a hybrid team of WAPT and WDSU meteorologists and anchors, with programs simulcast in Jackson and New Orleans.

WDSU's analog and digital transmitters were both destroyed in the hurricane.^[6] WDSU arranged to transmit via Ion Television affiliate WPXL channel 49 through the end of December 2005; reduced-power service was restored on channel 6 in October 2005.[4] WDSU replaced its transmitter building with an elevated and rugged hurricane resistant building to house its analog and digital transmitters. Construction of this building was completed in early February 2008.[5][6] On August 1, 2007 WDSU's digital signal was restored, temporarily sharing a frequency with WHNO's digital channel 21. In late February 2008 its analog signal was restored to full power and their digital signal on channel 6.1 was restored on March 6, 2008.

Hurricane Gustav[link]

In 2008, WDSU broadcast nonstop coverage of the approach, landfall and aftermath of Hurricane Gustav for five consecutive days. The storm prompted a massive evacuation of much of the station's viewing area. On September 1, 2008 WDSU's coverage of Hurricane Gustav aired nationally on DirecTV channel 361. Coverage was also available on the station's website, and its audio was carried by the Citadel group of radio stations in New Orleans. C-SPAN 2, and ABC affiliate WBRZ (channel 2) in Baton Rouge made portions of live coverage available as well.

WDSU tapped the resources of its parent company, Hearst-Argyle Television, and brought in personnel from across the country to assist in various capacities. Some WDSU news team members were relocated to support studios in Baton Rouge and Orlando and provided reports via satellite. All three locations stayed operational throughout the storm. One of WDSU's sister stations, ABC affiliate KOCO-TV (channel 5) in Oklahoma City, also provided WDSU's coverage of Hurricane Gustav via its second digital subchannel for evacuees who came to Oklahoma City.

News operation[link]

This section requires expansion.

Currently, WDSU broadcasts a total of 32.5 hours of local newscasts each week (with five hours on weekdays, three hours on Saturday and four and a half hours on Sunday). On December 14, 2008, the Sun Herald, a local newspaper on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, partnered with WDSU-TV to give more news and weather coverage for South Mississippi.

On September 14, 2009, WDSU dropped its noon newscast in favor of a new hour-long 4 pm newscast.^[7] On September 12, 2011 WVUE began broadcasting an hour long 4 pm newscast,^[8] adding a second TV station in the New Orleans market to offer a newscast at that timeslot.

On July 10, 2010, WDSU started broadcasting local news in 16:9 widescreen standard definition along with updated graphics. On August 16, 2010, WDSU expanded its weekday morning newscast to 2½ hours, by adding a 4:30 am newscast entitled WDSU News First Edition.^[9]

Ratings[link]

In July 2011, WDSU claimed ratings wins in key demographics at 5 pm and 6 pm – the first time in a quarter-century that a station other than WWL-TV placed first among viewers most sought by advertisers.^[10] Newscasts in less competitive time periods of 4:30 am and 4 pm also scored wins in key demographic categories, as well as household ratings.

News/station presentation[link]

Newscast titles[link]

• Your Esso Reporter (1948–1956)
• WDSU-TV News (1956–1962)
• The Six O'Clock Report/The Eleventh Hour Report (1962–1966)
• Channel 6 News (1966–1974)
• Newswatch 6 (1974–1982)
• NewsCenter 6 (1982–1987)^[11]
• 6 News (1987–1994)^[12]
• Channel 6 News (1994–2000)
• NewsChannel 6 (2000–2006)
• WDSU NewsChannel 6 (2006–2009)^[13]
• WDSU News (2009–present)^[14]

Station slogans[link]

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.

News staff[link]

[edit] Current on-air staff^[16]

Anchors

• LaTonya Norton – weekend mornings WDSU News This Morning; also weekday reporter
• Sula Kim coming to WDSU After May Sweeps
• Norman Robinson – weeknights at 6 and 10 pm
• Randi Rousseau – weekday mornings WDSU News This Morning (4:30–7 a.m.); also reporter
• Scott Walker – weekdays at 4, and weeknights at 5 and 10 pm; also reporter
• Camille Whitworth – weekdays at 4, and weeknights at 5 and 6 pm; also reporter
• Rachel Wulff – weekends at 5 and 10 pm; also weekday reporter

WDSU Exact Weather

• Margaret Orr (member, AMS; member, NWA) – chief meteorologist; weekdays at 4, and weeknights at 5, 6 and 10 pm
• Patrick Crawford (AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal of Approval) – meteorologist; weekends at 5 and 10 pm
• Jay Gallé (AMS Seal of Approval; member, NWA) – meteorologist; weekday mornings WDSU News This Morning (4:30–7 a.m.)
• Dan Milham (AMS Seal of Approval; member, NWA) – chief meteorologist emeritus
• Damon Singleton – meteorologist; weekend mornings WDSU News This Morning

Sports team

• Fletcher Mackel – sports director; weeknights at 6 and 10 pm
• Chris Miles – sports anchor; weekends at 5 and 10 pm

Reporters

• Heath Allen – Northshore Bureau Chief/general assignment reporter (married to former WWL-TV/WVUE-TV reporter Janet Gross)
• Tiffaney Bradley – general assignment reporter
• Siemny Chhuon – general assignment reporter
• Rosa Flores – general assignment reporter
• Lisamarie Luminais – weekday morning traffic reporter (Time Saver Traffic)
• Blake Hanson Morning Reporter
• Travers Mackel – investigative reporter (twin brother of Fletcher Mackel)
• Howard Robertson – crime and safety specialist

Contributors

• Arthur Hardy – also editor/publisher of Mardi Gras Guide magazine
• Dr. Corey J. Hebert, MD – medical editor ("On Call")

Hearst Television Washington Bureau

• Sally Kidd – Washington bureau reporter
• Nikole Killion – Washington bureau reporter

Notable former on-air staff[link]

• Bernard "Buddy" Diliberto – sportscaster (1981–1990; later worked for WWL Radio; deceased)
• Mel Leavitt – Newscaster, Commentator, Moderator, Historian; deceased
• Bill Monroe – first News Director; later Meet the Press moderator; deceased
• Helena Moreno – weekday mornings and consumer reporter (2000–2008; defeated in Democratic primary race for Congress, but later won state representative of District 93)
• Nash Roberts – meteorologist (1948–1973; later at WVUE and WWL-TV; deceased)
• Susan E. Roberts – anchor/reporter (now at WPRI)
• Susan Roesgen – anchor/reporter (2000–2001)(Previously withCNN,now at WGNO)
• Dick Van Dyke
• Charles Zewe – anchor/reporter (1976–1987; previously with WWL-TV; formerly at CNN; now Vice President of Communications for the Louisiana State University System)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: WDSU

• WDSU.com (Official WDSU-TV Website)
• MeTVNewOrleans.com (Official Me-TV New Orleans Website)
• Query the FCC's TV station database for WDSU
• BIAfn's Media Web Database -- Information on WDSU-TV

Edwin Washington Edwards (born August 7, 1927) served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century. A colorful, powerful and legendary figure in Louisiana politics, Edwards was long dogged by charges of corruption.

In 2001, he was sentenced to ten years in prison on racketeering charges. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana.

Two men whom Edwards defeated in Louisiana elections—David C. Treen and J. Bennett Johnston Jr.—and a third who was his protege, John Breaux, confirmed in July 2007 that they intended to approach then U.S. President George W. Bush about procuring a pardon or commutation for Edwards, who celebrated his 80th birthday in prison in August 2007. Bush, however, denied a pardon for Edwards before he left the presidency on January 20, 2009.^[1]

Edwards was released from federal prison into a halfway house on January 13, 2011.^[2] Supporters lobbied President Barack Obama for a pardon for Edwards so he might run in the 2011 Louisiana Gubernatorial Election. Edwards stated he would contest the election if legally allowed to do so.^[3] Obama did not reply to petitions by supporters of Edwards, leaving him ineligible to seek the governorship again. Republican Governor Bobby Jindal won a second term in a landslide without a runoff, gaining over 67 percent of the popular vote as compared to 18 percent for his closest Democratic rival.

Early life and career[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2009)

Edwin Washington Edwards was born in rural Avoyelles Parish, near Marksville. His father, Clarence Edwards, was a half-Cajun Presbyterian sharecropper, while his mother, Agnès (Brouillette) Edwards, was a French-speaking Cajun Catholic. Avoyelles Parish has been known for colorful politicians; one who stood out, F.O. "Potch" Didier, actually spent seven days in his own jail after being convicted of malfeasance in office.^[4]

The young Edwards had originally planned on a career as a preacher. As a young man, he did some preaching for the Church of the Nazarene. He served briefly in the U.S. Navy Air Corps near the end of World War II. After his return from the military, he graduated at the age of twenty-one from Louisiana State University Law Center and began practicing law in Crowley, the seat of Acadia Parish. He relocated there in 1949 after his sister Audrey (who had moved there with her husband) told him there were few French-speaking attorneys in the southwestern Louisiana community.

Edwards' career was thus helped by his being bilingual and articulate in both English and Cajun French. He learned to cultivate the goodwill of the media, both working reporters and editorial page editors. One of his favorites was Adras LaBorde, longtime managing editor of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk in Alexandria. LaBorde even influenced Edwards in regard to environmental policy.

In 1949, Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg, whom he had met at Marksville High School. The couple had four children: Anna, Victoria, Stephen, and David.

Edwards entered politics through election to the Crowley City Council in 1954. He was a member of the Democratic Party which, in that era, had a monopoly on public offices in Louisiana. Edwards remained on the Crowley council until his election to the Louisiana state Senate in 1964; in that race he defeated 20-year incumbent Bill Cleveland in a major political upset.

After serving in the state Senate as a floor leader for governor John McKeithen, Edwards was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served from 1965 to 1972. He won the congressional seat in a special election called when the incumbent, T. Ashton Thompson of Ville Platte, was killed in an automobile accident. Edwards was easily reelected to three full terms in the House in 1966, 1968 and 1970.

In 1968, he defeated Republican Vance William Plauche (born 1924) of Lake Charles, son of former one-term Democratic Congressman Vance Gabriel Plauche (1941–1943) with more than 80 percent of the general election vote. While in Congress, Edwards served on the Public Works, Judiciary, and Internal Security committees. He also became known as one of the few Southern congressmen to support the extension of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

1971–72 campaign for governor[link]

In the election of 1971–1972, Edwards won the governorship after finishing first in a field of seventeen candidates in the Democratic primary, including the final race of former governor Jimmie Davis and Gillis Long, a relative of Huey's. His greatest support came from southern Louisiana, particularly among its large numbers of Cajun, Creole, and African-American voters. In the first primary, Edwards led with 276,397 (23.8 percent). Bennett Johnston Jr (J. Bennett Johnston)., a state senator from Shreveport, followed with 208,830 (17.8 percent). In third place was former Congressman Gillis William Long of Alexandria, with 164,276 (14 percent). Former Governor James Houston "Jimmie" Davis was fourth with 138,756 (11.8 percent). Far to the rear of the pack was Congressman Speedy O. Long of Jena in rural La Salle Parish with only 61,359 (5.2 percent).

Both Edwards and Johnston ran on reform-oriented platforms during the primary, but Edwards was more adept at making political deals and building alliances for the runoff round of voting. Edwards said that the major philosophical difference that he held with Johnston was in regard to their "awareness of problems of the poor."^[5] Johnston won the endorsement of Edwards' legislative colleague, Joe D. Waggonner of Bossier Parish, but the Shreveport state senator declined to accept Edwards' offer of a televised debate between the two.^[6]

Edwards hence defeated Johnston in the runoff, 584,262 (50.2 percent) to 579,774 (49.8 percent), less than one vote per precinct. The victory showed that south Louisiana was eclipsing the north in both population and in the future political domination of the state.

On election night, Edwards gave public credit to the African American New Orleans political organization SOUL for his extremely narrow victory, stating that the 12,000 vote lead SOUL had brought him in New Orleans had put him over the top. Such public recognition of black political power by a Democratic governor of Louisiana was unprecedented.

In the general election held on February 1, 1972, Edwards faced Republican gubernatorial nominee David Treen, then of Metairie. He did not run as the candidate who would continue the Democratic policies of his predecessor, John McKeithen. In fact, he derided McKeithen as a "lame duck governor who doesn't want the new administration to do well. It'll make him look bad," considering a $30 million budget shortfall facing the next governor.^[7] Throughout the campaign, Edwards repeatedly insisted that Treen had no chance of victory. He said the climate was not right for a Republican governor in Louisiana. He ridiculed Treen as having "never held a public office. He has run for office four times and has been defeated all four times. He can't even generate enough enthusiasm in his home district [Jefferson Parish], where he is best known."^[8] He even accused Treen of having adopted Edwards' own reform platform characterized as the "Era of Excellence."^[8]

Though Treen ran a vigorous campaign, Louisiana's Democratic tradition favored Edwards from the start, as Edwards had predicted. Edwards polled 641,146 (57.2 percent) to Treen's 480,424 (42.8 percent). Edwards also overcame the south Louisiana "jinx" that had doomed former New Orleans Mayor deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr., in his three gubernatorial bids. He picked up the enthusiastic backing of his runoff rival, J. Bennett Johnston.

First two terms as governor, 1972–1980[link]

Both in his liberal political rhetoric and in his flamboyant public persona, Edwards cast himself as a Louisiana populist in the tradition of Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long. He was inaugurated as governor on May 9. One of his first acts was to call for a constitutional convention to overhaul Louisiana's bulky charter. Many of the sections on state government were written by delegate Robert G. Pugh, a prominent Shreveport attorney, who became an advisor to Edwards and two other governors thereafter. Voters approved the new constitution by a three-to-two margin in 1974, and government reorganization resulted. For the first time Louisiana operated with a "cabinet style" executive department in lieu of the hundreds of boards and commissions that had existed for decades, each its own fiefdom.

During his first two terms in office, Edwards developed a reputation for being one of the most colorful and flamboyant politicians in the history of a state known for its unorthodox political figures. Charismatic, well-dressed, and quick with clever one-liners and retorts, Edwards maintained wide popularity.

Edwards also depended heavily on Senator Sixty Rayburn of Bogalusa, whose 44-year service earned him the sobriquet as "Dean of the Louisiana Senate." He also rewarded political friends, such as former legislative colleague Fred L. Schiele, whom he appointed in 1973 to succeed the embattled Noah W. Cross as sheriff of Concordia Parish in eastern Louisiana.

Policies and achievements[link]

After enduring three grueling rounds of voting in the 1971–1972 campaign, Edwards pushed a bill through the legislature that limited state elections to two rounds by having Democratic, Republican, and independent candidates run together on the same ballot in an nonpartisan blanket primary. Ironically, though the jungle primary system was intended to benefit Edwards' own political career, many observers cite it as being a major factor in the eventual rise of the state's Republican party and the creation of a genuinely competitive two-party system. For this, Edwards was facetiously christened "father of Louisiana's Republican Party."

William Denis Brown, III (1931–2012), a lawyer and a state senator from Monroe, was Edwards's floor leader in the upper legislative chamber in the first term as governor. A native of Vicksburg, Mississippi reared near Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Brown was instrumental in drafting the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thereafter from 1980 to 1988, Brown was the chairman of the Louisiana Board of Ethics.^[9]

Early in the first gubernatorial term, Edwards initiated the creation of the first new Louisiana state constitution in more than a half century. He intended to replace the Constitution of 1921, an unwieldy and outmoded document burdened with hundreds of amendments. A constitutional convention was held in 1973; the resulting document was put into effect in 1975. As of 2009^[update], the 1973 Constitution remains in effect. Edwards also undertook a major reorganization of the state government, abolishing over 80 state agencies and modeling the remaining structure after that of the federal government.

In his first year in office, Edwards appointed his wife Elaine S. Edwards, also a native of Avoyelles Parish, to complete the Senate term of the deceased Allen J. Ellender. Mrs. Edwards served from August–November 1972, and during that time, the small town of Crowley boasted the governor, a U.S. Senator, and a U.S. Representative (former Edwards aide John Breaux), who all lived within a few blocks of each other.

An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards was the first Louisiana governor since Reconstruction to appoint blacks and women to high positions in his administration.

Edwards' tenure in the 1970s coincided with a huge boom in the state's oil and gas industry after the gas pricing crisis of 1973. Edwards was able to greatly expand the state's oil revenues by basing severance taxes on a percentage of the price of each barrel rather than the former flat rate. This oil money fueled a massive increase in state spending (an 163% increase between 1972 and 1980), and Edwards was able to consistently balance the state budget due to the boom in oil revenue. Much of this increased spending went toward health and human services program and increased funding for vocational-technical schools and higher education.

Edwards easily won reelection in 1975, with 750,107 votes (62.3 percent). In second place was Democratic State Senator Robert G. "Bob" Jones of Lake Charles, son of former Governor Sam Houston Jones, with 292,220 (24.3 percent). Secretary of State Wade O. Martin, Jr., ran third with 146,363 (12.2 percent). Thereafter, both Jones and Martin became Republicans.

Early scandals[link]

Though arguably minor compared to the Edwards scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, the governor was embroiled in several ethics controversies during his first two terms in office. At the time, Edwards was remarkably candid about his questionable practices. When questioned about receiving illegal campaign contributions, he replied that “It was illegal for them to give, but not for me to receive.” He also insisted he saw no problem with investing in a proposed New Orleans office building called "One Edwards Square" (it was never actually named that) while still governor, and demonstrated his gambling prowess to the press on one of his frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas. Later, Edwards' commissioner of administration Charles Roemer – father of future governor Buddy Roemer – was convicted of taking bribes and having connections with Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. Edwards managed to avoid direct implication in the Roemer case.

During the governor's first term, a disaffected former Edwards associate named Clyde Vidrine made several high-profile accusations of corruption, including the sale of state agency posts. The accusations were investigated by a grand jury, but Edwards managed to successfully attack Vidrine's credibility and the investigation stalled. Later, Vidrine published a tell-all book called Just Takin’ Orders, which included salacious details of Edwards' frequent gambling trips and extramarital escapades. Vidrine was later murdered in broad daylight on the courthouse steps in Shreveport.

In a 1976 scandal known as Koreagate, it came to light that Edwards and his wife Elaine had received questionable gifts in 1971, while Edwards was still a U.S. Congressman. South Korean rice broker Tongsun Park was under investigation for trying to bribe American legislators on behalf of the South Korean government, and for making millions of dollars in commissions on American purchases of South Korean rice. Edwards admitted that Park gave Elaine an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, but insisted that the gift was given out of friendship and that there was nothing improper about it. In the course of the controversy, Edwards stated that he thought it was “super moralistic” for the U.S. government to prohibit American businessmen to accept gifts from foreign officials in the course of their business dealings.

First political comeback: Edwards vs. Treen, 1983[link]

Barred by the state constitution from seeking a third term immediately after his second, Edwards temporarily left politics in 1979 but made it clear he would run again in 1983. He began raising money and touring the state years before the 1983 election, maintaining what supporters called "the government in waiting."

In 1979, Republican reformer David Treen was narrowly elected governor. Edwards had supported Treen's opponent, Democratic Public Service Commissioner Louis Lambert of Ascension Parish. In 1983, Edwards defeated Treen's re-election attempt. The election offered a clear contrast between the flamboyant, charismatic Edwards and the low-key, policy-oriented Treen. Treen focused on Edward's reputation for corruption and dishonesty, while Edwards sought to portray Treen as incompetent and unresponsive to the public. The two major candidates spent over $18 million between them; the election became renowned as one of the most expensive campaigns ever conducted in a state Louisiana's size. John Maginnis' 1984 book, The Last Hayride, chronicles this colorful campaign.

Before election day, Edwards joked with reporters: "The only way I can lose this election is if I'm caught in bed with either a dead girl or a live boy".^[10] Edwards zinged Treen many times, once describing Treen as "so slow it takes him an hour and a half to watch 60 Minutes." During a gubernatorial debate in 1983, Treen asked Edwards, "How come you talk out of both sides of your mouth?" Edwards instantly responded, "So people like you with only half a brain can understand me."

Then Shreveport Journal editor Stanley R. Tiner reported after the campaign of 1983 that Edwards disbelieves in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and does not personally expect to go to heaven. There was an uproar in conservative religious circles, but the comments did not stop Edwards from finishing his term or winning a fourth election eight years thereafter.

After his 1983 victory, Edwards took some six hundred supporters on an eight-day tour of France and Belgium, including dinner at Versailles and gambling in Monte Carlo. Each paid $10,000. Edwards expected a 70 percent profit on the contributors' tickets to retire a whopping $4.2 million campaign debt. Campaign style bumper stickers were printed that were distributed to those who contributed to the retirement of this campaign debt that were seen on vehicles in Louisiana for years afterward that read, in hi blue and gold campaign colors, "I did Paris with the Gov."^{[citation needed]}

Third term as governor, 1984–1988[link]

The third Edwards administration went badly by all accounts. The oil money that fueled the success of Edwards's first two terms was in short supply in the third term. His oil severance tax restructuring came back to hurt him as plummeting oil prices led to massive shortages in the state treasury. In 1984, Edwards attempted to deal with the erosion of state revenue by approving $730 million worth of new personal taxes. The Legislature passed these taxes into law, but the taxes were highly unpopular and damaged his level of public support. Much of Edwards' support in the 1970s had been a result of his high levels of social spending during times of economic prosperity; with these economic conditions gone, his popularity waned.

The John Volz indictment and trials[link]

In February 1985, soon after his third term began, Edwards was forced to stand trial on charges of mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and bribery, brought by U.S. Attorney John Volz. The charges were centered around an alleged scheme in which Edwards and his associates received almost two million dollars in exchange for granting preferential treatment to companies dealing with state hospitals. Edwards proclaimed his innocence and insisted that the charges were politically motivated by Volz and the Republican party. The first trial resulted in a mistrial in December 1985, while a second trial in 1986 resulted in an acquittal. Edwards later recited during a toast at a French Quarter bar, though his beverage was non alcoholic as he did not drink, a rhyming invitation for Volz to "kiss my ass". The trials were rather lengthy, and at one point during the first trial but before the mistrial the governor rode to the Hale Boggs U.S. Courthouse on a mule from his hotel. When asked by reporters why he did so, he replied something to the effect that it was symbolic of the speed and intellect of the federal judicial system, but also that he supported 'tradition.' His brother, Marion Edwards, an attorney, often wearing a pinstrip suit with a top hat and cane, would also hold comedic press briefings at the end of each court session on the steps of the courthouse in New Orleans mocking the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Volz and United States Judge Marcel Livaudais, who presided over the trials.

Even after successfully beating the Volz indictment, Edwin Edwards' popularity was in decline. Despite his acquittal, the trial brought many sordid details of Edwards' conduct under public scrutiny. It was revealed that during frequent gambling trips to Las Vegas, Edwards lost hundreds of thousands of dollars under aliases such as T. Wong and E. Lee, later paying these gambling debts using suitcases stuffed with cash of unknown origin.

After the trial, Edwards' support for the legalization of gambling as a solution to the state's severe revenue shortages contributed to a further decline in his popularity. He had made unpopular budget cuts to education and other social programs earlier in his term. Beginning in January 1986, he argued that legalizing casino gambling in up to 15 locations and creating a state lottery would be a way to restore the cut programs, but the state legislature rejected his gambling proposals. Entering a tough re-election campaign in 1987, Edwards seemed vulnerable. Going into the election, his disapproval ratings ranged from 52 to 71 percent.

Defeat: Edwards vs. Roemer, 1987[link]

Several notable candidates lined up to face Edwards in the 1987 gubernatorial election. Perhaps his strongest early challenger was Republican Congressman Bob Livingston. Also in the race were Billy Tauzin, a then-Democratic Cajun congressman, Democratic Secretary of State Jim Brown, and a Democratic congressman from north Louisiana, Buddy Roemer, who climbed up from a series of very low early-campaign polls.

Louis J. Roussel, Jr., a businessman from New Orleans who began his career as a bus driver, contributed $600,000 to Edwards in the losing race in 1987.^[11] Roussel had formerly been a large donor to Bill Dodd,^[12] whose son, William Ford Dodd, ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the 1987 primary election.

"Anyone But Edwards"[link]

Edwin was the issue of the campaign. Because of his name recognition, his resilient supporters, and unmatched political skill, even a weakened Edwards could safely assume he would win a place in Louisiana's unique primary election system runoff. The question was whether his opponent in the runoff would be someone who could beat him.

There was a prevailing sense in the race that Edwards needed Livingston in the runoff. Livingston was a Republican in a state that had at that point elected only one Republican governor since Reconstruction. And Livingston was widely perceived as lacking in charisma and personality, which would work to Edwards's advantage. Any other opponent, a moderate Democrat without the ethical problems, would be dangerous. To that end, Edwards talked up Livingston. It didn't work. Perhaps the key moment in the 1987 race came at a forum between the candidates. As usual, the main topic of discussion was Edwin Edwards. His challengers were asked, in succession, if they would consider endorsing Edwards in the general election if they didn't make it to the runoff. The candidates hedged, particularly Secretary of State Brown. The last candidate to speak was Buddy Roemer: "No, we've got to slay the dragon. I would endorse anyone but Edwards." The next day, as political commentator John Maginnis put it, Jim Brown was explaining his statement while Buddy Roemer was ordering "Slay the Dragon" buttons. Boosted by his endorsement as the ‘good government candidate’ by nearly every newspaper in the state, Roemer stormed from last place in the polls and on election night, overtook Edwin Edwards and placed first in the primary election, with 33% of the vote compared with Edwards' 28%. This marked the first and last time Edwin Edwards ever finished other than first in an election.

In what seemed to be the end of Edwards' political career, the governor withdrew from the contest in his concession speech, automatically electing Buddy Roemer governor. In fact, he was cleverly setting a trap for Roemer. By withdrawing, Edwards denied Roemer the opportunity to build a governing coalition in the general election race, and denied him the decisive majority victory that he surely would have attained. In one stroke, Edwards made Buddy Roemer a minority governor. Also, Edwards virtually ceded control of the state to Roemer even before his inauguration. By doing so, he passed on the burden of the state's problems to the new governor, who was essentially under the gun even before assuming office. For four years, Roemer struggled to be a reform governor of Louisiana as so many had before him. And although virtually no one realized it at the time, Edwin Edwards quietly waited in the wings for his shot at redemption.

A second comeback: Edwards vs. Duke, 1991[link]

As the 1991 governor's race drew near, many of Edwards' friends encouraged him to abandon his planned comeback, believing that he had no chance to win. After Edwards' loss in 1987, a journalist for the defunct Shreveport Journal wrote that the only way Edwin Edwards could ever be elected again was to run against Adolf Hitler. Some considered these words to have a prophetic cast, since after the 1991 primary Edwards discovered his runoff opponent to be David Duke, the highly controversial politician, and former Ku Klux Klan leader. Edwards received 34 percent of the vote while Duke received 32 percent. Governor Roemer placed third, 80,000 votes behind Duke.

The runoff between a white supremacist and a former governor who was widely considered corrupt but was also minority-friendly, gained national attention. Support for Edwards grew in between the primary and the runoff. The interest group, the Louisiana Coalition against Racism and Nazism appeared to challenge Duke, with its leadership including the longtime Treen supporter, Beth Rickey, a member of the Republican State Central Committee from New Orleans. The coalition claimed to present evidence that Duke was still involved in neo-Nazi activities.^[13]

Faced with the alternative of Duke, many who were otherwise lukewarm for Edwards found him looking ever better. Edwards found himself receiving endorsements from both Treen and Roemer; even Republican President Bush urged that Edwards, the Democrat, was a better choice than Duke, a putative Republican. A very popular bumper sticker urging support for Edwards (although clearly not produced by his campaign) read "Vote For the Crook. It's Important."^[14][15] Another read "Vote for the Lizard, not the Wizard." Edwards said that this would be his final term as governor and that he cared about leaving a good legacy, which made many hope that the corruption of his previous administrations would not be repeated. Edwards won by a wide margin. Continuing his artful use of humor to deflate an opponent, and referring to his considerable reputation as a Lothario, Edwards said of Duke, "The only thing we have in common is that we both have been wizards beneath the sheets." When a reporter asked Edwards what he needed to do to triumph over Duke, Edwards replied with a smile: "Stay alive." On Election Day, Edwards defeated Duke in a landslide, 61% to 39%, a margin of nearly 400,000 votes.

Fourth term as governor, 1992–1996[link]

In his last term, Edwards asked his boyhood friend, Raymond Laborde, to leave the state House after twenty years to serve as commissioner of administration. Laborde, who had once defeated Edwards for class president at Marksville High School and had earlier been his legislative floor leader, agreed to join the administration.^[16] He invited former Representative Kevin P. Reilly, Sr., of Baton Rouge, former CEO of Lamar Advertising Company to serve as secretary of economic development. Reilly had been removed in 1986 as chairman of the House Appropriations Committee after having criticized Edwards.^[17]

In the last term, Edwards promoted casino gambling in Louisiana, which had been a major part of his platform in the 1991 campaign. In June 1992, his heavy lobbying led the state legislature to pass a bill calling for a single large land-based casino in New Orleans. He also appointed a board that, at his private direction, awarded 15 floating riverboat casinos that had been authorized by the Legislature and the Roemer administration. He appointed a political ally, Paul Fontenot, to head the State Police; he would oversee the licensing and investigation of casino operators. On another front he again demonstrated his broad commitment to civil rights by becoming the first Southern governor to issue an executive order protecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons from discrimination in state governmental services, employment and contracts.^[18]

Despite the discovery that some licensees had links to organized crime or other unsavory ties, Edwards blocked the revocation of their licenses. But a political backlash against gambling-related corruption began. Though he had originally planned to run for re-election in 1995, he announced in June 1994, shortly after marrying his second wife Candy Picou, that he would be retiring from politics at the end of his term. Edwards was succeeded as governor by State Senator Mike Foster, who ran as an opponent of gambling interests. Edwards retired to a newly purchased home in Baton Rouge, intent on returning to a private law practice and living out his remaining days in contentment with his young wife, Candy (born 1964).

Ron Gomez, whose second term in the legislature corresponded with Edwards' third term as governor, describes Edwards, accordingly:

"Somehow, his brashness and arrogance over the years, traits that would have destroyed the average politician, have only seemed to endear him to his core constituency: minorities, organized labor, Cajuns and lower-income voters. It is exactly those groups who suffered the most over the quarter of a century he was in and out of the governor's office. Except for some black leaders who attached themselves to his entourage and gained political clout and monetary rewards through favors and appointments, the minority population as a whole has made very little progress culturally, educationally or socially because of his leadership."^[19]

Gomez continued:

"Organized labor, once a powerful force in the state, has fallen to its lowest membership in history. And, overall, when he finally left office in 1996, the state was near the bottom in teacher pay and college and university funding (among other things). It was also near the top in high school dropouts, teen pregnancies, welfare recipients, prison population and virtually every other negative category."^[20]

Indictment and conviction[link]

After being fingered by Texas for-profit prison entrepreneur Patrick Graham, who allegedly gave him $845,000 in conjunction with a scheme to locate a private juvenile prison in Jena in La Salle Parish, Edwards was indicted in 1998 by the federal government with prosecution led by U.S. Attorney Eddie Jordan. The prosecution soon released transcripts of audio conversations, as well as excerpts of video surveillance that seemed to indicate dubious financial transactions. The Edwards investigation also tarnished the reputation of San Francisco 49ers owner Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., who admitted to paying Edwards $400,000 in exchange for Edwards's assistance in securing a casino license.

Edwards was found guilty on 17 of 26 counts, including racketeering, extortion, money laundering, mail fraud and wire fraud; his son Stephen was convicted on 18 counts. "I did not do anything wrong as a governor, even if you accept the verdict as it is, it doesn't indicate that," Edwards told the press after his conviction. On his way to prison he said, "I will be a model prisoner, as I have been a model citizen". From 2002 to 2004 Edwin Edwards was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Edwards' sometime co-consprirator, Cecil Brown, a Eunice cattleman, was convicted for his part in the payoffs in 2002.

In 2004, Edwards filed for divorce from his second wife Candy, saying that Mrs. Edwards had "suffered enough" during his incarceration. In June 2005, the former Mrs. Edwards was arrested for threatening a police officer at a traffic stop in Port Barre, screaming "don't you know who I am?"

In 2005, Edwards was moved to the Federal Correctional Institution in Oakdale, Louisiana, where he served his sentence as inmate #03128-095. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, he was scheduled to be released on July 6, 2011.^[21] Efforts have been underway since his imprisonment to obtain a presidential pardon or commutation for Edwards, whose 80th birthday was August 7, 2007. Among those supporting the pardon effort are David Treen and Shreveport automobile dealer Ed Powell. Former President George H. W. Bush also supported commuting Edwards' sentence to time served and wrote a letter to the pardon board of then-President George W. Bush. However, Bush denied a pardon for Edwards before leaving office in January 2009.^[1]

In 2009, Edwards was listed as an "honorary pallbearer" at the funeral of perennial political candidate L. D. Knox of Winnsboro, who in the 1979 gubernatorial contest, when Edwards was not on the ballot, legally changed his name to "None of the Above" Knox to dramatize his support for the "None of the Above" option in elections.^[22]

On January 13, 2011, Edwards was released from prison and served the remainder of his sentence at a halfway house.^[23][24]

Personal life[link]

In 1949 Edwards married Elaine Schwartzenburg aka Elaine Edwards (born 1929). While Governor he appointed Elaine to the Senate to fill out the unfinished term of Allen Ellender, who died while in office. He said he trusted her experience. They had four children: Anna Edwards, Victoria Edwards, Stephen Edwards and David Edwards. On July 1, 1989, the couple divorced after 40 years of marriage. They had begun living apart on March 15, 1989.^[25]

In 1994, Edwards married the much younger Candy Picou (born 1964). In 1997, the couple entered the headlines when they attempted to have a child. Edwin had his vasectomy reversed, and the couple froze sperm to attempt to have a baby. Their efforts ended with his legal trouble. Edwin suggested divorce to his wife after his indictment, but she wouldn't hear of it. While in prison Edwin Edwards filed for divorce. The divorce was finalized in 2004 during Edwards' prison tenure. Candy and Edwin Edwards continued to be close friends, and she visited him often in prison. In 2006, Candy Edwards gave birth to a child named Harrison Arthur Picou Low. The father is Brian Low (born 1975). Low and Candy are not married, and she is still single as of 2012. Candy has said that she brought the child to the prison on one of her visits with her for Edwin to see him. She said that he is very supportive of her. Candy Edwards continues to use her married name and works as a real estate agent. When asked if she and Edwin would ever get back together after his release from prison she said that "anything could happen"—but that was prior to Edwin's later marriage to Trina Grimes Scott (see infra).

Edwin stated that Mrs. Edwards had suffered enough during his prison tenure, in his reasoning for ending the marriage. In 2005, Candy Picou Edwards was arrested for a traffic violation involving speeding, driving under a suspended license, and resisting an officer.^[26]

On July 29, 2011, Edwards married then 32-year-old Trina Grimes Scott at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans.^[27]

Edwards' record of longevity[link]

Few governors have served four four-year terms. Edwards hence joins the late George C. Wallace of Alabama, Jim Hunt of North Carolina, Bill Janklow of South Dakota, Terry Branstad of Iowa and Jim Rhodes of Ohio as 16-year governors. Terry Branstad was elected to a fifth term as governor of Iowa in 2010. Former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller would also have been among the long-term incumbents had he not resigned at the end of 1973, with a year left in his term as governor of New York; Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin would have also served sixteen years had he not resigned halfway into his fourth term to become George W. Bush's first Secretary of Health and Human Services. James R. Thompson of Illinois was elected to four consecutive terms, but the first of them was a special two-year term because Illinois was moving its gubernatorial elections from the Presidential year to the midterm year.

When the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame opened in Winnfield in 1993, Edwards was among the first class o

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

	Louisiana portal
	Biography portal

• State of Louisiana – Biography
• Boulard, Garry, "Edwin Edwards: Reflections on a Life," Times of Acadiana, August 15, 2001.
• Bridges, Tyler. Bad bet on the Bayou: The Rise of Gambling in Louisiana and the Fall of Governor Edwin Edwards. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2001.
• Dawson, Joseph G. The Louisiana Governors: From Iberville to Edwards. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1990.
• Hathorn, Billy. "The Republican Party in Louisiana, 1920–1980," Master's thesis (1980), Northwestern State University at Natchitoches.
• Maginnis, John. The Last Hayride. Baton Rouge: Gris Gris Press, 1984.
• Maginnis, John. Cross to Bear. Baton Rouge: Darkhorse Press, 1992.
• Reeves, Miriam G. The Governors of Louisiana. Gretna: Pelican Press, 1998.
• Edwin Edwards at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Edwin Edwards

v t e Governors of Louisiana State (1812–1861) Claiborne Villeré Robertson Thibodaux H. Johnson Derbigny Beauvais Dupré Roman White Roman Mouton I. Johnson Walker Hébert Wickliffe Moore Confederate (1861–1865) Moore H. Allen Union (1862–1865) Shepley Hahn Reconstruction (1865–1868) Wells Flanders Baker State (since 1868) Warmoth Pinchback J. McEnery Kellogg Nicholls Wiltz S. McEnery Nicholls Foster, Sr. Heard Blanchard Sanders Hall Pleasant Parker Fuqua Simpson H. Long King O. Allen Noe Leche E. Long Jones Davis E. Long Kennon E. Long Davis McKeithen Edwards Treen Edwards Roemer Edwards Foster, Jr. Blanco Jindal

v t e Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Louisiana 1st district Livingston, E. • White • Johnson • White • Slidell • Sére • St. Martin • Dunbar • Eustis • Bouligny • Sypher • Lawrence • Gibson • Hunt • St. Martin • Wilkinson • Meyer • Estopinal • O'Connor • Fernández • Hébert • Tonry • Livingston, R. • Vitter • Jindal • Scalise 2nd district Gurley • Thomas • Ripley • Chinn • Dawson • la Branche • Thibodeaux • Conrad • Bullard • Landry, J. A. • Hunt • Taylor • Mann • Sheldon • Ellis • Hahn • Wallace • Lagan • Coleman • Lagan • Davey • Buck • Davey • Gilmore • Dupré • Spearing • Maloney • Boggs, T. H. • Maloney • Boggs, T. H. • Boggs, L • Jefferson • Cao • Richmond 3rd district Brent • Overton • Bullard • Garland • Moore • Dawson • Harmanson • Penn • Perkins • Davidson • Newsham • Darrall • Acklen • Darrall • Kellogg • Gay • Price • Broussard • Martin • Montet • Mouton • Domengeaux • Willis • Caffery • Treen • Tauzin • Melançon • Landry, J. M. 4th district Bossier • Morse • Moore • Jones • Sandidge • Landrum • Vidal • Newsham • McCleery • Boarman • Smith • Levy • Elam • Blanchard • Ogden • Breazeale • Watkins • Sandlin • Brooks • Waggonner • Leach • Roemer • McCrery • Fields • McCrery • Fleming 5th district Ransdell • Elder • Wilson • Mills • McKenzie • Passman • Huckaby • McCrery • Cooksey • Alexander 6th district Sheridan • Nash • Robertson, E. • Lewis • Irion • Robertson, E. • Robertson, S. • Favrot • Wickliffe • Morgan • Sanders, Sr. • Favrot • Kemp • Sanders, Jr. • Griffith • Sanders, Jr. • Morrison • Rarick • Moore • Baker • Cazayoux • Cassidy 7th district Pujo • Lazaro • De Rouen • Plauche • Larcade • Thompson • Edwards • Breaux • Hayes • John • Boustany 8th district Aswell • Overton • Dear • Allen • Long, Doc • McSween • Long, G. • Long, S. • Long, G. • Long, C. • Holloway At-large Clark • Poydras • Robertson • Butler • Johnston • Sheridan

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Governor Kathleen Blanco speaking at the dedication of the Southeast Louisiana Regional Ice Hub in Chalmette, Louisiana on August 23, 2006.
78th Governor of Louisiana
In office January 12, 2004 – January 14, 2008
Lieutenant	Mitch Landrieu
Preceded by	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Succeeded by	Bobby Jindal
46th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
In office January 8, 1996 – January 12, 2004
Governor	Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Preceded by	Melinda Schwegmann
Succeeded by	Mitch Landrieu
Personal details
Born	(1942-12-15) December 15, 1942 (age 69) New Iberia, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Raymond Sindo Blanco
Children	Karmen, Monique, Nicole, Ray, Pilar, and Ben.
Residence	Lafayette, Louisiana
Alma mater	University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Profession	Marketing Consultant, Teacher
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (born December 15, 1942) was the 78th Governor of Louisiana (54th since US Statehood), having served from January 2004 until January 2008. She was the first woman to be elected to the office of governor of Louisiana.

When first elected, Blanco outlined her top priorities as providing affordable healthcare, improving the education system in the state, and helping to create a strong and vibrant economy through aggressive economic development initiatives. Her work as governor changed dramatically when, in 2005, coastal Louisiana was severely damaged by two hurricanes that stuck less than a month apart. In August, Hurricane Katrina devastated the New Orleans region, an urban area of 1.4 million people. Then, in September, Hurricane Rita struck the southwestern coast, displacing another 300,000 people. More than 200,000 housing units were destroyed, 81,000 businesses closed, entire electrical and telecommunication systems were torn apart, and one million people were made homeless as a result of severe flooding caused by levee failures and storm surges.

Many believed the immediate response from the city, state, and federal governments was inadequate, and Blanco later acknowledged there were failures on the part of her administration before and after the storm; much criticism, however, was directed at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, for what was seen as a slow initial response to the disaster and an inability to effectively manage, care for and delivered promised resources to those trying to evacuate from New Orleans.

Blanco announced in March 2007 that she would not seek re-election later that year, saying that she would instead "focus [her] time and energy for the [remainder of her term] on the people's work, not on [the] politics" of running for another term.

Early life and career[link]

She was born Kathleen Babineaux in New Iberia, Louisiana, the daughter of Louis Babineaux and his wife, the former Lucille Fremin, both of Cajun ancestry. Her Babineaux grandfather was a farmer and grocer with a country store, and her father was a small businessman who moved to the rural hamlet of Coteau near New Iberia; the community has one church and one elementary school. Blanco attended Mount Carmel Academy, an all-girls school run by the Catholic Sisters of Mount Carmel, which was situated on the banks of Bayou Teche. (The school closed in the middle 1980s with the majority of girls transferring to Catholic High School). In 1964, Blanco received a Bachelor of Science in Business Education from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana. On August 8, 1964, she married Raymond Blanco, a football coach and educator; the couple has four daughters: Karmen, Monique, Nicole, and Pilar and two sons: Ray (Jr.) and Ben.

Following college, she taught business at Breaux Bridge High School. She then worked for roughly fifteen years as a stay-at-home mom for her six children. She later worked as a District Manager for the U.S. Department of Commerce during the 1980 Dicennial Census initiative and with her husband, owned Coteau Consultants, a political and marketing research firm.

Prior to her election as governor, she served 20 years in public office. elected in 1983 as the first woman legislator from the city of Lafayette, she served five years in the Louisiana House of Representatives. She then became the first woman in Louisiana elected to the Public Service Commission, where she served seven years, where she was chosen to preside as the first woman chair of the PSC. She was then elected Lieutenant Governor, where she served for eight years.

Governor of Louisiana[link]

Blanco was elected on November 15, 2003, defeating her Republican opponent Bobby Jindal, in the general election, by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent. On January 12 of 2004 she took the oath of office in both English and French languages, succeeding Murphy J. Foster, Jr. as Governor of Louisiana. She kept Foster's Chief of Staff, Andy Kopplin, on under the same post. Blanco traveled more than her predecessor, seeking new sources of economic development for the state. She visited Nova Scotia, and in December 2004 visited Cuba to boost its trade with the state. During this controversial visit, she met with President Fidel Castro, with whom the United States government has no formal diplomatic relations. In 2005, Governor Blanco also visited Asia (primarily Japan, China, and Taiwan).

Despite the upheaval of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, by the end of her term she met all of her initial goals, most notably prioritizing education investment from pre-kindergarten to universities. She recruited a number of businesses to Louisiana and also provided proper funding and policies to lay a foundation for coastal Louisiana's recovery.

As governor, she was a member of the National Governors Association, and the Democratic Governors Association, and served as president of the Southern Governors' Association.

Hurricane Katrina[link]

On August 27, 2005, Governor Blanco, speaking about Hurricane Katrina, told the media in Jefferson Parish, "I believe we are prepared. That's the one thing that I've always been able to brag about." Later that day she issued a request for federal assistance and USD $9 million in aid to President George W. Bush, which stated, "...I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal." Also in the requesting letter, the governor stated: "In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan."

FEMA issued a statement dated August 27, that President Bush authorized the allocation of federal resources, "following a review of FEMA's analysis of the state's request for federal assistance. A White House statement of the same date also acknowledges this authorization of aid by President Bush. On August 28, Governor Blanco sent a letter to President Bush, which increased the amount of aid requested to US $130 million.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, Blanco, President Bush and Louisiana Senator David Vitter

Governor Blanco oversaw the massive evacuation of 93 percent of the New Orleans area, and the subsequent rescue effort utilizing state employees, law enforcement agencies from across the state and nation, citizen volunteers and federal emergency services such as the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Military. More than 60,000 people were rescued and removed from the affected region after the storm. As Commander-in-Chief of the Louisiana National Guard, Blanco called on her fellow governors for troop reinforcement as more than a third of her own soldiers and airmen were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The response from states delivered nearly 40,000 troops to her command, one of the largest domestic activation of troops in the nation's history.

On September 1, 2005, with reports of looting and lawlessness escalating, Governor Blanco announced she was sending 300 Louisiana National Guardsmen to supplement the New Orleans Police Department, saying, "These troops are fresh back from Iraq. They are well-trained, experienced, battle-tested and under my orders to restore order in the streets. These are some of the 40,000 extra troops that I have demanded. They have M-16's, and they're locked and loaded. When hoodlums victimize and inflict suffering on people at their wit's end, they're taking away our limited resources, or whatever resources we have, to save babies, or save children and to save good people. I have one message for these hoodlums. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary, and I expect they will.^[1] This followed President Bush's statement that looters in New Orleans and elsewhere in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina should be treated with "zero tolerance."^[2]

President Bush, during a visit to Louisiana September 2, 2005,five days after the storm, offered to federalize the Louisiana National Guard to simplify the command structure. The Governor declined, because the Guard would then become part of the federal military forces and therefore lose much-needed policing powers. The President subsequently continued to press the offer so Governor Blanco rejected it in writing, citing the need for flexibility in National Guard operations, particularly the need for Guard in areas other than New Orleans where the military is not currently operating. Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi reportedly declined a similar offer from the President. Had either state's National Guard been federalized, they would not have been able to directly enforce Louisiana state law (i.e., control looting) under the provisions of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act. It has not previously been a policy during natural disasters to combine the command of National Guard and military operations under the authority of the President. President Bush had the power to take command of a state's National Guard units under the Insurrection Act of 1808 without the agreement of a state Governor, but no President had done this since Lyndon Johnson in the 1960s and President Bush had so far also declined to do so. However, Governor Blanco and Major General Bennett Landreneau, Louisiana Adjutant General and senior Louisana National Guard officer, co-operated closely with U.S. Army Lieutenant General Russel L. Honoré, who was then commanding Federal military operations under Joint Task Force Katrina.

CNN and Fox News reported the Louisiana Homeland Security Department (which operates under the authority of Governor Blanco) refused to allow the American Red Cross to enter the city of New Orleans. [1], [2] The [3] American Red Cross confirms that the organization had not entered the city to provide aid, but also states that it is providing relief at the evacuation centers: "As the remaining people are evacuated from New Orleans, the most appropriate role for the Red Cross is to provide a safe place for people to stay and to see that their emergency needs are met. We are fully staffed and equipped to handle these individuals once they are evacuated." The deputy director of Louisiana's Homeland Security Department, Colonel Jay Mayeaux, has stated that he asked the Red Cross to delay relief operations for 24 hours for logistical reasons, and by the time that was up the evacuations had already begun.^{[citation needed]}

On September 14, after President Bush had accepted responsibility for all problems that occurred at the federal level, Governor Blanco accepted responsibility for all problems that occurred at the state level. Blanco stated, "At the state level, we must take a careful look at what went wrong and make sure it never happens again. The buck stops here, and as your governor, I take full responsibility." In 2006, a Congressional report later stated that the "National Response Plan did not adequately provide a way for federal assets to quickly supplement or, if necessary, supplant first responders."^[3]

Aftermath and recovery[link]

Blanco in Taipei on an official trade mission to Taiwan in 2006.

Governor Blanco continued to press President Bush and Congress for additional recovery funds for Louisiana, pointing out the disparity in assistance received by Louisiana compared to neighboring Mississippi, in spite of statements by members of the Louisiana State Republican Party that recommended quietly accepting what was offered and then possibly request more aid at a later date. Assisted by protests in the press, including the Washington Post and the New York Times, which referred to the treatment of Louisiana and New Orleans as "America's Shame,' in February 2006, Governor Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority negotiated an additional $4.2 billion in aid for rebuilding housing in Louisiana.

Early in 2006, Blanco was inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield.^[4]

On June 19, 2006, Governor Blanco announced that she would send the National Guard to patrol the streets of New Orleans after five teenagers were killed, in an effort to combat a greatly increased rate of violent crime.

On June 19, 2006, Blanco signed into law a ban on most forms of abortion (unless the life of the mother was in danger or her health would be permanently damaged) once it passed the state legislature. Although she felt exclusions for rape or incest would have "been reasonable," she felt she should not veto based on those reasons. The bill would only go into effect if the United States Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade.

In August 2006, Blanco filed a lawsuit and formally objected to the federal Gulf of Mexico lease sale "to force the federal government to spend part of its oil and gas income from the Outer Continental Shelf to help shore up Louisiana's coastline".

In December 2006, Blanco called a special session of the Louisiana State Legislature which she intended to use to dispense $2.1 billion worth of tax cuts, teacher raises, road projects and other spending programs. Legislators allied with Blanco attempted to lift a spending cap imposed by the state constitution, but Republican lawmakers rejected the governor’s spending measure. The high-profile defeat further eroded Blanco’s political reputation.

By late 2006 and early 2007, Blanco was facing increasingly heated accusations of delays in administering the Road Home Program, a state-run program which Blanco and the Louisiana Recovery Authority had set up following Katrina in order to distribute federal aid money to Katrina victims for damage to their homes. By January 2007, fewer than 250 of an estimated 100,000 applicants had received payments from the program, and many of the payments were apparently based on assessments which grossly undervalued the cost of damage to homes.

Facing an upcoming re-election campaign with greatly reduced popularity, Blanco made repeated public criticisms of the administration of President Bush in January 2007. Noting that Bush neglected to mention Gulf Coast reconstruction in his 2007 State of the Union Address, Blanco called for a bipartisan Congressional investigation into the conduct of the Bush administration following Katrina, to determine whether partisan politics played a role in the slow response to the storm. This call followed comments by former Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) director Michael D. Brown, who claimed^{[citation needed]} that the White House offer to federalize the National Guard in the days following the storm was part of a plan to upstage Blanco. Blanco has also publicly stated that Mississippi received preferential treatment because its governor, Haley Barbour, is Republican.

Blanco announced on March 20, 2007 that she would not seek re-election. On January 14, 2008, Bobby Jindal succeeded her as governor.

Electoral history[link]

State Representative, 45th Representative District, 1987

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 24, 1987

Public Service Commission, District 2, 1988

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 1, 1988

Second Ballot, November 8, 1988

Public Service Commission, District 2, 1994

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 1, 1994

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 1995

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 21, 1995

Second Ballot, November 18, 1995

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, 1999

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 23, 1999

Governor of Louisiana, 2003

Threshold > 50%

First Ballot, October 4, 2003

Second Ballot, November 15, 2003

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kathleen Blanco

• State of Louisiana – Biography
• National Governors Association – Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco biography
• Follow the Money – Kathleen Blanco 2003 campaign contributions
• On the Issues – Kathleen Blanco issue positions and quotes
• Project Vote Smart – Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (LA) profile^{[dead link]}
• Snopes.com – Blame Blanco debunking claims that Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco refused President Bush's pleas to declare an emergency before Hurricane Katrina struck
• Complete text and audio of Kathleen Blanco's Speech to the Louisiana Legislature on Hurricane Katrina AmericanRhetoric.com